New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-10-01
FOUR MEN BLOWN TO ATOMS.
DYNAMITE EXPLOSION AT BAY CHESTER

Two hundred yards from the bay Cnester
station on the Harlem River branch OF the New Haven
Railroad stand the OF the Dttmar Powder Manu-
featuring Company They hardly deserve to be called
works." for they consist only OF q few shantIes in
which dynamite is manufactured Oy force OF workmen
varying In number from I've TO twenty-five according
TO the demands OF customers. One OF the snanties,
which used mixing and packing house,
blown to atoms yesterday morning by the 900
pounds OF dynamite which in the building and the
four men who were at work there-the whole force at
present employed by the company excepting foreman
were reduced TO charred and unrecognizabe bits OF
flesh and bone When all OF these fragments that could
be found had gathered together they filled four or
five of the small wooden boxes In which the dynamite Is
packed and placed in cellar where the explosive
Is kept awaiting shipment The OF the ex-
ploson Is the Victims the only persons
who could have told how Ii happened
Just above tho railroad bridge that Pelham
Bay old wooden pier juts into the water. The
pier IS in tuble-down condition like every thing else
| connected with the works OF tho Dittmar Company.
From the pier roadway, full OF ruts and stones leads
the slope from into the country On ethor
side OF this road the buildings OF the company First
the left, Is the house where the ntrogycerine is
made It is built OF rough boards and looks II
new, for the house which formerly stood there was
blown up ast winter and Heinrich Nieman blown
with It. 1t brought out at the time that Nieman
found difficulty in opening faucet whence one "f the
ingredients o, the ntro-glycerne should flow. The
took hammer and hit the faucet to open it. That blow
caused the explosion Just beyond the nitro ycerine
house and on the sle of tha road isthe engine
house In front or 1t AMI around 1t lie all sorts or
deDrsod Wheels pieces Of iron pipe, bolts and nuts
every thing that is found about dapIdated and halt
dismantled machine shop. The mixing and packing
house hundred yards further up the slope, the
opposite side of road. 1t one-storg building
about twenty by thirty tut OF boards and covered
with tarreJ 1t here that the explosion
yesterday There other sheds and shanes
aboit the grounds, all unsubstautia frame. buildings.
Tue foreman in charge OF these " works is Maz
Krueeer. He is a German aud lives with his wife at
Westchester. He has been engaged, In one way or
another In tho manufacture OF dynamite for fourteen
years. Under his directions worked the four men who
blown yesterday. They were Ernest Drain,
age thlrty-sight; John Roescn, twenty-five; Max
Trachbrodt age twentytwo aud Ernest Reinhardt age
twenty-five. They were all Germans and all unmarried
except Dran wife AMI children in Hamburg
Roesch from Brunswick and had some friends in
Chicago Nobody knows anythingabout tue other men
They seem to homeless and frlendless and
there nobody left for them except pool Max
$50 everybody calls hm). the foreman, aud his wife,
These pcop took paerna interest in tho four
lads who worked under them They good fell
lows" said Max; not a druakard among them"
Tho four workmen kept bachelors hall In little
sbanty not fur from the mixnghouse. Like all the
other buildings on the grounds vas or PLAIN boards,
covered with led canvas All their household utensils
yesterday afternoon, Just the men
had when they went to work. except that the
| SHOCK OF the explosion had broken the windows ana
board walls were covered with prints Illus
tratsi papers. little cooking stove some common
plates pack OF cards on the table, and bg cardDoard
box full OF cnesp smoking tobacco. Another room was
sleeping room with little hunks along the walls
The coarse clothes OF the wOrEingmen scattered
about ordinary lantern the only source or light,
stood nbon deal table these four men were true 70
Httel up arbor with tables ana chairs, where they they
| by was "a little nowsr gaIden not more tnan dozou
: Zee, lang and halt vide. with few SIMPLE flowers,
