The Red Cloud chief., 1889-03-01
SOUI0 HORROR.
Terrible ExpIesisa. 1sssltiaG u he Oseso
81 Nuul<r cf Peer Glsls. - fiyoooeAs

NILHE&UAHBxs ~ 6e0 ~-1
disaster occurred as Plymouth. . few
miles from here. yesterday s~fsernoon. BY
which the souls OF TEN girls and one maj
we're hurled into eternity.
Back Of the Gaylord shaft stood the fac.
tory of John Powell. used for the manu-.
fsc;ur- O: squibs. used by the IN ners IN
loosening coai in the mines Tue factory
employed -iIh,y.four SirIA ranging from
twelve 10 twenty yeara and several male
wovkmrn. While the majority of the EIs!s
were at Their homes eating dInaer. the
people were startled BY the dsafsninS
thunders OF n terrific explosion
They rushed t.rror-stricken to the doofs
and Windows. and in the distance saw
Clouds Of srnos' ascending from the sQuib
factory. Soon = lsrse crowd had gath.
cred ABOUND IL and women began Wr'nx.
ing their hand. and men turned sssy
from tie sigh: Ire.ented whsn the charr~d
body Of . young girl WAS seen lying In one
Of the rocm IN. and the fact t~came known
that at i-a.t twenty persons were IN The
building q, ihs time OF the explosion sas.
ing their noondAy lunch
The scene MAS fraugas ~ith terror ss the
girls. some Of them ble-d;us. other gasp.
ing for . few tT~a.hs OF frssh air. rushed
~ thN . ~
for help. Abcu, this time . dozen miners
from the adjoining colliery came upon The
scene. and ~ soon a. they san the bleed.
ing forms q the girls calling Ter Gid,
rushed to~ ard the building In . body. hut
fate prevented their prof-rsd succor. A
soon a. they stepped neal the door another
terrific explosion took place. buryinS 10
the ruins the forms that . moment before
stood CRYING sor assistance
The Drawer OF the m-u. when the smoke
and flying debris hst settled. rushed
among the ruins. and one by one the
bodies we're found and taken out. chAsr-d
beyond recognition. bleeding and
mangl.d. As mothers. sa~ and recognized
som. familiar token or pieces OF dress. by
which they could tell their loved ones. the
scene was one that represented the el-
IRENE thrO~s OF sorrow aal d-so.a,ion.
The bodies. as fast as they We're
taken out, We're removed Ia an
undertaking establishment, where
they We're placed in = row. Their
features We're so badly mutt Hated that
they v-re scarcely recognizable The
killed. 80 far n known. are Kate Jones
aged Il; Mag. Lynch. aged Il: H-tti-
Jones. Hg-I "; GIaidi, Reese. aged Is.
Mary Waters. a:-i L.; Maggie Richards
aged l.; Mary \. Lake. aged IL; Iu;h
Powell, aged -; Esther Powell aged -:
Jane Ann Thomas, Charlotte Humphrey,
aged l..
John Powell. the proprietor. was badly
injured Business IA the town Of fy-
mouth is a, u s,anistili. and a death Ike
pall hangs over the community.
Several kegs of powder caused ia. ex-
piosion. but how they werc exploded Is a.
yet a mystery.
The scenes around III. under,nk.T &. -s-
tabiishm-nt, wh-r. the bodies ~ the vic.
tins were fas-n. we're h,ar urndinE
Eleven b. lies lay there h.ad.,ss arruie.s
and leSless. From pieces OF scorchsi
clothing ant small bi,tous were
the victims identified. Tn. body Of
q young girl. supposed TO b. from
Scranton. and who was seeking work.
has not been ident, Il II. Tn. only
theory as to tho cause az tn. explosion
comes from the injured foreman Reese.
He WAS in the second story. and " hon the
build ng was blown up. he dropped 90 tho
cellar. from where he escaped. with moth.
ing but his undertaking and ran across
the fields. He saws there was q bit 81 sui
phur on tho stove. Which WAS used 90 dip
the squib. into. the m nsrs. when u.ing
them. lighting the sulphur end. The pos
must have boiled over aud ignis-d some
ioo.. powder. which fired tho kegs Their.
wers twO heavy explosions and . third
light one. The girls were probably all
stunned BY the shock. for not . cry or
shout WAS heard sitter the report 4, ~as
dea! silence. aud tn. workers toil.d for all
they were worth.
Only the relatives and . few wilkes
takers shop. The bodies Law on tn. h,or
covered with coarse burlap.. ani were
marked "a soon "a. identified The crowd
outside numbered hundreds. aud was
augmented a., each ambulance brought an
additional body. Finally. when Ali bad
zen identified. tn. doors were opened
! and the crowd Glei IN among the had
bodies. only 81 s.- what re.embi.i large
charred hiliets Of wood. more than any
thing else. W q . week e eighty girl.
had been employed hut an accident 10 q
portion Of IN. machinery mad. u a-css-
snr - Law oil ali but u few of them
Ruth and r thee Powell were niec-s o.
the owner OF the factory. Th-y had come
from Wales some mon hs ago TO work for
their uncle. leaving their par ent. in The
old ~cIuatry.
John X Powell. th. proprietor 'of the
factory. was in Wi,k-sharr- all of the
morning. and. after returning homo after
dinner. star ted up the hiii to the factory.
When half way UP he hsari the report,
and saw the ha,li,ng COLLAPSE. He snws
nothing OF the cause. a s,or"hou.c only
thirty feet from the ruins contained
twenty-five kegs Il powder. Hundreds
Of people stool near 10 during the nr~. not
knowing = contents. and. s,ranSs 10 say.
IL did not Explode ~ 70 became ss bot as
. stove Ese witnesses. 81 whom tker.
are but f.v. saw there we're Nv" reports.
two heavy and three light The heavy
ones were powder kegs and the lighter
one. were boxes 81 .quibs
A; midnight Foreman Rs~se wss rsviss
in deiiriun Tn. bodies will b. removed
20 the homes OF the victims to-day and
The funerals viii b. held so-morro~ After
noon. There have bon gu"ss.s at ,h-
iisnt. fca;ion Of the RENAME Magic
Lynch and Esther Pou.ll were Recognized
from the fac; that they we're mach larger
girls Dihsn the Others R1ts Powell.
who came over 20 this country at-oat
four months ego. ~ss Identified by sosp.
fragments % heavy Enxlisb sna.rcio,Aiag
which chung 20 tn. charrei fssa. and
Mary Waters by . pocks;bopk- Tbs
o,hers can not b !isnf.hsi At al
The sqsits mad. in the factory ar.
pieces % straw alssd 9Th posa-r saa st.
ted witA fac. ~ coca end 1asy are ss~d
by the ners in erinS bsasts In sac miueA
100 ]
1t has lately b~en . fsvcst:. sp00
a0ong the young n.a % Oassco-t. Va. -
take nev-csners into the voD3s 81 n gas
and srisetea them by psesssdias tha; sss
marty n, attached Sv ycbf~rs TAe isSsss