New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-01-23
\ BLASTS FATAL WORK:
TWO MEN KILLED AND OTHERS HURT.
THE EXPLOSIVE WENT OFF rREMATURELY-RE

/ THE EXPLOSIVE WHIT OFF fREMATURELY-KH
suit OF 4 woRKMAY's cARELEssNEss.
An unexpected explosion of an uncovered blast
in East Eighty y-irst-st yesterday killed two work.
men. injured three others and damaged number
of houses causing great deal of excitement in the
street Somebody's carelessness caused the acci-
dent and the police arrested man in an at
tempt 10 find out who responsible.
Abraham Steers, the wealthy lumbcr-dcalcr OF
East Northumberland twenty y-ffth-st, owns the
lot No. 224 East Eighty-ffth-st. and intends to
erect building it. John j. Hopper, con-
tractor of No 2I0 West One ehundred-and-twenty-
fourth-st recently undertook the job of digging
an excavation for a cellar in the lot and set q
number of men to work there under the direction
of his foreman, Charles f. Elliott, OF NO 2,oo'
Eighth-ave. The men encountered n ledge OF rock
a few feet below the surface of the ground at the
rear end of the lot and they blasted away part
of it three weeks ago. The work was suspended
tbep Yesterday afternoon the workmen resumed
onerations in the excavation. A steam drill, man
aped by James Cox, began TO pound away on the
ledge A few feet from the drill was hole in
the rock which had been drilled three weeks ago
and it was patty full of water There was .
dyna,nlte cartridge in tic bottom OF the hoe, also.
but none of the workmen seemed to he aware OK
the fact James DoOey was set to WORK WIN
a suction cup 10 draw tie water out OF the hoie.
Charles F. Wilson, John Kenney and Antonio
Rosa, the other worllmen, were removing some
stones near the front part of the excavation.
The explosion occurred at 80 p. m Dooey
must have struck the cap of the dynamite cartrldse
with the suction cup There was deaienlhS
reports accompanied by the upheaval OF the rock
about the blast As there was no covering OK
lous the fragments of rock flew far ana wiue.
Dooley's forehead smashed In, ana MS ris"o
arm was blown off. His body was hurled against
an embankment at the rear end Oh the eNca'a-
tion. lie must have died quickly. A fragment
of rock struck Cox in the abdomen and Nled
him instantly.
Wilson, who is young laborer OF No. LOSS
Fast Endave., was struck on the heao ny
small piece of stone and was injured severely.
Rosa. an Italian of No. 317 East Onc-hundred-and-
elevcntbst.. had his right arm broken by lying
fragment of rock Kenney, whose home Is ao
No 1.405 Thirl-ave., was cut and bruised on
| botb lecs by hying stones. Foreman Elliott was
NOT in thc excavation and was not hurt.
The Union American African Methodist Epsco-
nal Church. az No. 226 East EiShty-hfth-st@s
stands close TO the excavation IL Is paih
bricl, structure The only person in it at the
time Of the explosion was Sarah Williams, the
ianitress who was going up stairs 10 the eanciy
when a fragment of rock crashed through tno
side wall of the church and let IN the dayhghH
The stone made hole more than iooc LII
diameter through the brick wall, about twenty 1eeo
above the ground Ii passed within few feet or
the wonan's head. She frightened badly, buo
not hurt. Several windows OF the church we're
hrol.en On the other side of the excavation ID
an unoccuped frame shanty. Its rear WAS cru'he"
| in by the bombardment.
Across the street all IF the front windows iu
fonr houses were shattered. No. 225 East Eighty
ffth-st. is q four-stOry brick tenement-house, on
the ground floor of which are gospel MISSION
and a laundry One piece of rock weighing aoouo
fifty pounds, went through the plate glass wihdo"
OF the laundry and wrecked an ironing taoie MI
Brown, the only person in the laundry had left the
table only few seconds before, and had gone 70
a rear room to get hot iron Nobody happened
., 10 in tLe rospcl mission the window Of which
uas broken Half dozen families upstairs
were scared by the explosion but nobody was huro
there.
The frame house no. 227 was unoccupicd, and
il was we'll that person was there stohe
went through the front of the house and wrecked
p partition inside Another piece of rock which
weighed about 800 pounds struck the corner OF
the house close TO the ground
The fourstory brick houses Nos. 229 and 23i,
are known as the Pelham flats. hole was made
in the cornice of No. 229 by piece of rock, and
was hurt in either house.
Immediately after the explosion occurred.
people rushed from number of houses
in the street, and crowd soon gath
cred in front of the excavation. Policemen
brought stretcheIs from the East Eighty y-cghthst.
station and called ambulances from the Prcsby-
tcran Hospital The three injured men were
taken to the hospital for treatment, but Wilson
and Kcnncy went to thcir homes later 1t was
said that Rosa wOud be abe to leave the hospital
in a few DAYS The bodies of Dooley and Cox wero
carried to the police station 10 await the arrival
Of Coroner Mcssemcr, who was asked 10 begin an
Investigation. Dooey Irlshulan forty
wears old and lived in One hundred-and-scvcn-
tcenth-st., between Second and Third aves lt
was said that he had family. Cox was man
of middle aye, whose home was said 10 be In
SiXtieth-st. between First and Second aye6.
Late in the afternoon the police arrested Fore
Elliott and locked him up in the East Eighty
cighth-st. station. As Ec was charged with homl-
eide, tie police did not ask him 10 make state
ment permit him to be seen by reporters.