Tue men went 10 work Yesterday at a. M. As the
16shnent ls Ouly small One, the whole force s
employed IN making ntrO-gly cerlne llntil shcleht
quantity ready Tor mixing with the absorbents which
ntro-glycerne house, 20 work tho mixing and
lacking nou.e TIE nitro eycerlne Is mixed III large
| 1.ri,v tvervrnine went on gnieIy until ne.giy 10
| O'Clock. ywo mcn mixing; one packing the
dynamite, and preparing the cartridges AT 10
inmates before 10 Max, the foreman, heard somebody
shooting wo dis Just back OF the house That was
dangerous tue Delghhornood OF dy uamte factory
| ana Max went ont to mud tho hunters. lie found a
cou le of young shooting squirrels and threatened
them with ii tney did not seek other hunting
grounds. They answered saucily Aud he lett them lie
had not gone far before the explosion ca,ue II diln;
whizzDg and whrling or thugs nylng through inc
air. Tnen there same 6''eE cloud anL ia the middle
young men continued to shoot after he warned Them,
| aud tnat stray bullet or buckshot passed through
window % the mixing house and fell snong the dyua
mite Ihls Is tue only Theory oil Tue explosion tha Was
advanced although ordinary blrdshot cartridges
VIII, Soy that these cartridges being prepared
the mixing ROOM II such cartridge lad iallen and
inside the o,ildine ana were there Only because the
firm formerly manufactured sporting goods
rnefe were loo osn|s OF dyn"s ~ the nxi9s
completely demolished. Sctniuc was left to mark
the spot ii had stood except hole about two feet
deep. li.te bank OF finely powdered black earth
surrounded hole and tho grass within radius OF
nty yars srewn with tieccs of iror piIe and bits
of human flesh. All The less substantial parts OF the
building had completely disappeared. The trees near
the hulldng whltoned AMI Que had been ;orn ul
The little sheds and santies near by were completely
| wrecKel The SIDE Of the engine house whcn faced
the Atloson was completely stove IN ana the ma
ioe OF glass left III the Bay Chester railway
station and it reported tIat ceiling was cracked
at wcst Farms. some miles distant Tne noise OF tue
explosion distinctly heard at the Harlem River,
docked to the scene from the village. Tue nrst tnlue
to be collect tht fragments of the bodies 0f
The all day. aud n the AFTERNOON
they would still from time to time ind stray thumb
decided TO hold tho inquest to-nght lie mas ons iist
OF witnesses to he suDPenacd and intends To make the
investigation rs thorough as possible. .
The Dlttinar PO wIer Manufacturing Company IL an
other maine or the firm of Dttnsr, Hexer CO.. which
uniiI recently had an Office at No II wast. The Office
OF the concern Is now at No. l,o42 Madison a. "
| Dittmar was on tho eround yesterday. lie could net
account for the explosion in any way unless & tae n men
| themselves had een careless. on not AFRAID 10 &c
| into the mixing house." he said, aud often do 90 IN
1aa %ork there WIN Topss y Kari 1G ptSar
one OF tho rst eKperiinenters with Iy nalte me con
Germ first used the plant at Bay Chester 10 lsal DIT
soon removed 70 acory Under ng Eh 80 Rav theep
and has had its works there since. Before 1881 tue
works we're used by The Neptune Company, which also
manufa tursd dc Mantle Dittmar, Hextor X Co. have
contract with OBI,en Clark the aqucduct contrac
tors, to supply dynamite for use in The tunnels Ihe
however, under OIirleD CLARK refuse
to accept the Dtnar dynamite. because they fnd some
fault with preparation. The company Is not there
fore, present supplying explosives fur on the
aqueduct and the matter is III litigation The capacity
OF the works Is about 900 pound. day Mr Dttmar MAJ
estimates the loss by the explosion at ~ 1000 or $1,000
| ON which thrre Is insurance
| BRIDGEPoRT SEPT. 3O.-A severe shock supposed 1t
first be earthquake felt here at o. 81 g. IN TO-
day Buildings were severely shaken in the western
| part OF the city and the people in them were badly
frightened In one house lamp was thrown from the
mautepiece aud broken. Many persons thought that
Wggnss catacysm predicted for yesterday had como
day late. As far DO learned no particular dam
age done
| NYACk sent 80 (speial-A heavy shock like that OF