Los Angeles herald., 1892-10-25
ravine near the Sisters hospital, on
Beaudry avenue and Temple street.

Beaudry avenue and Temple street.
In the carriage were placed four two
inch mortars and four bombs. The
purpose was to experiment as to whether
q mortar would burst if the bomb were
reversed when put in the pipe, and also
to test the strength Of the mortars. The
party selected place In the ravine,
which was about 10 feet in width, and
Wilson placed his mortar5 at turn in
the glen wbereghe could run behind
jutting point when he lighted the fuse.
The spectators stood at safe dis
tance, vet in such a position that they
could clearly observe the experiment.
Wilson placed two-inch mortar in
position, and, at the request OF the
committee, reversed the bomb, or
placed it in the mortar upside down.
Wilson lighted the fuse, and immedi-
ately jumped behind a bank
of earth. There was a
loud, terrific, ringing explosion. and as
coon as the smoke cleared away, Will
con came to look for his mortar and
found that it had burst. The upper
half was torn off, just in the manner of
those at the fatal explosion last Friday
night. The fragments of the mortar
were imbedded five or SIX inches in the
place where the mortar was fired.
This result might naturally have been
expected, when the construction of a
bomb is understood. The Pinch bomb
Is about eight inches in length; it is
made Of strong paper, with wooden
top and bottom. At the lower end of
the bomb is small paper of powder,
about an ounce, or just enough to blow
it out of the mortar and into the air
about 100 yards. The bomb is let down
into the mortar, which is about
eighteen inches in height, by a
long fuse. After letting it down
the end of the fuse is lighted. This inn
mediately reaches the powder at the bot
tom OF the bomb, the powder explodes
in puff and lifts the bomb upwards
this ignites another fuse which extends
into about the center of the bomb, and
when it burns to this point, the fical
explosion takes place in the air. But,
at this experiment., the bomb being re-
versed in the mortar, the explosion was
downward and burst the iron pipe.
At the next experiment six ounces OF
powder was placed in mortar, loosely,
with no weight upon the top. The
charge was fired, and the mortar was
not injured.
| At another experiment, an ordinary
bomb was fred, placed on the mortar
right side up with care. The explosion
was without damage.
At the fourth test eight ounces of pow.
der were poured into two-inch mortar,
and small block OF wood placed on top
of the powder, as the "wadding" is
placed in a shotgun. When Wilson fred
it off, he again sought safety behind the
breastwork of earth. The explosion wss
terrific, and with ringing sound
as the first, 1t was found
that the mortar had burst,
but differently from the first. The NOR
tar was ripped open from top to bottom,
the long shreds being twisted into vari-
GUS shapes. In the first explosion, in
which the bomb was reversed,
only the lower half of the
pipe burst. This last experiment
showed conclusively that the mortar
burst from an overcharge of powder,
and the explosion tore the pipe open
completely. The first experiment
showed that, while the mortar was not
overcharged, the force of the powder
was downward, and the bomb not being
driven upward, necessarily burst in the
mortar.
Wilson seemed nonplussed, and said
he ''could not understand it,
The party drove back to town, anG
Wilson was placed in the central polio,
station, to await the conclusion of tn,
coroner's inquest.
The exploded experimental morgtar
were taken to the Office of Chief of Polio.
Glass, and will, perhaps, be used in evi
dence at the investigation tomorrow.
The chiefs Office is we'll supplied with
these gloomy relics of the laIe disaster
and now looks something like mortar
factory.
! Mr.. E. A. Crawford of 1924 Wilde
street sent to the Office OF Chief Glass
yesterday piece of mortar, about eight
inches in length and four inches in
width, which he picked up in his yard
a distance nf 500 feet from the explo.
zion. 1t had passed over two story
house.
The condition of the little boy, Frank
Seifert, who was wounded in the left
shoulder, and had q portion of the left
ear torn of, is improving.
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