River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1889-09-12
SCORES WERE KILLED.


An Explosion OF Dynamite in an Antwerp
CBeigiumD Cartridge Factory by Which
800 Lives Were Lost and 1000 Persons
Were Injured-sixty-Three Persons Killed
In a Nine Disaster IN Scotland.
ANTNE gP, Sept IA terrible explosion
OF dynamite occurred in the cartridge
factory here Friday by which $50 persons
were killed and 500 injured The explosion
occurred in workshop where old cart
ridges were being taken TO pieces Men
and women were actively at work break
ing them up. and %, 600 900 Had been par
TALLY broken wnen the explosion occurred
The factory was situated behind the
docks, upon which millions of cartridges
were being loaded II was adjacent to the
petroleum stores, and two large Russian
warehouses, containing 5000 barrels
of oil, were set on ire and are now
burning. Other stores are endangered
The Bourse, which is in the immediate
vicinity, was also set on fire by the burn
ing fragments. The loss will be many mill
ion francs Ii Will be impossible TO extin-
guish the flames in less than twenty-four
hours Several vessels have been burned
Owing to the intense heat the fremen are
unable to approach the flames nearer than
100 yards
Police, gendarmes and troops are assist
ing in the work OF extinguishing the flames,
while priests and Sisters OF Charity are car
ing for the injured The city is enveloped
I'm dense smoke.
The fire is still raging and now covers
two acres The flames shoot up to an inn
mense height Amid the roar of the flames
there is continuous succession of loud re-
ports, supposed to be from the ignition and
explosion of packets of cartridges Be-
yond the Russian tanks and Hobers sheds
there are numerous houses burning The
shipping at the Africa and American docks
Is in danger.
The Corvileian cartridge factory, where
the explosion occurred, had been con-
demned by the Common Council but the
deputation permanente had allowed work
TO continue The victims are mostly
factory girls. Windows three miles dis
tant We're shattered by the explosion.
MIDNIGHT-The latest estimate is that
there are 800 dead and 900 injured The
explosions continue At the American
docks all the ships have been saved owing
to the favorable direction of the
wind. The stained windows of
the cathedral are smashed, and 1t is
feared that the steeple will collapse. The
whole vicinity is strewn with debris. The
dock sheds and hydraulic cranes are greatly
damaged The soldiers at the garrison and
large number of citizens are assisting the
firemen. Many are dropping from suffoca-
tion.
The scenes at the hospitals are heart
rending. King Leopold has sent telegram
expressing sympathy and asking for par
ticulars. The people are incensed at the
deputation permanente for allowing work
to continue in the cartridge factory.
fAntwerp, one Of the principal cities OF Bel
GUM. is situated about fifty miles from the
open sea and twenty-five miles north of Brus
sells, on the right bank of the Scheldt
which is there about 2,201 feet broad
and has depth at cub tide OF from
thirty to forty feet. The docks
spoken OF in the dispatches have an area OF
a bout 100 acres, aifording over 2i,00O feet OF
quay room. About 5000 vessels enter the har-
Dor annually, the chief imports being steel, cop
per, iron and other metals, machinery coal, salt,
soda, gun-cotton. and the city is given largely
10 manufacturing. Ten years ago there we're
twenty refneries, seven rice mills, three sui
phur reflHeries, several cigar manufactures
and a number OF distillf .es, petroleum refner-
les, stearine candle manufactures and wooden
mills. The explosion occurred in a cartridge
factory situated near the docks, on which we're
millions OF cartridges The fire extend j from
these to the petroleum refineries and the man
ufactories near The six or eight large docks
each other. The Business Exchange, built
in 1881, pronounced tie finest building
OF the kind in Europe. 1t was burned down
in IS and rebuilt in the sa ne style as before
and opened for business in 1874 Antwerp has
population of lS0,0O0l
sCoTLAND's GREAT CALAMITY.
EDINBURG, Sept Sixty men and
boys have persisted through the fire in the
Maurice Wood pit near Penicuik, Midlo-
covered The fire is one of the most dis
astrous mining calamities that have ever
befallen Scotland. Thursday morning
sixty-five miners, including a contingent
of boys, went down the pit to prosecute
their calling, and all but two have persisted
{ From the time of the alarm till now re-
lays of men have worked at the task of res
cue, but without any result All through
Thursday night there was kept up a
struggle with overmastering fumes in put
ting up brattice work to obtain ventilation.
Two or three men were let down an incline
I'm truck and besides having to battle
with the current of smoke so thick as
to obscure all vision, their efforts were
rendered almost of no avail by the force o.
the current itself, which threatened again
and again to destroy their work as soon as
1t he's been completed After a shift the
Non would come to the surface with steam
ing eyes and perspirlng faces. Their OBJ
iect was to reach the eighty-fathom level
from which it was hoped it might be pos
sible TO turn the current to clear the in
cline.
The men about 8 o'clock Friday morning
came on the bodies of John Walker and
Hugh Mcpherson. Both bodies were found
in the vicinity of the eighty fathom engine
It was part of the duties of these men
to attend to il, and they seem TO
have died at their posts DIR. Badger,
who examined the bodies on their ar
rival at the surface. says the corpses
were frightfully scorched, not with actual
fire, but with hot air in the pit the temper
enough to melt lead The flesh adhered
to their clothes, and the CHASTITY spectacle
was rendered the more hideous by the fact
that, on endeavOring to remove their boots
the feet nearly parted from the legs.
Shortly after 5 o'clock it was found that
the east side or the pit began to fall in, and
in order to retain the sides and roof large
numbers of props were utilized quantity
of stuff, however, fell, considerably hinder
ing the operations of the rescuers. About
O'Clock information came that, although
six bodies were visible on the west side
they can not be approached On the east
side there in not man alive. The rescuers
made gallant efforts to get at the
bodies, but were repulsed by the
fire and foul air BY o'clock it was
seen that nothing further could be
done in the way of recovering the dead