Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-09-03
TILE NEwS IN RRLEE.
Terrific Porder Will Explosion sc Chit
cage.

In the twinkling Of an eye Latin a.
Rind's powder magazine, In the outskirts Of
Chicago was last Sunday morning swept
away from the face Of the earth by bolt of
lightning and a consequent explosion OF pow
der aud dynamite. One person was killed
outright, four were fatally injured, q large
number were more or loss seriously bruised
and cut, and great amount OF damage was
done in the vicinity and in Chicago Nearly
100 600 pounds Of powder and dynamite
were exploded, and the conclusion was no
great that everything in the neghborhood
was either leveled to the ground or rddled
with flying stones and timbers People 20
to 30 miles away felt the shock and thought
il was an earthquake. For half mile around
the magazine the scene il one Of desOation
and destruction, and not building within
mile Of the magazine escaped damage.
The only person who has been found that
really saw the explosion thus describes IL
~ was walking towards J Jhn lungs house,
holding an umbrella over my head. | was
on the Archer road little over an eighth of
mile away from Llhin Il Rtnd's powder
house and happened to be looking at It.
long zigzag streak Of lightning darted across
the sky and then fiery liue came down aud
struck fairly on the powder house. In the
little time that elapsed between the fash aud
the explosion l realized that something was
swept away like mist | saw the bricks and
stones Of the powder house suddenly dsap-
pear in the earth. The ground shook be-
meath my feet aud | clutched at the swaving
fence near me. A deep rumbng noise filled
my ears, aud tbs next instant a stream of fire
shot into the air like the pictures l have Of
ten seen Of Mt N5suvius. | knew no more
for at least ten minutes. My umbrella was
snatch d out of my grasp, and was thrown
] init thn tfgh I a
ness l saw that stones aud bricks had fallen
all around me. None struck me, however"
Flooded by an Arteuian Well.
A Chicago despatch of the 3lst ult tells
this story of the remarkable hJw of an arte.
sian well: despatch received at the city
hall this afternoon FROM the mayor of Belle
| Paine, Iowa, states that an artesian well four
inches in diameter burst when the depth Of
$50 feet had been reached in boring, and in
stantly a volume OF water was forced several
hun ired feet into the air. This gradually in
creased in size aud volume until stream fully
! sixteen inches in diameter was formed the
upward force of which IN Equal to the power
of powder or dynamite. The water in huge
volumes il spouting high in the air, and the
supply seems inexhaustible. Two rivers have
been formed by this phenomenal water burst,
vii ch are running through the town at the
rate Of twelve miles an hour and carrying
everything before them Houses aud lives
are threatened and the citizens are appalled,
at their impending danger, which at present
they are powerless to overcome. Finding it
impossible to divert this damaging flood an
attempt WAS made to insert sixteeu-inc boiler
iron tubes into the we'll, but these were in
stantly b'oSn high into the air. The terrified
p ople then attempted to fill up the aperture
with fifteen carloads of stone, but these were
forced upward as though propelled by the
force of giant powder. Bags of sand, hastily
constructed aud thrown into the well, were a.
so hurled into the air. The Chicago and
Northwestern railroad sent large gang of
men to the rescue, and the bridge gang Of the
county WAS called upon, but up to this even
ing no abatement in the How of water was
perceptible, and the rushing rivers were wash
ing their channels deeper and wider, while
the basin formed was spreading over the low
lands in the vicinity. The Mayor Of Belle
Paine finally telegraphed to Chicago for the
best engineers that could be secured to come
Immediately to the spot and use their skill
and energy in attempting to stop this perilous
] a.