The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1884-05-24
4 TiekIlsh Job OF Carpeutering.
A Fireman Opens ~ Internal Machine Lsf.
Ay tAs DYnani.sr. HisA.

ielt uy the aliegcu ulhainlter, ma
than Il. Fish, says the New York
Herald, were two smaller boxes
and a card bearing the following
blood csrdIing inscription: "Sure
death to any one who opens this
bOx.' One of these boxes was
opened the other day aud found
to contain a revolver and half a
pound of powder. The other was
left undisturbed until yesterday.
Policemen looked at the undis.
turbed box, shrugged their shoul-
ders aud turned away. Firemen |
did likewise, and the mysterious |
box remained unopened in the eel.
lar of the engine house at the cor |
ner of Center and Chambers
streets, over which Battalion Chief
Mahadey has his headquarters.
BY many Of the fremen about tho
building the box had been forgot
ten. Sufficient unto the day is
the danger thereof, is the iireman's
motto, and the men rolled out
with their machines and returned
begrimmed, little thinking, after
the first few hours, of either Fish,
the box Of explosives, or the mys.
terry surrounding the affair. En-.
gineer Charles q. Paul, of engine
No. Z, was tho exception among
his comrades. lie had not forgot.
ten that the box was in the cellar,
and believing II contained some.
thing destructive, determined TO
open IL. ~ took II for all II was
worth,n he said, "and meant to do
my best to remove the danger, as
believed II was dangerous"
Paul did not ask for assistance.
II was an occasion in which vol.
unteers were not needed. lie felt
ut the same time that his expert.
ence of four years as o light artil-
leryman in the war and subsequent
service in the arsenal at Washing
ton might prove advantageous,
and II did. II made him proceed
with caution and use judgment in
his work.
Removing the string and paper
he found q starch box about elev.
en- inches long, seven inches wide
and three inches deep. 1t had the
ordinary sliding cover. II there
was any danger at all within, Paul
felt that II would be unwise TO re-
move the cover, as he had before
seen such contrivance, and he re-
mcmbered the sand paper, the sui
phur fuse, and other little arrange
ments used to explode deadly
agents. Leaving the cover undis
turbcd, he directed his attention
to .he side Of tho box. With his
pocket knife lie cut o small piece
ont of one end and then looked in
A small pistol was seen. Where
; there was q pistol he was sur,
there was something worse, so HI
cut more of the box away, and thu
entire inside was visible. An in
fernal machine, indeed, was in hil
hands. Besides the pistol thcr,
, was q cartridge, supposed to be 0
} dynamite, and the whole was 81
J adjusted that with the removal o
the cover there would doubles
, have been an explosion tina
would have scattered death an'
2 destruction about tho promises
On the under side of the cove
Q was fastened a thin strip of wood
> in which was cut slot, and wa
} firmly secured By strong thread
The pistol contained an explosiv
0 cap, and In the barrel was Cal
8 fridge without ball. The muzzl
1 of the pistol rested against the dy
: Mantle cartridge, the latter weigh
ing nearly half a pound, and beinI
: broken in half to allow its beinI
Q placed In the box. Paul immed
! ately removed the dynamite cal
: fridge, and then cut away one sid
!, Of the slot in the wood fastene
= to the cover, and took out the pii
. tol. Without delay he carrie
box and contents to Chief Maht
sIdy, who looked at them with al
tons iment, and told Paul to leav
: them with him. Before doing sc
g however, Paul went into the CO
4 lar and fred off his pistol. TIL
report was loud enough to b
J. heard upstairs. This clears ava
n the mystery surrounding the littl
j. box which alarmed so many pei
y SONS, but what Fish intended t
do with it will probably never b
Q explained.