Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1890-10-09

I
denvoring to bring order out of cha 8.
At the foot Of the hill one Of the guards
showed the reporter q 500-pound rock,
buried half way into the ground. 1t was a
foundation stone OF one of the mill build
ings located over 200 yards off. The same
man relnted the incident of guard who
was standing near the reservoir at the
time OF the explosion. He saw flying
key strike the water with terrific i'm
pact. simultaneously It exploded with q
great sheet of fame. The singular fact
was thus illustrated of the ignition OF
gunpower by contact with water.
The average relation of experience OF
those who experienced the explosion
seems to be of one terrific shock. They
were deafened, and that was all. They
remember nothing more. Most of them
are only now recovering their full con-
sciousness.
Beyond the mills environH the lane
called Free Park, leading up towards
| ChfiBt's Episcopal Church, has its cot
tages partially shattered. The church at
the end OF the roadway, has Its steeple
out of plumb. All the windows along
the north front of the church are shat
tered. neighboring sohool-house has
its windows shattered. The residences
of Eugene du Point and of e. @. Brad
ford, Esq, show evidences of some
damage.
WHAT THE LOSS IS.
Upon being asked by the reporter this
morning as to some estimate of the loss
one of the members OF the firm replied
that it is absolutely impossible at the
present moment to form any rational con-
eeption.
aH''No account has been takenn he con-
tinued "the books have not been looked
at, nor has the stock been looked over in
the yards. 1t is impossible to give any
| figures OF all"
DAMAGE TO ADJOINING COMMUNITIES.
Considerable glass was broken at
Rockland. A few panes of glass were
broken in William Luke's residence and
a door was partly torn from its hinges.
Both show windows were broken in
Thompson's drug store at Rising Sun,
and number of windows in the neigh
borhood were shattered. Glass was
broken in Banoroft's mills and in the
houses on the banks.
when the explosion occurred Jonathan
q. George, of No. 1909 Jefferson street,
was standing in Bentz's grocery, Twelfth
and West streets. The jar of the explo-
sion caused large box to fall from
shelf and it struck Mr.. George upon the
head, cutting him severely. He was also
very much shocked and is suffering con-
siderably from the mishap.
A PANIC AT NO. 8 SCHOOL.
At school No. 8, Eighth and WolIaston
streets, panic followed the explosion
aud came very near being attended with
i aHiN 10
rocked the walls of the building and made
the hoore shake, which frightened the
scholars 80 greatly that ali Immediately
made ruah for the doors. The teachers
tried 10 quiet the panic, but despite their
endeayors the frightened pupils rushed
| pell-mell down the stairs and into the
street. In the crush on the stairway sew
eral children were knocked down and
trampled upon, but none were seriously
| injured. The panic gave rise to the re-
| port that the explosion had happened in
the school and hundreds of people flocked
there expecting to learn of horrid
| calamity. 1t was nearly an hour before
the excitement in the neighborhood sub
sided.
SOME MIRACULOUS ESCAPES.
Surveying the scene of disaster again
4
that there were not hundred people
slain. 1t IL almost miracle that there is
half hundred people Of Upper Banks
uninjured. While oil the escapes are
marvellous some are miraculous. One
man at work Ia a building was standing
alone in the open field, the entire struc-
ture having been carried away. He was
some time in realizing his position and
the close call death had made. Why he
was not killed he canuot understand ex-
oept it be that the great force of the ex-
plosion struck the building from an op-
posite side.
Some little children were playing on
the hillside above the Inflated mills when
the awful charges of powder went off.
They viewed the matter with fearless un-
concern and came out unsoathed from
shower of rocks and boulders which fell
like gigantic hail stones.
William Haley, coal house boss, re-
lates his terrifying experience as best he
can remember. The house in which he
was standing had Leen wrecked, but he
came out with but few scratches. He
cannot account for his deliveranoe from
instant death. He was unaware Of any
Of the details OF the awful calamity and
only knows by its trail of destruction
that the big milla had belchsd out their
death-dealiDg contents.
STORY CT AN EYE WITNESS.
man standing on the hill command.
ing full view of the now RACED mills de-
ncribes the soens at the time of the acct
dent with graphic terror. His attention
had been directed toward The mill by O
pigeon which was gracefully sailing
through the air with its wings spread as
if to slight on one of the doomed build
ings. In an instant there was a fash
from the mill in which Green worked
with his fatal soldering irons. Simulta.
neous there was sharp, terrifying re-
port, and the earth trenlbled and shook
as If in the clutch of an earthquake.
Another flash followed in an instant,
another report and the atmosphere was
in the greatest oommotion, the earth's |
tremor increasing. The mortified specta- |
tortWas knocked from his feet and each |
succeeding flash and shock added to his |
awful terror. Great stones whistled |
angry threats as they flew above his head |
and about him and plowed up the pretty |
hillside throwing columns of soil into |
the air. 1t was a time of terror
and those scenes of awful devastation
will never fade from his view. He de- |
scribes the fourth and fl It'll reports as the |
most severe and causing the greatest |
damage. This 10 in part confirmed by
the fact that in the interval between the |
first shock and the wreckHge of the
buildings the people were most all able
TO flee from their homes and escape being |
crushed to death, which would have been
their fate had they remained indoors.
One man walking in close proximity to
one of the mills when it was fired was