Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-10-01
MEN BLOWN TO ATOMS
THE TERRIFIC EXPLOSION OF ANEW YORK
POWDER MILL.
Four Men Blown Completely to Fragments in an In
stant-A GhaSay Sight-Ths Building Reduced
To Splmtrs--TwO Hunters Charged
With Causing the Horror.

OW-ON-THE-SOJND, ". l., ceP-
tember 3O.-A terrific explosion occurred
at the Ditmar Powder Works, Bay Ches-
ter, on the Harlem river branch of the
New York and New Haven Railroad, about
10 o'clock this morning resulting in the
instantaneous death of four men employed
in the factory. The explosion occurred in
the packing house, a one story frame
building 2Ox30 feet, in the center of the
grounds, and about two hundred yards
from the main factory, a large building
near the water, where the bulk of the
giant powder and nitrO-glycerine used in
the new Aqueduct works is manufactured.
The men were hard at work in putting up
and packing cartridges when suddenly the
explosion occurred, shattering the build
ing to splinters and blowing the four men
to fragments. The exploding powder, OF
which there was large quantity, shot up
into the air as high as fifty feet and splint-
ers of the building were blown over a mile
distant
THE VICTIMS TORN To PIECES.
The names of the men killed are as fol-
lows:
ERNE EST DRALEN.
JOHN RUsCH.
MAX SHAFBOLT.
Mr.. REINHART.
Nothing was left of them but the frag-
ments of their bodies. Their hands, legs,
feet, arms, pieces of skulls, backbones
and charred bits of flesh were scattered in
every direction from five hundred to six
hundred feet from the packing house.
CUAsE OF THE DISASTER.
Max Cruger, foreman at the works,
says the explosion was caused by two
men shooting into the building. He was
in the packing house at the time, and
going out found two men who said they
were shooting squirrels. He says he
threatened them with arrest, and they
then became impudent. As the explosion
occurred the men were seen hurrying
away.
X. II. Stansfield, superintendent Of the
ThOrite Powder Company, near by, picked
up box full OF fragments of the dead
men, and Others assisted in the work and
the remains were all put in heap to await
the Coroner'S arrival. One of the dead
men leaves q family in Germany. The
others were single. Their clothing was
burned to shreds. The main factory of the
Ditmar works was nearly wrecked. One
end was nearly blown to pifces, exposing
the interior After the explosion the low
er timbers of the building took fire and
burned fiercely. A large trey' near by was
torn up by the roots and branches Of other
trees were blown away. The ground
around for half a mile waa strewn with
fragments of the dead, splinter, packing
paper, etc.
THE VIOLENCE OF THE EXPLOSION
shook houses in Barlow. aCrcSS the creek
from Bay Chester. Many windows in
John EllOtt's Bayview HOt,l, ut Pelham
Bridge. over a mile away, wCrc shattered.
Thomas DinwOOdie's blacksmith shop, ut
West Chester, was shaken violently and
windows in many houses in the same viii
lage were broken. This is The second eX-
plOSiOn that has occurred to these works
this year. The one last wint'r blew man
to fragments The remains OF the men
killed to-day could not q recognized.
Many persons living miles away drove
hurredly to the scene and some of them
helped to gather together TIE fragments
of the dead men. The windows, saShes
aud doors in the railroad station at Bay
Chester, not far from the powder works,
were blown to fragments, :nd the win
dows in other houses were d. damaged, but
no one outside the factory was hurt.