The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1888-05-12
rpRR1rru ExpLos1oN.


Persons Killed, Twenty wounde Eight
Houses burned and Others Dcmolished.
SHAMoKiN, Pa, May GA freight train
on tho Philadelphia and Reading railroad
was passing through Locust Gap, six miles
from this place, ut II o'clock last night,
when q car loaded with dynamite ex-
ploded, killing seven people, wounding
twenty, some seriously, burning eight
houses, leveling four more blocks to the
ground, and wrecking hundreds OF others.
The engine, drawing seventy cars, was
running down the grade at q rapid rate to
make q siding one mile west Of the gap to
allow the Philadelphia fast line south the
right Of way. The engineer slowed up
when in the gap, but the cars had attained
such momentum that he was obliged to
run fast to keep the tank from being
bumped: the head of steam was too much
for the couplings, and the seventh car from
the locomotive broke loose. The engine
was stopped to make new coupling,
when the broken train met with shock
sufficient 10 explode the dynamite. The
force Of the explosion shook the ground
for twenty miles around, wreclsing many
houses in Mount Carmel and the neighbor-
hood. The train-men, aided by the horror
stricken inhabitants, rushed to the rescue,
and succeeded in saving many lives from
the burning buildings. OF the dead moth
ing romans but few charred chips of
bones found in the ruins. A number OF
the wounded have been taken to the
Miners Hospital. The Reading railroad
track at the point OF the accident,
just at the extreme western end
of the town, is about two hundred
feet above the level of the street,
and runs along side of the mountain; at
about this distance below the road there
is street containing one single dwelling
on the north side and three double ones on
the south. OF these seven nothing now
remains; they were completely torn down
by the explosion, and then fire did the
rest. 1t was in these that ali the deaths
occurred. Mr.. and Mrs. Kerwich, who
lost their three children, had miracu.
lous escape. The man was blown out Of
the window and only slightly injured. He
then got his sick wife out of the burning
building, and afterward rescued several of
his neighbors' children which, in his dazed
condition, he believed his own. About a
hundred yards below these buildings is
another row of four double houses. These
are terribly demolished, but fire was ar
IcStCu Oy Uuo VI UhS oWoAiCio .
in extinguishing tho burning coal of the
stoves. On the same street. some three
hundred yards east, stand nine more
houses, a row of four double and one sin
gle. While not SO entirely demolished,
they, too, show plain evidence of the de-
structive force of the explosion. Boards
are torn out, roofs caved in, and the inte-
riors are simply masses of wrecked furni-
ture. So great was the upward force Of
the exploding powder that car wheels
and axles were thrown a distance of
two hundred yards. One axle fell through
the roof of one of the houses on the
lower street. On the hill above traces of
the debris may be found a quarter Of q
mile away, while between that distance
and the wreck there are quantities of the
debris of the cars. The wrecked train, in
addition to the cars Of powder and dyna-
mite, was freighted with Singer sewing
machines, glass, phosphate, oil, lumber,
-four and sheet iron. Within radius of
sixty feet there is perfect litter Of these
goods, all broken and piled up Trees near
the train were uprooted, while one large
one was blown on top of freight car. The
lumber car was loaded with flooring, and
where this was blown up the hill many of
the long pieces are stuck in the ground.
Beneath the wrecked train there is large
hole about fifteen feet in diameter, the
work Of the dynamite.