The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1889-10-31
WHAT WAS THIS NOISE
A Mysterious Explosion Heard Over
Distance of Thirty-Seven Miles IN
GreenviIle and Pickens Counties
IGreenYille News. 29th. ]

In the News of Sunday was brief
account, written from Loopers, IN
Pickens County, of mysterious mid
air explosion which startled the peo-
ple in that section on Thursday last
and was declared by old soldiers to be
tsiust like a bomb she'll" From later
reports from widely different sections
of the county it would seem that the
explosion is indeed Il mystery and is
causing numerous wild stories to 60
floating around, one Of them being
that a 4OO-horse power boiler at Pied
mont or Pe!zer had exploded and had
injured aud killed, according to the
stories, from seven to thirty persons.
A News reporter yesterday saw a
number of men from the county and
nearly every one the answer came
that they had heard the explosion, but
had thought nothing of it at the time
until reports of various kinds came to
their ears. Looper's is twenty miles
above this city and the News CORES
pondent there says the noise was
heard about ten o'clock in the morn
ing. A gentleman who lives at Hun
tersvilIe, seventeen miles below here,
said that he heard the noise at the
same time in the morning and several
persons from the same section corrob-
GRATED his statement. Looper's and
Huntersville are thirty-seven miles
apart and the explosion was heard at
both places at the same time, which
goes to show that there is no telling
how far the noise might have spread.
Every one seen describes the report as
resembling that of two blasts in rapid
succession or the explosion of two
shells. The noise, however, when first
heard did not appear to be in mid-air,
but sounded as if it was on the ground
and then the sound gradually arose
into the air and was heard for fully
minute until it died away in the dis
tance.
The gentleman from Huntersville
said ne thought the noise came from
the direction of Piedmont, below this
city, and the people.from the upper see
ton of the county give the same re-
port. One gentlemen who lives seven
miles above and to the right of Lo0per's
took the report to be a blast on the
Richmond and Danviile railroad fifteen
miles from him, and still others who
live near the railroad said the sound
was similar to the crash Of two box
cars. Manager French, at the Paris
| Mountain Hotel, heard the noise while
ir one of the valleys on the mountain
and describes the sound as a whzzing
one, like something passing through
the air.
Persons from the southwestern por:
ton of the county did not hear any
noise and in this city no noise was
heard, or if there was, no one Temem-
bers having heard it. A number of per-
sons who came to the city yesterday
inquired if there had not been boiler
explosion at PelZer or Piedmont, and
when answered in the negative were
nonplussed and almost believed the
answer incredible. At points on the
Greenville and Laurens road the story OF
boiler explosion gained credence and
the impression is still out.
A strange thing about the mysterious
and unsolved explosion is that there
was no vibration Of the earth, as is
usually the case, and no one can re-
member having felt the least tremor Of
the ground.
The occurrence was unexplained yes
terday, some ascribing it to meteor,
some to atmospheric disturbances and
some to other causes. The old-timer
told of the strange noises he had heard
in the past and supposed it was "the
same thing; the would-be scientific
gentlemen attributed it to variety OF
causes, but as yet the mystery remains
unsolVed.