The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-10-15
A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION.
DESTRUCTION OF THE DUPONT
MILLS IN DELAWARE.

MILLS IN DELAWARE.
Ths Biggest Powder Factory in the Uni
ted States-Six Mills and Fifty Dwell
;nrs Destroyea-A Dozen or More Work
men Killed and Many Injured.
WILMINGTON. DEL, October The
Office and six mills Of the Dupont Pow
der Works, near here are in ruins.
Fifty or mere houses Of workmen at
the upper yard" are wrecked y dozen
perhaps mora, workmen are dead, and
a score or more others are injured, us a
result of series OF powder explosions
at $50 this afternoon.
The Dupont works which are we'll
known throughout the country, are the
largest powder mills in the United
States. The mills extended along the
banks of the Brandywine, chiefly on the
west side. foc about two miles. They
are divided into upper, "Hagley"
and lower" yards. The first named,
where the office of the company is 10
Gated, is abo:it three miles, and the last
named about five miles from Whining
ton.
A workman named Grau, il one of
the packing mills connected with the
supper" yards, was receiving Il can of
hexagonal powder to be shipped for the
use Of the United States Government,
when in Sosue way spark commnnl-
Gated to the can and it blew up. Instant
lv the packing mill exploded. and the
other mills in the upper yards, seven
or eight in number, followed at inter-
walls of less than one second from the
.concussion. All these, except one. were
rolling mills in which the ingredients
of gunpowder are pulveriZed by the &C
tion of vertical rollers of stone turning
slowly around central post. The
whole machinery is driven by water
power. The odd one was a mixing
mill.
The shock was simply terrific, and
was felt even in Philadelphia, thirty
FIVE miles away, and in New jersey and
elsewhere.
At the upper yards" where the ex-
plosion occurred, are some fifty houses
inhabited hy employees OF the powder
mills, and they are all wrecked. The
Office of the Dupont Company is a COM
plete wreck, aud six mills are in ruins.
All buildings within radius of half a
mile are damaged. and the conclusion
even broke windows in some parts OF
Wilmington, four or five miles away.
Immediately after the explosions the
large building known as the refinery,
located near the centre of the village,
took fire.
1t was matter Of life and death to
the whole population that this fire
should be eXtiaguished before it COM
municated with the powder the bnlld-
ing contained. Taking their lives IN
their hands the Dupont fire brigade
fought the flames, which had caught
the roof. It WAS touch and go between
success and destruction, but the fire
men won. Had the roof fallen in it is
doubtful if any man, woman or child
in the vicinity would have escaped
death or serious injury.
About fifty families are rendered
homeless by the disaster, and many OF
them were 50 daZed by the terrible
events of those few seconds as to seem
hardly conscious Of where they are or
what they are doing. The injured are
being gathered into the hospital build
ing appertaining to the works, and are
receiving such surgical and other aid
as they need. Owing to the rocky and
wooded character of the locality, but
little can be done in the way of search
ing for the missing, or ascertainlng the
extent Of damage done to property I'M
til daylight.
The following is a partial list Of the
killed: Martin Dolan, James Dolan,
VIM. McGarvey, John Hartlgan, VIM.
Dennison, John DietZ, John Hurlike,
Patrick Dougherty, VIM. Green, John
NeWall, and q woman named hose
Dougherty. Several others are missing.
The more seriously injured, SO far as
learned, are: Daniel Harkins, VIM.
Logan, will probably died,) Annie and
Marie Dolan, daughters of James Do
Ian, who is among the killed; James
Ward, leg broken and hu,t internally;
Hugh Ferry, picked up un conscious,
INJURIES unknown; John Mcdowell,
head badly hurt; Mrs. VIM. Mcdowell,
ear cut off and head very badly cut;
her two-year-oid daughter seriously in
iured; Lydia Anderson, arm broken
and badly bruised.
Among the slightly injured are Eu-
gene Dupont, the head Of the firm;
Francis &. Dupont and Chas. J. Dupont.
They and several clerks in the office
were cut by fragments Of broken glass,
but none seriously The dead were all
employees of the company and were N
and about the mills that exploded.
Several workmen are missing and are
believed to have been blown to 1rag-
ments.
The wounded received their injuries
among the walls of their falling houses
ard Gv broken glass and flying debris.
Had there not been a general exodus
from their houses 1T the lrst shock,
the death list would have been much
heavier. as many would have Decll
crushed III the ruins ol their dwellings.
CndertakerS have gone out from
Wilmington 80 give their services IN
preparing the dead for burial, While
Wilmington surgeons were prompt to
hurry to the spot and render aid.
Yesterdays Powder Explosion.
WILMINGTON. Del, October S.-Ele-
ven persons were killed and twenty in
iured in yesterday afternoons eNplo-
sions at the Dupont powder mills. The
men who were killed were all working
in and about the magazines and mills,
and except in the case Of three were
blown to pieces. so that only fragments
Of their remains haye been found.
The body of Patrick Dougherty was
found this morning in the water Of the
race along the creek shore where it had
been thrown by the explosion. The
body of Green was found just outside
of the ruins of the magazine IN which
the first explosion occurred and STANCE
- a:,r crlaS or hri,iSsG q