Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-04-08
SALT LAKE DYNAMITERS.
A Plot to Blow Up the Ryman
Block Carried Almost
to Completion.

The dynamite sensation has at last
reached Salt Lake. This morning about
8 o'clock. one of the employees of New
comb, the photographer, in ascending
the stairs of the Ryman Block, in which
the photograph gallery is located, Stun
bled against wood box which had orig
inally contained 20 pounds OF sperm can
dies The peculiar appearance OF the
lid and especially the presence of sig
nifcant hole, burnt black for several
inches around it, aroused the young
mans curiosity and he at once called the
attention of Mr.. Andrews, the auctioneer,
to it-Mr. Andrews being in his room at
the head of the stairs. The lid was
forced off carefully and the box was
found to contain an apparently perfect
dynamite preparation A three-pound
lard bucket was placed in one
end of the box filled with
some explosive substance which was
faced with sulphur, and out of this pro-
truded an ordinary candle with the tip
blackened and burnt in manner that
told positively of its having been lighted.
The can was surrounded and held firmly
in it's position by quantity of splinters
and strips of paper, all of (which had been
thoroughly saturated with kerosene.
Much of the upper portion of these filings
were scorched, and one or two of the
chips quite blackened from fire. The
preparations for the exploding of the in
fernal thing had evidently been made
with the greatest possible care, but
whether from the fact of the kerosene
becoming cold it had failed to ignite, or
whether from some other cause the ex-
plosion had been prevented, it is impos-
sible to determine Certain it is that
what now appears to have been tho
merest accident saved, according to
the views of those who have examined
the diabolical continuance, the direst
destruction of property and perhaps life
too, in the building. It had been placed
half way UP the stairway leading to
Photographic studio and the
various private rooms adjoining it; and
if fire had. once got fair start it would
have been hastily waited over the entire
interior of the second floor, by the power
full draft coming up the stairway The
rooms Immediately over the stairs are
by. Mr.. Andrews, and Mr..
Durgin, as sleeping apartments, and the
third floor is used as club hall
Some initials were discovered on the
inside of the box-lid, from which Mr..
Andrews believed he could trace clue,
md he at once set out to accomplish the
work. The matter was placed in the
handsyeof Marshal Ireland with several
significant pointers which are necessarily
from the public for the pre- sent, !
md hopes are entertained of having the
Whole plot unearthed within very few \
hours. Mr.. Andrews suspects that he was ]
he special object of the fendish scheme +
md mentions as strangely coincidental to F
his the fact that he was notified a dav a
n two ago that there was a gun at the
xpress office for him, from Idaho. He
i'd not take the gun out for the same
easons that lead him to suspect certain
arties of this second plot against his
fe, and it therefore still remains at the =
xpress Office.
The matter is in good hands and the
equel will be awaited with considerable
interest by Mr.. Andrews, his friends and l
he public.