St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-23
WITH AWFUL EFFECT.
Explosion Of Dynamite With
Frightful Force at Duluth
Yesterday Morning.
Four Men Die From Their IN
jurieS and Several Others
Badly Mangled.
Foreman Lumborg Arrested
on the Charge Of Crimi-
nal Negligence.
Story of the Terrible Accident
Interviews With Vari-
Gus People.
Special to the Globe

the neighbOrhood of Fourth street, Sixth
and Seventh avenues west, were startled
by the quivering of their houses, as
though disturbed by an earthquake
shock, followed Immediately by loud
explosion that could be heard half a
mile. The affrighted people rushed to
their doors, and saw cloud of smoke
arising from the debris where had been
working about fifty men blasting rock
cut through the Fourth street extension.
AS the smoke cleared away a narrowing
sight met the eye. About twenty men
lay about the street, some unconscious,
and others crying in mortal agony. while
still others made futile efforts to rise to
their feet and escape-they knew not
what. 1t was premature explosion of
dynamite. Following is list of
THE KILLED.:
ANDREW DAHL, aged twenty-five; skull
fractured; died at $50 a. m.
AARON ERICKSON, aged thirty-three: in
juries internal; died at IL a. m.
ANDREW ECKLUND, aged twenty-four;
leg broken and head and back hurt; died at
p. m.
both legs broken, breast bone broken and
side of head cut; died at p. m.
All of the killed were young men
without families.
THE SERIOUSLY INJURED ARE:
JACOB Nils, back and head cut, and in
jured about the body.
CHARLES MATTIsoN, compound fracture of
the left leg.
FRED EoKLAND, aged twenty-five, face and
back hurt.
A. ORDLNG, head, legs and ribs bruised
L.. ANDERSON, aged twenty-seyen, head and
n hrIr viii fron r.1.r h0h hlx- Il
AT THE HOSPITAL.
Six of the injured men, including
Dahl, were taken to st. Luke'S hospital,
and received every attention from the
nurses and physicians in charge. A re-
porter found his way to the room of
Erick MatteSOn in the hospital. The
poor fellow had both legs broken, breast
bone broken, and was suffering from
several other cuts and bruises. Fred
Eckland, another man less injured,
stood by MattesOn's side. The reporter,
thinking MatteSOn was unconscious on
account of his great Injuries, said to
Eckland: "That poor fellows badly
hurt" To every ones surprise, Matte
son groaned aloud, turned over on his
side a little and said: ''Yes, Pm all
broken to pieces" One of the more
fortunate of the employees said to re-
porter: 1.-THE first thing l knew l heard
a great explosion and saw the men
mining from that corner where the blast
went off. The smoke went up and then
we saw the poor fellows lying about the
rock and mud. There were at least
twenty men lying down on the ground.
and about ten were getting up when l
saw them. Others had their eyes filled
with dirt, and were cropping on their
hands and knees. Six of them we had
to carry to a sleigh and bring to st.
Luke's hospital. 1 never want to see
so fearful sight again. Otto Erick-
son. very intelligent appearing man,
who has charge of the derrickS, on the
entire contract, talked freely. He said:
''The foreman ought to be arrested. It's
pure carelesSneSS; it's worse than that;
that the blast was first put in and
touched off.
IT IiXPLODED,
but only partially, and the foreman
must have known it. Two men, who are
familiar with blasting, would not touch
it, but this morning two green men
went to work on it with the horrible
ruSult that you see."
gangs of men, about 125 in all, who
work on Fourth street. On Friday last
a hole was drilled eighteen feet deep
and charged with twenty-five dynamite
cartridges, making nearly fifteen
pounds of dynamite. On Saturday
evening this charge was exploded to
all appearances. 1t did not do the
execution desired, and Foreman Lum-
berg issued orders to redrill it.
Fred Ekland refused to go on with the
work, saying the original blast had not
exploded and that the fire had
stopped under the first cartridge. This
first explosion had only shattered the
rock and Eckland says he called the
ing at Z o'clock, Alfred and Magnus
Davidson, who had Just come from the
old country, went to work redrilling
the hole. They were assisted by
August Anderson. Before they had
worked long Edward Ryan, foreman
OH the work, said to Davidson, For
Gods sake, get away from that hole; it
has not gone off yet"
IF it amt exploded it will soon,"
said Davidson.
And sure enough, it did, with dread
full results.
AS THE AGONIZING HOURS
draw their weary lengths along to the
twenty or more men injured i'll the ex-
plosion, almost every inquiry from the
hospital resulted in the reply of another
man dead. At midnight four men had
passed away, and one or two others can
hardly live until morning. Shortly
after the facts of the explosion had be-
C ONE common talk OH the street, Chief
of Police Doran and Detective Benson,
with their usual promptness, COM
menced an investigation. and about IL
o'clock Detective Benson arrested Ole
Lumberg, foreman, at the Duluth g.
Iron Range depot, about two miles out
of town. Lumberg claimed that he had
gone there, not to take a train, but to
see his former employer, who he
thought would help him out or become
responsible for him if arrested. Lumberg
was taken to Jail, where he was seen
shortly afterward. He talked freely,
and said: II want to make a plain
statement in this matter, and will say
that had no more idea that there was
dynamite still uneXplOded in that hole
than / have that am going to die this
minute. On Saturday we drilled the
hole sixteen feet, put dynamite in and
exploded it. On account probably o
the fact that there was
LOOSE DIRT OR CLAY
at the bottom of the hole the force of
the explosion was lost and the rock was
not broken. We put in another charge
of dynamite, going down this time only
nine feet and resting the charge on top
of the debris left from the other charge.
This charge was exploded, but again