The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-12-20
WHAT1s ITS POWER?
The Mystery of itro-Glycerine CUES
toned by the Strange Case OF Doc
Eaggerty.

| The Mystery of Nitro Glycerine CUES
toned by the Strange Case Of Doc
Haggerty.
From the EeU York Sun.
PLKAsASTvILLE, Pa, Dec. IA Doc"
Haggerty. the teanster for Oil Operator
| Van Welt. who has not been seen since the
explosion, a few days ago, Of the nitro gly-
cerine Wagon ne was driving, and who his
family and friends have the best Of reasons
10 believe was blown TO fragments in the
explosion, had an insurance Of 5000 on his
life Only pound or 50 Of flesh supposed
10 have belonged 10 Hsggerty's body
could be found after the explosion,
The Insurance company, charging thar
the flesh thus recovered and buried was not
Haggerty's, and that ne could not have
been 50 nearly annihilated By the ex-
plosion. and that he IS not dead, refuse 20
pay the claim Of his family for the auaOuat
Of the policy on bis lIte. The company
allege that an explosion 50 utterly de-
structive 10 human flesh is without pre-
cedent in the oil regions. Nevertheless, Of
the horses Haggerty was driving only
small portions could be found; the wood
and iron work OF the wagon were almost
entirely annihiated, and the nitro-glycerine
safe was as utterly removed from human
sigat rs il it had never been formed.
This mysterious ami .ilative power Of
nitro glycerine, especially in regard 70 the
human body, is a fact tnat has puzzled ali
VINO have uad anything 70 40 with the ex-
ploslve ever since 1t was first introduced in
the oil regions. Many terrible instances OF
this power Of nitrO-gycerI1e have been re-
called by this question raised over the case
If Doc Haggerty Among them is that of
man named Henry France. He drove
nitro-glyceriRe wagon in the KinZua dis
trict. An explosion occurred on his wagon
one day All that was found OF France
was one knee cap. Tat was 300 feet from
the great hole in the road made By the ex-
plosion. His watch hung on limb near
where the knee cap was found. The right
hind leg Of one horse and the tai Of the
other were all that remained of the team,
and one wagon tire, 300 feet from the rest
Of the explosion, in different directions,
represented all that was discovered of the
wagon.
Another instance Of nitro-glycerine's
annihilative force was given at Red Rock,
man named Dolan was carrying two or
three cans of nitro-glyceIine through that
oil town in a bag that he mad slung over his
shoulder He stumbled and fell The cans
struck on q rock with force enough TO ex-
plods them. Several houses we're demol-
ished. Dolan weighed 200 pounds. A part
Of one foot, weighing less than one pound,
was all IUab Ine IDC,J JuOTOuEH SEARCH cOuIQ
recover Of all that 200 pounds. About the
same time Charles Berridge, a prominent
oil operator of the Allegheny field, was
blown up by nitro-glycerine. 1t was in a
narrow gulch, between two high and abrupt
hills. The ground vas covered with new
fallen snow. Berridge was a popular man.
and particular pains were taken to search
closely and thoroughly for his remains. A
search far and vide, up and
down the gulch, aud up and down the steep
hills, resulted in recovering so small a
quantity of his remains that the coffin in
which they were borne to the grave, con-
tents and all, weighed less than 10 pounds.
Berridge was a man over 6 feet tall, and he
weighed $50 pounds. A mysterious action
of the explosive was noticed in this in
stance All that were found of Berridge's
remains were above the spot where The ex-
plosion occurred, showing that the force of
the explosion was upward. Nothing from
that shattered body, neither OF blood or
flesh, fell back upon the snow for its sur
face was as spotless as it had been before
the explosion. Many other cases are re-
ferred to now TO show that the circnm-
stances connected with the almost utter
annihilation Of Doc Haggerty are not new.
II the case gets into the courts it is expected
that much light will be thrown on the mys-
terious power of nitro-glycerine through
the testimony of scientific witnesses.