Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1893-05-26
blown to Atoms.

There was an explosion in the Charles
Pope Glucose Works at Geneva. H.,
Wednesday afternoon, costing the lives
OF seven men and q loss Of $3.50, 900 to
the owners OF the plant. 1t will never
be known how the accident happened.
The only man who could tell the tale
was buried beneath a mass Of worthless
machinery and timbers. His name vas
August Jansen. He had an assistant in
the person Of Victor Andersen, but sim
ultaneously with the powerful explosion
Andersen was blown out Of q third.story
window, and when picked up was a
corpse. The complete list OF the dead Is
Is follows:
FRED srRoM. married. aud had two chill
dren.
LARS Schultz. married. but left no
family.
VICTOR ANDERSEN. unmarried.
CHRISTIAN EHMUND. unmarried.
ANDREW kELBuRa. married. but left no
children
AUausr JANSEN. body not yet taken out;
was married; had Eeen In this country but
q short time: wife and children still, living
In Swe eden.
In the face Of this death list but one
eSa~sp3eseAssn In.
Jury Of consequence. He was Andrew
Pierson. and was struck on the side by
. piece OF wood and fragments OF flying
brick rs ne tried to escape through q
window. His right arm was broken and
his body badly bruised.
The Cause "a Mystery.
1t was about 2:20 o'clock in the at
ternoon when the explosion happened.
The report was heard all over the town.
aud when 1t became known that the
CHARLES Pope Glucose Works, the main
industry Of Geneva, had blown to pieces.
the population gathered, IN short order.
to render all poss bile aid. That portion
Of the building which suffered was the
southeast end. in which was all the
machinery. The building was three
and q half stories high, and the entire
s'de was blown out on to a line Of
freight ears that stood on q side track.
The village fire department was got
out, but was not needed. The remain
Ing seventy Ave or eighty employees OF
the works were armed with picks and
shovels, and the work OF re eovering the
bodies begun without delay. These
were all found near each other and
taken across the narrow little street to
the Office of the local lumber company.
Charles Pope, the owner OF the plant,
said hat the works had been in active
operation for twelve years and had
eve before met any accident OF ever
the most trivial nature. He said it was
almost impossible to place any estimate
on his loss. He carried a heavy fire
insurance policy, but nothing ON acct.
dents.
Rescuing the Victims.
The work of rescuing was very dam
gerous. owing to the falling timbers
and walls. The sight which met the
gaze directly after the explosion was
appalling. The mangled forms Of the
workmen were pinned to the walls and
pieces Of machinery in various portions
OF the wrecked building, presenting
most Rhastly spectacle. The fact tina,
SO many workmen escaped 10 attributed
to the lucky circumstance that nearly
all were employed on the lower floor al
the time. The explosion took place in
the big copper boiler or reservoir known
as the converter" located In the cen
trail portion of the fourth floor. In this
copper boiler the first stages Of CONVEX.
sion Of the starch In the sugar of g:u'
cose into glucose takes place. A solu,
ton Of muriatic acid and water Ia forced
into the starch under a pressure Of
twenty-five pounds OF steam. Tht
boiler had been been In use for foul
years and was regarded az safe.