Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-10-09
AWFUL CALAMITY
AT the Dupont Powder Works at
Wilmington, Del,
In Which Dozen or More People
Lose Their Lives,
And at Least Thirty More or
Less Injured.
TIE MILLS AND MANY ADJACENT
HOUSES SWEPT AWAY.

Che Explosion Caused by n Spark FALL
Ing Into "a Can of Hexngonal Powder in
the Packing ROom-A Greater Catns-
trophe Narrowly Averted by the Heroic
Work of the Dupont Flremen.
WILMINGToN, Del, Oct. 8 Several
startling explosionsin quick succession -
some counted five, Others seven at 1870
p. IN. Tuesday, announced to Whining
ton disaster at the Dupont powder
works, on the Brandywine. A rush
was made. for telephones, but nothing
could be learned beyond vague reports
of damage. Later it was learned that
twelve or more persons had been killed
and about thirty injured, several of
whom may die.
The Dupont powder mills extend
along the Drandywine, chiefly on the
west bank, and close to the water, for
about two miles. They are divided into
the upper" "Hagley" and "lower'
yards The former is some three miles,
and the latter five miles from Whining
ton. AT the upper" was the Office and
business headquarters of the company.
There We're some fifty houses, inhab-
ited by the employees of the powder
mills, clus cred here. and they were all
wrecked. The force of the conclusion
even broke windows in some parts of
Wilmington, four or five miles away.
The Mills in Ruins.
The Office of the Dupont company is Il
complete wreck, and six mills are il
ruins. Several members of the Dupont
firm were Injured by falling walls and
broken glass, but none of them serious
ly. The dead were all employed by the
company, and were in and about the
mills that exploded. Several wotkmen
are missing. and are believed to have
been blown into fragments Tine
won dcd received their injuries among
the walls Of their falling houses and by
broken glass and flying debris
Cause OF tn Explosion,
The first explosion occurred in one of
the packing mills, where Il workman
named Gran was receiving can of
hexagonal powder to be shipped for the
use Of the United States government.
In some way spark communicated to
the can, and it blow mp. Instantly the
packing mill exploded. and the other
mills in the upper yards, seven or eight
in number, went down at intervals of
less than one second. All these except
one were rolling mills" in which the
ingredients of gunpowder are pulverized
by the action Of vertical rollers Of stone
turning around central post. The
whole machinery is driven by water
power. The odd one was mixing
mill"
Might Have Caused IT.
1t is believed that the disaster was
caused by Green, the solderer, who was
using II soldering iron in fastening the
tin covers On cans OF powder. 1t is
thought that the soldering iron became
too hot and that it fired the powder
Green was an old employee and was the
only one trusted to perform this kind
Of work, which is extremely danger
Gus.
A Greater Disaster Narrowly Averted.
Immediately after the explosion
large building, known as the refinery"
located near the center of the village,
took fire. 1t was II matter of life and
death to the whole population that this
fire should be extinguished before it
communicated with the powder the
building contained.
The Dupont fire brigade valiantly
fought the flames, which had caught
the roof, and succeeded i'll eXtinguish-
ing them. Had the roof fallen in it is
douDtfal if any man, woman or child in
tho vicinity would have escaped de ith
or serious injury. About fifty families
nre rendered homeless by the disaster.
II is estimated that the loss cannot be
less than S5O0,000.
Killed.
The following is a correct list of the
killed:
William McGarvey, single, laborer,
aged 40, head blown off, body found.
William r. Green, an old solderer,
body found, leaves wife and four chill
dren.
Michael Harrigan.
Patrick Dougherty, aged 80, married.
Owen Newell, aged go an cmploye in
the yards, leaves a family.
John II. Harrigan, laborer, aged 30,
married.
James Dolan aged 30, single.
Martin Dolan, aged Gj, granting mill
employe leaves family.
John fletcher, laboror.
Michael Heleher, laborer.
Thomas Dougherty, aged 5 months,
died Tuesday night.
Rose Dougherty, aged 50, was found
IN the ga1ret OF her house, crushed by
the falling in of the roof She died soon
after the accident occurred.
The BODIES of William McGarvey,
Patrick Dougherty and William r.
Green were found in the morning: that
of HCugherty in the water of the race
along the creek shore where it had been
thrown by the explosion. Green's re-
mains Were found just outside of the
ruins of the magazine in which the first
explosion occurred, and were not
burned or manglcd. The men who
were killed were all working in or
about the magazine and mills, and with
tho exception Of these three whose
bodies were found in the morning. were
blown to pieces, only fragments Of their
remains having been found SO far.
Injured.
The most seriously injured, SO far as
known, are:
William Dennison, engineer, fatally
hurt.
Eugene Dupont, Col. II. a. Dupont
ami Dr. Alexis l. Dupont Were in this
office wrecked by the explosion. but
were only slightly cut by falling plaster
and broken glJss.
Edward Collision, head clerk, severely
cui about the head.
Wnhela Waters. eye blown ont
W j. Macklem, . clerk in the Office