Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-09-16
MONKEYED WITH GUNPOWDER.
A Close Call for Five Brouieboro Boys.

Close Call for Five BrattlcbOrO Boys.
Five Bratteboro boys. whose ages range
from eight to l. years. fell victims Satur-
day evening to Young Americas insatia-
BILE and unconquerable desire to monkey
with explosives. The lads are Harry
George, son of Wilbur George, the fore
man at Holden n Martins mills; Fred
Hall, son of Otis Hall, the locomotive en-
gineer: Carl Leitsinger, son of F. O. Lett
singer; George Childs, son of W. II.
Childs; and Raymond Frost, son of +. G..
Frost.
1t was a few minutes past six clock,
when an explosion, which sounded like the
report of a heavy cannon, took place in
Mr.. Crowelrs pasture in the rear of For
est square. The force of the explosion
was sufficient to jar the windows and NOV
able articles in the houses in that vicinity.
Patrick Fleming and his son, Will Flem-
| ing, who live on Myrtle street, ran out at
once and found four as CHASTITY looking
boys as can be imagined. Their faces
were blackened and burned beyond recog-
milton, their hair was singed, and the
clothes of two or three of them were on
fire, or had been blown partially off. Mr..
Fleming and his son extinguished the
flames, but Harry George ran rapidly away
with his clothes burning, and therefore
suffered more severely than the others.
Lawrence Heaphy, the medical student,
took the boys to his fathers house and at
once washed them and cared for them as
we'll as possible. Physicians were sum
moned, but as they did not arrive at once,
the boys were carried to their homes.
Harry Georges condition has been con-
sidered critical during the week, but his
recovery is now expected. His face and
hands were fearfully burned, his hair
singed off close to his head, and he was
badly burned about the body by the fire
which burned his clothes. Fred Hall,
George Childs and Carl Leitsinger were in
much the same condition, although their
injuries from the burning of their clothes
are not so severe. The coats of all these
lads were, however, burned to tatters, or
completely destroyed. Raymond Frost
was not burned about the head and face,
his injuries being about the legs. These
four boys are all doing well, but it will
be long time before they recover.
How the accident occurred is not def
nitely known. The boys were firing a
small cannon and flashing powder. There
are marks on the fence which show where
they had sprinkled powder and touched it
off with lighted matches. What caused
Mr.. Fleming to suspect something wrong
when he heard the explosion was the fact
that the lads had been about the neighbour
hood within a few minutes asking fol-
matches, which were refused them at sew
eral places. The indications are that
there was large quantity of the powder
several pounds probably-and that it was
contained in tall tin can. One theory is
that they placed lot of printing powder on
the cannon, and when it flashed up sparks
were thrown into the can, setting it off
1t is evident that the explosion took place
in the midst of the little group, and it il
certain that had the powder been con-
fined it would have blown the boys to at
oms. Where the powder came from is not
known. The boys tell story about hay
ing saved it over from their Fourth of Ju
ly supply, but it is more probable tina
they 'swiped" it from the ledge near b!
where blasting is going on. A part of thu
can which probably contained the pOwde
was found several rods away on Sunday