Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-01-22
Another Powder Works Disaster-Fright.
full Loss Of Life.


SECOND DIsPATCH.l
PARTICULARS OF THE AFFAIR.
BERKELEY, January 21st. - The mixing
house and six packing houses of the giant
powder works at Point Clement, near West
Berkeley, exploded at p The shocks of
the seven explosions were felt in this town.
One white man, the foreman, named Conk,
and between forty and fifty Chinese, are
known to have been blown to atoms. Nearly
the entire place was destroyed by fire, which
began Immediately after the explosion. The
Superintendent was thrown a long distance,
but was not injured. Physicians went down
from Berkeley ard West Berkeley. The fire
is still raging. The large magazine, contain
ing over 200 tons of powder. is still safe.
About eight tons exploded. The loss cannot
be estimated. The dwelling. houses east of
tered. Rich, Buehholz and jackson, work.
men, are known to be safe.
FELT AT NAPA.
NAPA, January 21st.-Three large explo-
sions were heard here this afternoon about
half-past o'clock, which ratified the windows
in the houses and caused many people to
think that powder explosion had taken
place somewhere.
THIRD DISPATCH.l
BERKELEY, January 21st.-It is now known
that the number of Chinese killed is not 30
great IS first reported, as not over thirty are
missing. Many press representatives were
soon on the spot, although the fire. is still
raging, and more explosions are expected mo-
mentarily. The scene in the vicinity is ter.
rible. Bodies can be seen lying near the line
of the fire, but men dare not rescue them for
fear of their own lives. The Assistant Su-
psrintendent is missing, and supposed to be
killed: The Superintendent was not at the
works at the time. A workman named Oscar
Foryuffsky was pulled from the ruins s Don
after the explosion. He is seriously hurt.
His hack and legs are injured, and he is also
hurt internally. Seven Chinese have been
pulled frem the debris, all badly hurt.
Ali the houses in a radius of half
mile are completely shattered. The
doors and windows of the dwelling houses of
the employees on the opposite-the east-side
of the hill were blown in, and most of the
occupants thrown to the floor. Sheds and
barns were laid fiat. The buildings of the
Judson works, on the side of the hill, where
kind of blasting powder was manufactured,
were thrown over, and will probably have to
the mixing-hou is yet unknown. The other
explosions followed in the space Of two min
utes All the buildings blown up were Cd
the bay side of the hill, bat the fires crept
rapidly around, and now 70 P. ny the large
magazine is in danger. No attempt has
been made to check the fire, owing
to the danger. Many workmen es-
capped miraculously. To-day is the first
Sunday in many months that the works were
running full blast, and orders of seventy tons
were loaded on schooners at the wharf. A
driver, with team and load of powder on
the wharf, jumped, when the first explosion
was heard, into the water and escaped, when
the wagon.load exploded. The wharf has
taken fire, and is Burning rapidly. Hospitals
improvised in the unchanged houses,
and the wounded cared fer. Physicians have
come out from Oakland and other towns.
This is known to be the most disastrous ex.
Elosion that ever occurred at the works.
Should the magazine explode, all the houses
in Berkeley would be damaged A final
effort will be made soon to subdue the flames
and avoid this danger.
LATEB.-The efforts to prevent the flames
reaching the main magazine, containing an
immense quantity of powder, have been hap.
PLY successful. The consequences would
have been most frightful had the large maya
zine exploded. as one of the Superintendents
stated that there is enough powder stored
there to have destroyed every living thing on
the peninsula. The cause of the first explo-
sion remains mystery. This evening twelve
bodies had been counted lying in the debris,
and the Coroner's investigation tomorrow
will probably disclose more than double that
number. A force of men is engaged tonight
in extinguishing the fire and recovering the
bodies.
THE VERY LATEST.
SAN FRANCISCO, January 21st.-The very
latest reports from the explosion place the
loss of life between 40 and so. The fire is
still burning fercely at the different packing
and mixing houses. The nearest point of the
fire to the main magazine is about 80 yards.
Workmen dare not venture near the maya.
zine, for fear of the explosion. The wind is
blowing from the east, but should it change
to the west it is said the fire would certainly
reach the magazine.
The Tehachapi Horror.
Los ANGELES, January 21st.-No news
has yet been received of the result of the
Coroner's inquest into the cause of the rail-
road disaster.
Rumars are afoat of finding more bodies,
but there is nothing definite.
The remains supposed to be those of Mrs.
Downey, on examination to-day, prove to be
those of some other person.
The bodies OF Charles r. Pearson, express
Miss M. E. Squires and Lawrence,
the sleeping car porter, have been sent to
Oakland, and that Of G. III. Larabee to San
Francisco by express.
James K. Dryer, of Dwyer, Skate &
Robertson, San Francisco, supposed to have
been in the wrecked train, arrived here Fri
day safe and well.
Porter Ashe exhibited great deal of cool
heroism at the burning cars. After drawing
his wife and maid through q window of the
sleeper, he rescued Ex-Governor Downey
from between the broken timbsrs, thus saving
his life.
EXPERIENCE OF PASSENGER.
San FRANCISCO, January 21st.-The Cal
will publish an interview with
Howard Tilton, of Yale, B. g., Freight
Agent of the Canadian Pacific Railroad Com
pany, who was on board the Southern Pacific
train at the time of the disaster. He says:
81 was asleep in lower berth when the
accident occurred; was awakened by the
terrible speed aud the rocking of the car
threw UP the curtain and looked out of the
window the train was dashing down the
grade with frightful rapidity at the rate
probably of seventy miles an hour, and real.
ICED that o disaster was imminent, laiQ
down again to wait fer the inevitable with
the feeling a man must experience when he
is standing on the scaffold in expectation of
tie fall of the trap. 1t seemed only an in
slant when the crash came, and 1
was hurled from my berth. 1 was
sleeping on the left side of the car, which
fell upon the right side, and was covered to
my waist with mattresses, woodwork and de-
bris, but found no difficulty in freeing myself.
Smoke passed throug the car, giving timely
token of impending peril. To the right and
in my rear saw Mr.. and Mrs. Porter Ashe,
perfectly free, but Miss Petersen, the maid,
was buried under about six feet of debris, on
top of which was the water. cooler and wash.
basin. Mrs. Ashe was endeavoring to extri-
cate her, and 1 assisted in clearing away the
rubbish. We soon succeeded in pulling her
out: They were the only persons in sight. 1
pushed up the windows on what was then the
top OF the car, and found them TO work per-
iectly, not pane being crushed.
L crawled through, drew Miss Peter
sen out, and Mrs. Ashe followed. I
asked Porter Ashe to throw out some
blankets, which he did, and then crawled
through himself. Mr.. Ashe, Miss Petersen
and myself had only our underclothing on,