Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-10
By Several Powder Mill Elk.
plOsions in Quick Sue
cessiOn Near Town.
FELT 80 MILES DISTANT.
More Thana Score of Cinnamon and
Three Whites in the Rivers.
FLAMES IGNITE THE MAGAZINES
The Detonations Break Windows Over q
Large Part Of the State.
THE WORK OF RESCUE DANGEROUS YET.

SAN FRANCISCO, July Sat 9:23 o'clock
this morning this city was shaken from end
to end by terrific explosion. What it was
or where it occurred no one could tell. Be-
fore the people had recovered another e1-
plosion, fully as severe as the first, again
shook buildings and caused windows to
rattle.
People began to realize that only the e1-
plosion of powder mill could have pro-
duced a shock of that nature This ex-
PLANTATION had hardly been arrived at when
at $50 there occurred terrific explosion
that shattered windows all over town, blew
in skylights, broke plate glass on Montgom-
cry avenue California street, Montgomery
street, Kearney strret and other thorough
fares and caused people to rush into the
streets as though convulsion was about to
tumble all the buildings about their ears
The CONSERVATION was still at Its height
when there followed two more shocks, little
less severe than the terrific one which had
Just been felt Glass ratified into the streets
all over the city, and not few buildings,
according to their inmates, came near col-
lapsing.
Looking for Buildings to Collapse.
Men in the tower of the fire alarm station
were sure that the structure was going to
collapse. At the Palace Hotel there was
great fear among the guests, and all over
the city there was feeling of alarm. The
intensity of the shock can be appreciated
when it was known that it was distinctly
folf OF rni1ae diafant and
that windows were cracked at Napa and
other points along the bay shore, 25 miles
from the scene of the explosion.
Along the east side Of San Francisco bay
are a number of large powder manufactures
which have been scenes of periodical ex-
plosions in which number of lives have
been lost At Highland, about half mile
from West Berkeley and north of Berkeley
and Oakland, are located the works of the
Giant Powder Company, consisting of
chemical works, mixing and packing houses,
five large buildings in all, together with
three large powder magazines and number
of small ones, and it was here that the ex-
plosion occurred this morning.
The explosion began in the nitro-glycerine
works, and the concussion soon caused an
explosion in one Of the magazines.
A Fire Among the Magazines
Flames also broke out to add to the dan
ger, and though . wrecking train had
promptly been sent from Oakland, the eff
forts of the crew were confined to . large
extent to keeping off the great crowds that
pressed forward to the scene; for within 200
yards of the flames, unknown to many, was
a magazine containing 300 tons of black
powder, the explosion of which would have
caused terrible fatality.
The work of gathering the remains of the
dead and caring for any who might have es-
capped from the flames and ruins was pushed
forward as rapidly as possible, but the
scene was one of such confusion and danger
that the work was slow at the best. The
flames from the burning packing and mixing
houses were indescribably fierce, driving
the crowds back repeatedly. Cinnamon
were huddled together in little knots, with
scorched faces and hands. Their suffering
was intense. Even surgeons were pre-
vented from passing the guards, for the
largest of the black powder magazines lay
Just over the brow Of the hill, and flames
from the burning wreckage were creeping
nearer and nearer from top Of the hill. just
about the magazine could be seen evidences
of the explosion.
The Giant aiagaziue tho First to Go.
On the western slope the scattered tim
bers Of the giant powder house were blaz-
trickling down toward the bay, showed
where the contents of the acid tanks had
emptied themselves. ALI the mixing and
packing houses of the black powder depart
ment and the sulphur mill were in ashes.
The damage to the black powder works
alone Will amount to over $75, 900.
The very first explosion that occurred
caused the giant powder magazine to 60 up.
The black powder mills lay directly in the
path of the explosion, and burning brands
were heaped upon the already wrecked
Cinnamon could collect their senses, the
powder in the black mills exploded.
It was for long time impossible to gain
any idea of the number of lives lost The
managers declined to give out any particu-
lars. and, as most of the men employed
were Chinese, the names were not ohtaina-
BILE. However, an estimate was made at /
o'clock that there were 104, of whom 1O1
were Cinnamon, but there was reason to be-
lieve that that estimate was far in excess of
the actual number. Only two bodies of
but 1t is believed that several others lost
their lives
ABottle Of Acid Does the Mischief
The cause of the explosion is said to have
been the upsetting of al bottle of acid in the
office, which set fire to the building. Early
this afternoon no one would approach the
magazine which had not exploded, and
which contained over 800 tons Of giant pow
der and dynamite Fortunately, however,
the fire kept away from the main magazine.
Three white men who were working in
the nitro-glycerine house were killed.
They were John Bowe, Wallace Dickerson
and Charles Guberlige. Their bodies were
found. The head engineer OF the glycerine
house was blown 20 feet and knocked sense
less The first explosion gave the men in
other departments warning, and they ran
in time to escape. A boy named Borchero
was blown through the roof of one of the
buildings He will die.
The body of Chinaman was found on the
railroad track half mile from the works
The remains Of a Chinese boy, frightfully
mangled, were found near the scene. John
ing house, was blown into the bay, but
swan out. The bodies of the three white
men were found in the debris, terribly
mangled.
Tho Havoc Among Windows.
One of the most striking features of the
explosion was the extent of damage in the
way of broken windows that 1t caused in
this city, IL miles from the scene. The off,
GERS of the Giant Powder Company went to
the scene after the explosion occurred As
they expressed qualification at the
extremely small loss of life, considering the
terrific force OF the explosions and the large
number Of men employed. They say it is
almost impossible to estimate the pecunisry
loss, but $500, 900 will probably be the out
side figure The San Francisco Chemical
Works, owned by Egbert Judson and ]. L.