Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-10-08

The most wonderful tale OF the
Arabian Nights OF of Baron Mllnchausen
would have been more readily:beieNcd
hundred years ago than the story that
little 12-year-old Mary Newton by
merely pressing her finger upon but
ton, caused an explosion of such Gigantic
force that it tore the solid rock bottom.
\ the reef. and islands Of great river to
pieces Not only is this a perfectly
true statement but everybody believes
it, and accepts it as matter of fact;
for so many wonderful things happen
nowadays, that people are inclined to
| think that everything is possible, in
stead of doubling everything, rs they
used to. SO when they are told that a
touch of Mary Newton's finger caused
the greatest explosion ever produced
through human agency, they say, ooh,
yes; electricity, of course" and never
for moment question the fact that the
little girl has done this wonderful thing,
but only inquire how she looks and acts,
and if she is not very proud of being so
famous.
The way it all happened was this.
For a very long time, ever since the
Dutch settled New York, great num-
Der of vessels have been wrecked and
lost each year on the rocks of He'll
Gate, through which all vessels must
pass to get from East River out into
Long Island Sound In this narrow
passage were quantities of reefs and
rocks, bearing such names as Hallet's
Reef Middle Reef, Flood Rock, the
Pot, Gridiron, Hen and Chickens
Niger Head, Frying pan. etc. Over
and around these the tides rushed and
boiled with such terrible fury that the
chances were greatly against vessel
passing them in safety, and all the mar
iners of those waters dreaded He'll
Gate more than any other place.
About thirty years ago the United
States government undertook to clear
away these reefs and rocks, and thus to
make He'll Gate as safe as any other
part of the East River. The Govern
ment engineers blasted away number
of rocks, and finally dug great mine
down under Hallet's Reef. It took
three years to dig this; but finally they
had it finished, and packed away in it
$4,000 pounds, in dynamite and other
terrible explosives. When the mine
was ready to fire, they led slender
wire from it to an electric battery half a
mile away, and there Gen. John New
ton, the engineer having charge of the
work, held the hand of his baby daugh-
ter Mary: and showed her how to press
the button that sent the electric spark
flying down through the water, and ex-
ploded the whole $4,000 pounds of
dynamite at once, tearing the reef into
small bits.
This was nine years ago, in 1876, and
as soon as Hallctt's Reef was thus blown
out Of existence, the engineers began
to plan the fate for Middle Reef, of
which Flood Rock was the most prom
inent point. Here they dug an i'm
mense mine down beneath the bottom
of the river, and in it they placed
nearly 100000 pounds Of explosives, OF
almost six times the quantity they had
used before. On the 10th of October,
when all was ready, immense throngs
of people assembled to witness the
great explosion, and out from among
them all stepped little Mary Newton,
when her father called her, to fire the
mine. She was no longer baby, but
a bright little girl about - years old,
with very fair complexion, blue eyes,
and long light hair falling over hel
shoulders
1t was not necessary for anybody tc
guide her hand this time, for she
stepped right up to the little telegraph
instrument, and when the word "Now!'
was given, she pressed the key, and
presto, away went mountains of rock
and water, flying slsy-high with great
terrible roar. and the worst reef OF
He'll Gate was torn into million
pieces.
The mine that was blown up by this
awful explosion extended beneath nine
acres OF the rivers bottom. Get some
body to show you field, or better still
o pond that covers nine acres, and Their
imagine it all flying hundreds of feet
up in the air at once. The galleries
that ran to every part of it, and were
cut ont of the hardest kind of rock
would have been four miles long if they
had been strung along in straight
line.