The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1886-10-14
Exploded!
A Boiler at the Bolton Steel
Works Bursts
At Three O'clock This Morning,
Causing a Great Shock,
.1 s
Akin to an Earthquake---Houses
Shaken, Windows Broken.
No One Badly Hurt-MiraculOus Es-
cape of the WOrkmen.
Fraumsnts Hurled Four Hundred Feel
With Terrific Force,
Penetrating the Brick Wall OF the SAFE
Works--A Big Mass of Ruins--De-
tails Of the Occurrence, Loss,
Insurance, ETC., Etc.
No One Badly Hurt-M Miraculous Es'
cape of the WOrkmen.
Fraumsnts Hurled Four Hundred Feel
With Terrific Force,
Penetrating the Brick Wall Of the Safe
Works--A Big Mass of Ruins--De-
tails Of the Occurrence, Loss
Insurance, ETC., Etc.
From Thursday's Daily.

At 2:39 O'CLOCK THIS morning I0eLuon.o
Of the southeastern part OF tne Guy
were awakened from their slumoers Dy
loud explosion, which shook houses;
broke panes OF glass, rattled uOOrS anu
gave that portion OF the CITY llVsIy
shaking up generally. nor was tne
shock confined to the southeastern pOr" |
zion of the city, the effect being felt In
various degrees over the greater part OF
the clty. even on extreme North Market
street. The explosion was like the
laundering report Of heavy piece OF
artillery. and the first thought OF many
was that the cause Of the disturbance
was another earthquake visitation ana
manV Deople awaited a repetition OF the
shock, which, however failed to come.
The cause Of the disturbance was
BOILER EXPLOSION
at the Bolton Steel COmpany's Works,
corner Mulberry and Liberty streets.
People living near there we're almOst
thrown out of bed and the glass
names In their doors and windows were
badly shattered by the c0ncussl0n.
Within fifteen minutes after the eX-
plOsion a DEMOCRAT reporter was at the
scene. viewing the havoc and ruin
wrought. The scene was one Of terrific
destruction and impressed the beh0lder
with the awful power Of steam. The
contrast between this calm, motive
force at work driving ponderous en-
Rine and massive machinery, all at the
will of comparatively insignihcantman
and the frightful devastation 1t accom-
DIishes when beyond control ls some
thing appalling.
PEN PICTURE OF THE SIGHT.
II Ia a difficult task to describe In
words the picture Of the ruins as they
appeared, Immediately after the explOs,
sion this morning, The Bolton Steel
Company has three sets or batteries OF
boilers, one In the north end, one In the
south end and the other In the middle OF
their works. The latter is at the east
end Of the hammer department, adjacent
to the alley between the Steel Works
and the Peerless Reaper Works. This it
where the explosion occurred. The
batterv consists of six boilers
twelve feet long by afty.three inches
In diameter. The second boiler from
the north Is the one that exploded.
Wednesday night no one was at W0rE
In the hammer department but q ham
mer. man, William Marshall and his as
sistant, youth named Robert Temple
ton. 1t is fortunate that the full forct
was not employed or several lives mlgn
have been lost; as 1t was
NO ONE WAS KILLED
or seriously injured. When the ex
DIosion Occurred Marshall was sitting
In the "swinR," while TamDlet0n wa
heating the last bar to be hammered b.
them that night. The night watchman
Michael Quinlan, had just been calIet
away from the boilers TO open the gat'
and the engineer, George Schilltng, wa
at the pump which forces water Int
the tank. with which to feed the rolls
A moment before both Quinlan ant
9chilIinV were near the boilers and haC
they remained there both would haVl
heen blown into smithereens. WheI
the boiler exploded 1t literally tor
itself into pieces Alnging the fragment
in ali directions. The bulk Of 1t jump
ed about twenty feet eastward, break
ing down the alley fence and lodging
on the ground The frame structur
above fell into mass Of broken timberE
tall iron smOkestack was thrown owe
and every thing In the immediate vicl
nity was scattered to the four winds
heaven.
HURLED FOUR HUNDRED FEET.
The fence of The Peerless Reaper Com
psny was torn down, windows in tn
moIding shop broken and the san
house thoroughly wrecked. The Diebol
Safe & Lock COmpany's building 10 full
PonT hundred feet to the east, but 1t d1
mt escape. A piece of the boiler, weigh
inc perhaps four hundred pounds, wit
an iron rod attached, sailed up aga1ns
the Diebold works, breaking q hOl
eighteen inches In diameter through tn
hrick wall. Another iron rod made II
;mprint on the wall, while a heavy tim
her crushed its way through heav
wooden door. A large beam took q west
arm course and banged big dent In tn
weather boarding OF an addition
Mobiles g. SheIlock's foundry, after pass
ing through thick, woolen fence.
These damages with mass or TOT
and twisted iron, dismantled roof an
broken, angling down timbers san lro
rods are the way the hammer depart
mani spueared to the DEMOCRAT iirecti
after the explosion.
MIRACULOUS ESCAPE
Tha escape from serious Injury q
bammsrmaI, William Marshall ana hi
assiatant, Robert Templeton, Is somt
thing akin to miraculous. They wer
both on the south side of the hamme
and the falling um0or5 Gil rell on ia
north mort side; two iron pipes were ais
thrown alongside the hammer to th
north. On the south side Of the han
mar the roof caved in to the h1or, lear
in@ AGAINST the tlmbers above the han
mar. thus forming an incline, wbic
aheltered both men, who escaped wit
sIioht bruises by getting QUITE the lowe
wast entrsnce and crawling beneat
ears cara standing on the side track, adjoir
'h9 1@nnC nm" the first to arrive at the work
a,tar % the accident were Mr.. Richard
Read. who has charge of the meltin
department, % Fire Chief Piero, an
Ass;stant Louis Bum. At first II wa
fsarsd large fife would result, DU
after waiting a few minutes II wa
fonnd that 1t would be unnecessary
tuTn in an alarm, and the iDcipien
fiames were extinguished with I'd
facilities afforded by the works.
The furnace men were all at worl
and the clock In the furnac'' room Ws
stopped by the explosion; 1t marked "a
o'clock.
The actual loss will aggregate at lesl
I.NN wwhN