Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1890-10-16
GovERNMnNT onDEns FOE POWDER.

Il
: disaster at the du Pont powder work,
8 will inconvenience the war and navy de-
3 partments, more or less, the extent de
pending upon the amount of damage a
: wilmington. The firm has no large con.
tracts untitled with the navy, although
th@ 8 rylce purchases all of its power
from dn Font. The department has plenty
q powder on hand to supply the vessels
ABOUT to be equipped for sea service, and
no trouble ia anticipated. The ordnance
nuteau orders the powder required from
time to time 80 that the firm NAV be said to
have standing order. The War d part
ment does not faro SO well. The DIN Point
works had orders FIR powder worth $780,
O0O for the ordnance bureau. An order
"ss given last February for 60 0o0 pounds
OF prismstio powder, at 81 cents per
pound. II was the intention 10 use this
supply IN the tests with the 12inch guns.
and ary delay in furnishing this DOW
der will seriougly Inconvenience tho de-
pArtment. Another order was piyen Last
July for 100000 pounds Of powder. at 10
cents pound. This WAS deliverable nt
the Frankfort arsenal, and was to be
used 10 small arms Ere. A third order
partially filled was for $4,000 pounds of
powder, at IL cents per pound, for field
guns. The department is anxiously
awaiting the details OF thu explosion.
The firm has been depended upon
almost entirely for the supply of powder
10 THIS country, end any incapaoisy of the
concern 10 accept orders would be felt
py the ordnance officars. The powder
10 De used in the small cslibre experi-
laents at the National Armory at JprinQ-
neid has been ready for delivery by the
meEera IN Germany; SO that, when ihe
present difficulty of getting a ship to
transport the powder is overcome, there
heea DC no further delay in those tests.n
1eiephonlc inquiry as to the intima-
tlon above that the disaster will inter.
fere with tie filling of the Government
orders mentioned was nais by the
GAZETTE, but there was no one IN the
ottios at the time authorized to spesk Tor
the firm on the subject. When the ex-
tent and magnitude OF the du Pont pow.
der manufacturing plant ia taken into
consideration, however, IL seems very i'm
probable that even such blow as that of
IuesdAy should Affect the filing of any
contracts, except possibly for prismatic
powder.
EXPLOSIONS OF 1885.
An interview was had yesterday week
WIN man who was employed OF the
powder works in 1885. during which year
there Were two explosions. Information |
was gwen after the informant had been /
promised that his name would NOT be
published. The gentleman is upwards
OF 30 years of age and cannot recall
many OF the details of the disagtsYs.
Tne first of the two explosions occurred
early In the year, on q bright and braoine
mofalng, at about o'clock. A 1core OF
men q faw minutes previous had entered
the upper yard and begun their day's
toll. While wives and daughters of the
neighborhood were engaged in clearing
breakfast tables the men in the powder
yard We're Mortified and the community
was startled by serles of piercing
oiasts which swept away almost every
building In the upper yard and plunged
into eternity 10 unfortunate mortals.
There we're in the yard a grinding mill,
press room, glazing mill and several
other structures, most or which.
with their occupants, were hurled
sither to destruction or death.
Ot the band of toiIers only one
person escaped fatal injury. James
was seriously hurt but grad
1ally improved and finally recovered. I
Afterwards he returned to work for the I
powder manufacturers and continued in Z
heir employ the remainder of his life. IL a
lever was sscortained how the cntas- q
rophe occurred. The owners of the
mills suffered heavy loss but the dwell 1
pgs in 1.-THE vicinity were only sliehtly a
damaged. The disaster ocpasioned CON h
iderable excitement hero but it was Il
iothlng IN comparison to that of Tues b
lay, Wilmington then being village. A I
month previous Matthew McGaryey, on [
mploye IN the upper yard, had gone to
he residences of the gentleman inter
levied and while repairing clock which
eionged TO the latter had prophesied a
there is going to be terrible time in
le yard" sndi continuing, had declared
lat he would caase working there in ~
iarch. The man, it is said, seemed to te
avs premonition OF danger and that, %
is imagined, caused him to utter the II
rophecy. Els prophecy was fulfilled o.
Store the expiration Of The limit he had hi
Vt for leaving the powder works, he hav- 81
q intended to quit somewhere near lii
owing Day, and his life went out with o.
lose Of his oo-lsborors.
In the early autumn of the same yenr he
ere was an explosion in the Haelsy OF
'rd, which, while it resulted In much M
image, waB attended with less loss of az
Q. 1t originated in grinding mill and TO
Veral buildings were destroyed. Only So
% persons were killed, which is ex-
Ained by the fact that ths mills blew up
breskfast-time, when there were but
rec men in the immediate vic pity. Oh
ley were John Vance, who the night At
eVious had been offered employment at BY
8 works, John Green and Petsr Pursis. thu
was Vancs's first day ut the yard and At
fore the hour to begin work came he be-
8 dead, as ALEC was Greon. The latter Nv
been employed as a boss for IS or 20 br'
ars. Pursie, another boss, was injured yal
survived. The remains of Vance 70
re buried in Old Swedes cemetery, rec
ngside the stone wall which separates TIL
buryinR- around from Seventh street We
immediately back of the d yelling on we
upper side Of the main entrance TO fee
graveyard. reporter of the :
zEITE visited the spot yesterday after =
IN week. There liz nothing to indicate a
We and between tho head and foot ~
mes there stood wheelbarrow, and in loo
SO proximity there were quantities of wa'
lbsr and heaps of rubbish The head IN
ne, plain object and slightly dig WEI
pred, bears the following inscription: val
In
Memory OF
n Vance, a native OF Ireland, County Z
onegal, parish OF lines, who departed pre-
this life September 2Sih, A. D., Aea
1885, aged 25 years. viii
is stated that Green was also buried by
iRside the stone wall, but his grave