New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-03-06
BURNED TO A CRISP.
Ten Girls and a Man Perish Miserab,y in Penn
sylyania Squib aFctory,

A terrible disaster occurred at Plymouth,
a few miles from Wilkesbarre, Pa, by which
the souls often girls and one m an were hurled
into eternity. Back of the GAYLORD shaft
stood the factory OF John Powell, used for the
manufacture Of squibs used by the miners in
ioosening coal in the mines. The factory en-
ployed elghty-four girls ranging from twelve
to twenty years, and several male workmen
while the majority OF the girls we're at their
homes eating dinner the people were startled
by the deafening thunders OF a terrific explo-
SION. They rushed terror-stricken to their
doors and windows, and in the distance saw
clouds ofsmoke ascending from the squib
factory. Soon q large crowd had gathered
around it, and women began ringing their
hands and men turned away from the sight
presented when the charred body
OF young girl was seen
lying in one of the rooms. and the fact
became known that at least twenty per sons
were in the building at the time of the ex-
ploslon eating their monday lunch. The
scene was fraught with terror as the girls,
some of them bleeding, others gasping for
few breaths of fresh air, rushed to the win
dows and screamed frantically for help.
About this time dozen miners from the ad-
joining colllery came upon the scene as soon
as they saw the bleeding forms of the girls
calling for aid rushed toward the building in
body, but fate prevented their proffered
succor. AS soon as they stepped near the
door another terrific explosion took place
and the entire building collapsed, burying in
the ruins the forms that a moment before
stood crying for assistance. The drawer of
the men, when the smoke and flying debris
had settled, rushed among the ruins and one
by one the bodies were found and taken out,
charred beyond recognition, bleeding and
mangled.
AT the main entrance to the factory the
remains of five of the girls were found They
wi ont IYT adj nEf0 10
out after the first explosion, but were caught
in the debris before they could reach the
door. Not one of the bodies was recogniz-
able. Some had their heads blown off;
others their arms, and a majority were
minus both legs and arms. The arrival of
the relations OF the dead added confusion tic
the scene. Their cries We're heartrending and
pitiable, and what made it more pathetic
was the fact that mothers and sisters were
unable to recognize their own dead After
working for hours the rescuers succeeded in
getting out all the remains. which consisted
OF trunks, arms, legs and skulls. Every
one in the building at the time of the ex-
plosion persisted with the exception of
Foreman Reese. He was standing at a
stove when the first explosion took
place. He rushed for the door to notify the
girls when the second explosion knocked him
down in The basement. He managed to
crawl out of this place. The cause of the ex-
plosion is a mystery. Powell says the sqibs
piled in box must have exploded from
spontaneous combustion. He says he never
allowed any large quantity of powderl in the
building. When powder was wanted it was
taken from the magazine 100 yards away
Experts, however, claim that there must
have been powder in the building or the force
of the explosion would not have been so
great. There we're three stoves in
the building
The scenes around the undertaker's es-
tablishment where the bodies of the victims
were taken were heartrending. Eleven bodies
lay there headless, armless and legless. From
pieces of scorched clothing and from the but
tons were the victims identified The body
Of young girl, supposed to be from Scran-
ton and who was seeking work, has not yet
been identified
Up to a week ago eighty girls had been en-
ployed, but an accident to portion of
the machinery made it necessary to lay off all
but a few of them. A storehouse only thirty
feet from the ruins contained twenty-five
kegs of powder. Hundreds Of people stood
near it during the fire, not knowing its con-
TENTS and strange to say it did not explode
as it became as hot as q stove. Eye Wit
nesses, of whom there arc but few, say there
were five reports, two heavy and threelight.
The heavy ones were powder kegs and the
light ones were boxes of squibs. Atmidnight
Foreman Reese is raving in deliriums.