The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1884-11-21
SENT SKYWARD.
Ten Tons Of Powder Stored Near
Toledo, o., Ignites, and Fear
full Explosion Follows.
Trees Torn Up by Their Roots and
Buildings Demolished, but No
Lives apc Sacrificed.
The Shock Felt at Cleveland, Detroit,
and Other Points Over a Hundred
Miles Distant - The Loss.
A PowDER-FAcToRY ExPLoDEs.

TOLEDO, o., Nov. IA terrific concus-
sion shortly after ten o'clock yesterday
morning startled this city and country for
miles around People rushed from their
! houses, stores, workshops and factories, and
it was at first supposed that a boiler had ex-
| ploded somewhere. 1t was fully twenty
minutes before an authentic location OF the
disturbance could be had, and it was then
| learned that the Great Western Powder
| Companys dynamite factory had been
blown to atoms. The works were sit
uated on the Delaware Greek, about
half a mile above the House of Refuge
| on the Mamee Road. The buildings con-
sisted of a packing house, magazine and
stock house. and were on the crown OF q
knoll, surrounded by dense thicket The
men employed were n i. C, Clark, foreman;
| William HeightdOOn, his son Herman and
Rhineh0ld and Charles Gault. Three Of
| these were in the packing house and the re-
mafnder in the stock house. A few min
utes previous to the explosion the men in
| the packing house were heating a tub con-
tanning twenty-siX pounds of dynamite,
which was found to be too Solidly frozen to
pack, and had placed the tub too near the
| fire. Rhinehold GauIt discovered it to
| the alarm. Had he emptied the contents
the subsequent devastation would have been
| avoided. Men in the Stock-buiding heard
the alarm, but before they could get out
side the tub exploded. The conclusion fired
the magazine, containing 10000 pounds of
Great Western Powder (dynamitel, and the
explosion was terrific The StOck-building
was knocked down on the heads of the men
within, and quickly catching fire burned ali
! more or less. Young Rhnehold Gault was
nearly consumed. He was burned all over
the body, and in his suffering jumped into
the creek, from which he was rescued later.
None of the other men were injured to any
extent. Large forest trees were twisted
into serpentine shapes by the resistIess
power. Huge trees were torn out by the
roots, and small ones lodged in the
branches of others. The bark was
stripped from every tree within forty
rods, leaving them scared and black
ened. Every vestige Of fence for a
| long distance was leveled, straw and hay
stacks tumbled over, and it looked as if
terrible cyclone had passed over the place.
Buildings in a radius of half mile were
demolished, an immense ice-house was
wrecked, and one side Of the House of Ref
uge was blown over, severely injuring about
a score Of inmates.
| Broadway schoOl-hOuse two miles away
was thrown into a panic, and the children
/ rushing out crushed female janitress, who
| is not expected to live Thomas Daniels
| and family, driving a mile away were
| thrown into a ditch, and some of them may
not recover. The information that heavy
| charge of explosives was buried only few
| feet from the burning Stock-house, and was
liable to explode at any moment kept the
assembling crowds at a respectful distalGc.
| A. K. Rummel, manager Of the works, with
an escort of police, soon had the fire under
control, and when all danger was passed
the thousands poured in.
How five men could have escaped within
| fifty feet Of the terrible mine, while every
| other object for quarter of a mile about
! suffered, is most wonderful. The loss
| will be $4,000. Considerable fear is ex-
! pressed tonight that family named Henry,
| whose house was completely blown to
atoms, and who were thought to be away
| from home, have been victims. Not YES
| tige of their house is to be seen.
| CLEVELAND o., Nov. 14.-The rumble
and shock believed to have been caused by
the explosion at Toledo was probably heard
and felt yesterday morning at Leavittsburg,
distant from Toledo about one hundred and
fifty miles. Here, one hundred and twelve
miles east from Toledo, persons who OBJ
served the motion thought it was an earth
quake. At Chagrin Falls, twenty-four
miles southeast of here, it was supposed
cannon were being fired in this city over the
| election returns, and telephone inquiries
were made to ascertain what the artillery
salute signifed
GLOUCESTER, Mass, Nov. 14.-An ex-
Of
terday morning was occasioned by a spark
from the pipe of workman at the water
works falling on and exploding package
of cartridges. Three men were injured.
Considerable glass in the vicinity was
| broken