The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1890-10-10
TERRIFIC EXPLOSION.
slx Of the DUPONT Powder Mills Blown
to Atoms and the Shock Felt
Thirty-fve Miles off.
A LARGE NUMBER KILLED.

a EARGE MUM bEk kILLEO.
WILMINGTON, DEL, Oct. S.-The Office
and six mills Of the DUPONT Powder Works
near here are in ruins, fifty or more houses
of the workmen at the supper yards" are
wrecked, dozen or perhaps more killed,
and score of others are injured as re-
suit of series of powder explosions at
$3.50 yesterday afternoon at the Dupont
works, which are well-known throughout
the country and the largest powder mills
in the United States.
The mills extend along the banks of
the Brandywine on the west side about
two miles. They arc divided into the
upper" "Hagley" and "lower" yards.
The first named, where the office of the
company is located is about three miles
and the last named about five miles from
Wilmington.
A workman named Grant in one of the
mills connected with the upper yard"
was receiving can of hexagonal pow
der to be shipped for the use Of the
United States government, when in some
way spark communicated to the can and
it blew up. Instantly the packing mill
exploded and the other mills in the ''upper
yards" seven or eight in number, followed
at intervals of less than one second from
the conclusion.
All these, except one, were "rolling
Mills" in which the ingredients of the
powder are pulverizcd by the action of
vertical rollers Of stone turning slowly
around central post. The whole ma
chinery is driven by water power The
odd one was mixing mill.
The shock was terrific and was felt in
Philadelphia, thirty-fve miles away, and
in New Jersey and elsewhere. At the
upper yards" where the explosion oc-
Cured, are some fifty houses inhabited by
employees of the powder mills, clustered,
and they are all wrecked. The office of
the DnPont Company is complete wreck
and six mills are in ruins. All the build
ings in radius Of half a mile are dam
aged, and the conclusion even broke win
dows in some parts Of Wilmington, four
or five mics away.
Immediately after the explosion large
building, known as the refinery" located
near the center of the village, took fire.
1t was matter Of life and death to the
whole population that this fire should be
cxtinguished before it communicated with
the powder building. Taking their lives
in their hands the DUPONT Fire Depart
ment fought the flames, which had caught
the roof. 1t was touch and go between
death and life, but the firemcn won. Had
the roof fallen in, it is doubtful if any one
in the vicinity would have escaped death
or serious injury.
About fifty families are rendered home
less by the disaster and many of them
were so dazcd by the terrible events Of
those few seconds as to seem hardly con-
scious of where they were or what they
were doing. The injured are being gath
cred into hospitals and receiving such
surgical or other aid as they need. Owing
to the rocky and wooded character Of the
locality but little can be done in the way
of searching for the missing or to find out
the extent of the damage done to prop
erty until daylight.
KILLED AND WOUNDED.
The following is Il partial list of the
killed:
Martin Dolan, james Dolan, VIM. Nc
Garvey, John Hartigan, Vim. Dcnnison,
j ohn Dietz, John Hurlike, Patrick Dough-
erty, VIM. Green and John Newell.
a woman named Rose Doughcrtv and
several others arc missing.
The more seriously wounded, so far as
learned, arc Daniel Harkins, VIM Logan,
will die; Annie and Marie Dolan, daugh-
tiers of Jas. Dolan, who is among the
killed; James Ward, leg broken and hurt
internally; Hugh Ferry, picked up uncon-
scous, injuries unknown; Jno. Mcdowell
head badly hurt; Mrs. Mcdowell, ear cut
off, head badly cut; her wo-year-old
daughter seriously hurt; Lydia Anderson,
badly bruised and arm broken.
Among the slightly hurt are Eugene
DUPONT, the head of the firm, Francis c..
DUPONT and Charles l. DUPONT They
and several clerks in the office were cut
by fragments Of broken glass, but none
OF them seriously.
The dead were employees of the COM
pany, and were in and about the mills
that exploded Several workmen are still
missing, and believed to have been blown
into fragments.
The wounded received injuries among
the walls of the falling buildings, flying
debris and cut glass. Had there not been
a general and instant exodus at the first
shock, the death list would have been
much heavier, as many would have been
crushed in the ruins of their dwellings,.
The first explosion occurred in one of
the packing mills. Undertakes have
gone out from this city to give their
services in preparing the dead for burial,
while the Wilmington surgeons were
prompt to hurry to the spot and tender
aid.
At the office of the Dupont Company,
one of the members of the firm stated
that the loss in mill property was as fol-
lows: Dry house, one magazine, packing
house, corning mill; the structeres par
TALLY destroyed are the glazing room and
press room. No exact figures in regard
to the quantity of powder lost can be
given, but the estimates run all the way
from ten tons to forty. The DuPonts were
busily engaged at the time in fulfilling
extensive contracts for the United States
government for small arms and also pris-
matte cannon powder. In addition they
have heavy contracts in hand for the
Union Metallic Cartride Company.
Of the killed the bodies of three only
have been recovered. Mrs. Rosa Dough.
erty was found dead in her attic. The
body of VIM McGarvey was found with
his head completely blown off, and the