Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1886-06-03
EXPLOSION OF BOMBS.
INSPECTOR BoNFIELD MAKES
EXPERIMENTS.
A Composition of sawdust, Nitro o-GIycer-
Inc and Stones.

CHICAGO, May 25.-Inspector Bonfleld
unloaded one of the thirty.twc gas-pipe
bombs found Sunday on Robey street
yesterday afternoon. After the wooden
plugs had been removed from the ends of
the pipe large quantity of fine sawdust
rolled out upon the table. "This saw
dust" said the inspector, was saturated
with nitro. glyccrine and occupied about
three inches of space In this so-called
bomb. When all of the explosive mate
rial had been removed dozen stones roll
ed out upon the table. They were such
stones as might be picked up on the lake
beach. and ranged in size from small
pea to large bean. They were nearly
oval and remarkably white. The pipe it.
self was about eight inches long, and the
wooden plug at one end was put with a
Illuminating cap or detonator about the
size of % caliber cartridge Ahole had
been made in the centre Of the peg, and
running out of the orifice was fuse six
inches long. This so-called dynamite or
glyceline is Of home manufacture. The
dynamite sold in the stores is mixed with
clay, and has the appearance and consist
ence of putty. The dynamite found in
the bomb opened was very bright in
color, and looked like New Orleans Sugar.
II Is nothing more or less than very fine
sawdust saturated with nitro. .glyecrine.
In order to discover the destructive force
OF these bombs, carried two of them to
the prarie near Humbolt park and fired
them The first experiment was made at
2o'clock. Iplaced one of the bombs
under bowlder weighing about 800
pounds and then ignited the fuse. We
ran some distance away and awaited the
explosion. We had barely stopped run.
ming when a dull roar greeted our ears,
and turning round saw the great rock in
mid air and enveloped in cloud of white
smoke. The bowlder must have been
lifted fully four feet from its resting
place, but, strange TO relate not an inch Of
its rugged surface had been Clipped by
the eruption.
1--WE then moved the stone to one side
and searched for the bomb. A huge hole
had been torn in the ground by the ex-
plosion, and in this crater-like basin we
found fragments of the pipe buried in
many instances at a depth Of two feet.
This discovery explodes the theory which
many people have held, that the missiles
placed in the bomb are discharged from
the end at which the Illuminating cap is
attached, thus leaving the pipe intact.
The bomb we exploded was torn into
fragments, many of the pieces resembling
| jagged peanut shells. The terrible
wounds such missile would inflict If
thrown ihthc midst of a body of men
may bo imagined. We then buried an.
other bomb of the same description at a
depth of ten or twelve inches and placed
the bowlder upon it. The explosion hurl-
sd the stone several feet away and filled
the air with turf. Investigation revealed
the fact that the pipe had suffered the
fate of its predecessor, fragments of iron
being found two feet below the surface of
the ground. OF all the devilish contriy
ances for taking human life think the
gas pipe bombs are the most to be feared
Men could carry them about in their
pockets without exciting the least suspic
ion, and have no doubt that there were
lots Of them hidden in the pockets of the
anarchists who attended the Haymarket
meeting. To show you the danger at
tending the wholesale concealment of
these internal missiles, it is only necessa
ry to say that over score of children
were nearly blown to atoms YES
terday by a bomb similar to the ones 1 ex
ploded during the afternoon. The urchins
found the missile under sidewalk on the
Bloomingdale road, and, thinking it some
sort of a firecracker, tried to explode it
with matches. Happily the fuse had be
come detached from the detonator, thus
making 1t impossible to discharge the
the load penned up in the pipe. The
bomb was seized by an officer and taken
to the west Chicago avenue station.