The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-10-09
THE DUPONT DISASTER.
ELEVEN PERSONS KILLED AND
TWENTY INJURED.

An OverheSted Soldering Iron the
Probable Cause - One Man Blown
Two Hundred Feet From a Mill
Which Exploded a Moment After-
ward Other Miraculous Escapes
Caring for the Injured.
WILMINGTON, DEL, Got S-Eleven
persons were killed and twenty injured by
yesterdays explosions at the:Dupont powder
mills. The men who were killed were all
working in aud about the magazine and
mills, and except in the case of three, VIM.
R. Green, VIM. McGarvey and Patrick
Dougherty, were blown to pieces, so that
only fragments of their remains have
been found. The body OF Patrick Dough
erty 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 the
ruins of the magazine In which the first ex-
plosion occurred, and, strange 10 say, was
not maDgled or burned.
THEORY OF THE woRKMEN.
II is the theory of the workmen that the
explosions were started in some way by
the soldering irons which Green was using
In soldering the tin covers on cans of pow
der. This work is extremely danger Gus,
and Green was the only man trusted to per-
form it. He was an old employe who
thoroughly understood his work, but it is
supposed that bis soldering iron became too
hot and that its heat fired the powder in
spite of his oarefulness.
Green and McGarveY were the only men
In the magazine at the time
BLOWN 200 FEET.
Early reports of the disaster placed Daniel
Harkins' name in the list of killed by the
explosions, but he was not killed, but Sc
riously injured. When the explosion began
he was standing on the porch OF the press
mill, where he is employed, and the force
of the explosion blsw him from the porch
into the race, a distance of 200 feet.
Immediately afterwerd the press mill
exploded, and had Harkins been still stand
ing on the porch he would have been blown
to atoms. As 1t was, he was severely
bruised and shocked, but managed to crawl
out of the race ana reach his home, where
he Is now under physicians treatment. He
will probably recover.
John Dietz, James Grant and Joseph
Harger were also reported killed, but all
three escaped without injury.
A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE.
John Brador employed by the powder
company as a teamster, had a miraculous
escape. He was driving a double team
through the powder yard when the explo-
occurred, and his wagon was demolished
and the horses attached to it were killed
but he was not killed.
The wounded are being cared for by
neighbors and the dead prepared for burial
| William Green was buried this afternoon
| Three or four hundred homeless people
| have been provided with comfortable quar-
tere by their friends being in more favored
localities. and will be looked after until
their homes can be restored.
County Coroner Gamble summoned a
| jury this morning for the purpose of view
| ing VIM. E. Green's remains, so that they
may be inferred. 1t may be two or thret
| days before he is ready to hear testimony
as the witnesses are busy clearing away the
| debris from their homes and do not want K
| be interrupted until they have had the op
| portunity of saving from loss the most per
ishable articles from amid the wreckage Of
| their homes.
TWELVE DEATHS.
The death of the infant son of Thos
| Dougherty from injuries received by fall
ing tinbers, brings the powder mills fatal
tiles up to twelve. OF the injured all ar
reported doing we'll, apprehension of fata
result being entertained only in the case o
| Daniel Harkins Harkins is over 20.
A member of the firm said to-day tina
| it was impossible as yet to give any figures
| of the property loss Early this morning
| coteriy Of guards was posted, and rigiC
orders issued to exclude from the powder
pards all but employees. Thousand
have gone to view the wrecl
and extra precautions were imperatiyel,
required to avoid further danger. as con
siderable powder was lying about in kegs
canisters and even loose, one of the strang,
| features of the disaster being that mil
| which escaped destruction had the powder
| contained therein blown out over the ada
cont ground by concussion without igniting
| A stone weighing 200 pounds was blown 30t
| yards from one mill.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MILLS.
The original powder works were founded
by Elenthere Irene Dupont De Nemours, il
| 1902, and the upper mills, where yesterday
| explosions occurred, were added to tht
plant in and since 1912 The total works al
they exist to-day have capacity for turning
| out IL, ,000, 900 pounds of powder annually,
and the firm Of Dupont De Nemours & Co
own and operate also ten additional mills in
Luzerne, Schuylkil and Northumberland
counties, Pennsylvania. In 1885 there were
| used in their works, including the Pennsyl
vania mills, over 16, ,000. 900 pounds of salt
peter and nitrate Of soda, the chief ingre
dients of powder. The Brandywin'
plant numbers in Its entirety
some eighty different buildings, ex
tending along the western bank of the creel
| and for shorter distance on the eastern
bank about two miles, including the site O.
the mills, of dwellings of employees
churches, schools and other buildings. Th'
adjacent farming lands of the company
tracts on the Brandywine amount to abou
$500 acres. Upon this property, besid
the buildings mentioned, are three woolel
mills, cotton mill and grist mill, and 1
population Of about 1000 people, OF whom
over 5000 were employed in the works.
| Four Boilers Explode.