The Red Cloud chief., 1890-09-12
AN AWFUL BLAST.


Prsmaturo 1xplosioa Causes q
ytightfnl Los Of lAfe.
1B ~ WORKING u 1 CUT
HAsaaAaAs - Isas - RseA ~ UpsoTAsu
Jeseas TAsy Wsss EsAaae sAs Davb
Vesa-Dssess Wss2 AAanr
SroKAHE FAlIA Wash, Sept A-At
eleven o'clock Saturday aighs the nea
engaged In takisg out The nanxisd VIC.
tins oe The frighsfsi blast ~explOsi0n IN
the N0ftheFn Pacific freight yards wcrs
foeced 10 desis4 because among the
rocks which wese being cleared away
were I've other blasts that might b ex.
pleaea II tho task Of rcoovine the mas
! Of debris that buried the victimA
Up TO that hour fourteen bodies had
been taken out OF these the following
were identified: Henry Jscobini veyel.
leE. Henry Apell Charles Veycller. An
drew P~uelonelio. +. A. Holm. Joseph
Ray, John Cartiinio. James McPherson,
Roy Pinkey. Il vitser. J. Talbo. A. W.
Warren. Isaac johnson. Dan Macarthur
and HSmee Olsen
Tho men were given no chance for
life 1t was either instant death or
slight injury. There were about two
hundred pounds Of giant powder in the
blast and the accident was caused by
some ones carelcssncsA, The man in
charge Of the blast and three assistants
were blown TO atoms
1t Is the custom to prepare blasts and
charge them and at the hours Of twelve
nOOn and six o'clock. after the men
have left work and gone 70 > place Of
xslety. to shoot them. In this case.
however, il seems that one blast had
been prepared and the foreman, c. Nc
PhersOn. was preparing q second.
The men had all finished their work
and were putting on their coats and
picking up their lunch paila ready 70
to 60 their homes after their days work.
Either the rock was too hot from the
action Of the d.i!ls, Or else tamping or.
PaafsS the second blast and that ~
plOded the first. Tho man who Ma
tamping paid the penalty with his life.
A man who stood beside the one who
was amping escaped with slight bruises
although 20, coO cubic feet Of rock were
hurled for hundreds Of feet in every d.
rection. Another man who was @
the deadly blast and who Was supposed
TO be dead was see shortly after the
explosion In . half crazcd condition
walking around with his clothing torn
to shrcds
The men wcrc working in . cut level
ing OF the ground for the new freight
yards Tho cliff Of rock on the side Of
the cut which was being removed VA
twenty feet high. Tho blasiss 1870 -
arranged that tAe rock w.slk1~1At ~
ward thc&NLHseAatcfpatin the blast
stout forty men were under the clif
whom the blast exploded. Aerest mass
Of rock and earth raised in the cir and
pitched G into the cot, burying them
beneath IL awful weight One VI them
had time to run. but . few escaped IN
miraculous manner. Over 100 men were
ct work in the adjoining cut and 1T once
were on the scene Of the terrible acci.
dent and began with pick sa2 shovel to
hunt for the buried bodies.
Curiosity led hundreds 70 visit the
scene Of the accident while eager
crowds watched tho work Of removing
the immense AMOUNT Of rocks thrown
by the explosion into the cut below.
under which most Of the bodies Of those
killed were found.
Tho scene Of tho cxplosi> : presented
aiesrfG sPpeaEa2ce. On tho top Of tho
ledge Of rock where tho unfortunate
foreDsn, James McPherson. was lamp
ing the blsst by which 70 many were
AurFied into eternity, . deep hole was
excavated In the earth, and Il u ostt
mated that -, 900 cubic fcct Of rocks and
earth wcrc hurled upon the unfortunate
mea directly beneath In tho cut The
o~xplooion va . terrific one. IL being
stated that M hundred pounds Of
dypAmite Were In each Of tho two blasts
discharged.
Although . force worked until all the
rock dislodgcd was removed NO more
OO0Sco WOsO hVoUV' AoO u0u1UcI Oh
dead found vas fourteen lA<eaAtfbE
q. thannasssemH-d 3s3 .ast ~ hospatsf'
@mlesd1Dosfepottei that two more
badly injured died ut their homea
Many Of those injured were SO badly
hurt that recovery is almost imposs. bile.
General Foreman CLaries nOl. states
that fOrty-twO men were in the gang at
work on the cut in tho ledge. OF this
number fifteen and perhaps seventeen
are dead, eight are in the hospital and
it has ~ far been impossible to deter
mine the whereabouts Of the other men. |
O these many supposed TO have been
hurt will probably be present at roll
call to-day.
4
n Desperate Character.
AIDMOuE. ]. r., Sept Sat imtOwn.