Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-12-05
SENT SKYWARD
Ton Tons Of Powder Stored Moo
Toledo, O., Ignites, and a Faar-
full Explosion Follows.
Trees Torn Up by Their Roots and
Buildings Demolished, but No
Lives are Sacrificed.
The Shock Felt at Cleveland, Detroit
and Other Points Over a HUNDRED
Miles Distant The Loss.
A PowDER-FAcToRY Exp1onrs

TOLEDO, O., Nov. IA terrific conor-
sion shortly after ten O'Clock yesterd.,.|
morning startled this city and country forI
miles around. People rushed from thoi,
houses, stores, workshops and factories ara
It was at first supposed that a boiler hat az
ploded somewhere. 1t was fully twenty
minutes before an authentic location of tba
disturbance could be had, and it was thor
learned that the Great Western Powdor
Company's dynamite factory had been
blown to atoms. The works were sir
uated on the Delaware Creek, aboul
half a mile above the House of Refur1
on the Maumee Road. The buildings con-
sisted of a packing house, magazine am
stock house, and were OH the crown of
knoll, surrounded by a dense thicket, TN
men employed were N c, Clark, foreman,
| William Heightdoon, his son Herman and
Rhinehold and Charles Gault. Three n
these were in the packing house and tile rel
mainder in the stock house. A few mini
utes previous to the explosion the men r
the packing house were heating a tub con
tanning tWenty-siX pounds of dynamita
which was found to be too solidly frozen \
pack, and had placed the tub too near tn
fire. Rhinehold Gault discovered it
be on fire IL dhastily carrying it out he CAV
the alarm. Had he emptied the content
the subsequent devastation would have bee
avoided. Men in the ~stock-building hear
the alarm, but before they could get on
side the tub exploded. The conclusion fire
the magazine, containing 10000 pounds 4
Great Western Powder (dynamite), and til
explosion was terrific. The stock-buildiu
was knocked down on the heads of the me
within, and quickly catching fire burned a
more or less. Young Rhinehold Gault WI
nearly consumed. He was burned all ov
the body, and in his suffering jumped in
the creek, from which he was rescued latd
None of the other men were injured to al
extent. Large forest trees were twist
into serpentme shapes by the resistld
power. Huge trees were torn out by t
roots, and small ones lodged in t
branches of others. The bark W
stripped from every tree within fMd
rods, leaving them SCARED and blad
ened. Every vestige Of fence for
stacks tumbled over, and it looked as
terrible cyclone had passed over the pla(
Buildings in a radius of half a mile w
demolished, an immense ice-house u
wrecked, and n side of the House of r
uge was blown over, severely injuring abb
a score of inmates.
Broadway school-house two miles aW
was thrown intQa panic, and the child
rushing out crushed a female janitress, NJ
is not expected to live. Thomas Dan
and family, driving a mile away, v
thrown into a ditch, and some of them 4
not recover. The information that a La
charge of explosives was buried only "A
feet from the burning Stock-house, and
liable to explode at any moment, kept
assembling crowds at a respectful dista4
A.. K. Rummel, manager Of the works,
all escort of police, soon had the fire UNI
control, and when all danger was pas
the thousands poured in.
How five men could have escaped wit
fifty feet of the terrible mine, while ed
other object for a quarter of a mile alb
suffered, is most wonderful. The
will be $4,000. Considerable fear is
pressed tonight that a family named lleI
whose house was completely blown
atoms, and who were thought to be az
from home, have been victims. Not a
tlge of their house is to be seen.
CLEVELAND, O., Nov. lathe run
and shock believed to have been caused
AN CNPAOoAoAl "V 4OlSNo N"o ploOtpAS ~
and felt yesterday morning at Leavittsb
distant from Toledo about one hundred
fifty miles. Here, one hundred and tw
miles east from Toledo, persons who
served the motion thought it was an CD
quake. At Chagrin Falls, twenty
miles southeast OF here, it was suppl
cannon were being fired in this city owe
election returns, and telephone inqu
were made to ascertain what the arti
salute signifed.
GLOUCESTER, Mass, Nov. 14.-An
plosion of dynamite on Willow street
terday morning was occasioned by as
from the pipe Of a workman at the W
works falling N and exploding a pac
of cartridges. Three mel were I'M
Considerable glass in the vicinity
broken.
National-Bank Charters.