Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1894-07-20
3 BLOWN TO PIECES.
Victims Of the Chicago Caisson
Explosion Mangled Beyond
. Recognition.
SCENE RESEMDLED A BATTLEFIELD.

Three Persons Instantly Killed
(. and Nearly Score More or
Less Injured.
CHICAGO, July ia caisson of Bat
terry F, Second artillery, U. S. A., ex-
ploded with terrific force. shortly after
1 p. m. at Grand and lakewood boule-
wards. Two artillery men and one
trooper were instantly killed. Nearly
a score of other ersons-troops, resi-
dents in the vicinity and passersby-
were injured, some of them fatally.
The list of the killed is as follows:
j. DONOVAN, private, Battery F, Second
artillery.
EDWARD DOYLE, private, Battery F,
Second artillery.
JOSEPH GA1LER, farrier, Troop B, Sew
enth cavalry.
The troops left Brighton Park for
long march around the city to exercise
the horses. They were in command of
Captain Dodd of Troop F, Third cav
airy, and consisted of Troop F, Third
cavalry, 20 men; Troop E, Sixth cav
airy, 40 men; platoon of Battery F,
Second artillery, two guns, % men;
Troop B, Seventh cavalry, 40 men.
Everything Went Smoothly
and there were no incidents until the
column marched south on Grand
boulevard and was just crossing Oak
wood boulevard. Then a terrific ex-
plosion occurred. Two men on the
caisson, supposed to be Donovan and
Doyle, were literally blown to pieces
and others were thrown many feet by
the violence of the conclusion. -Four
of the horses drawing the caisson fell
in their tracks, shot through and hor-
ribly mangled, while three others were
blown so feet ahead against the trees
on the boulevard, dying instantly. The
caisson was blown to atoms, not piece
of it larger than mans hand being
found. The boulevard looked like a
battlefield. There was d quick series
of explosions after the first report and
shrapnel shot rained like hail among
the trees on the boulevard and pierced
the surrounding dwellings. The con-
cussion broke every window in the
houses for blocks away. The walls and
roofs of the dwellings
Showed the Terrific Effect
of the missiles. Unexploded shells of
rear part OF the calsson lay s1reWn over
the ground.
It was some little time before the two
dead artillerymen could be found. One
rot them, mangled. beyond recognition,
bat supposed to be Doyle, had been
+. + Blown over a board sign 20 feet high
and WAS found in a vacant lot behind
it. One leg and an arm were gone.
kThe other man, supposed to be Dono-
Van, had been thrown about 800 feet d.
agonally to the right and was found in
a vacant lot near the Lake Shore track.
Joseph Gaylor was found near where
be: Was struck.
Great damage was wrought by the
explosion to neigh boring property.
! Windows in most of the surrounding
houses were blown out and the damage
to residences and park property in the
neigh borhood of the accident is. esti.
mated at about $4,000.
An Official Report.
General Miles directed Captain Mich
Ter and Colonel Willitson of the com.
missary department and former com.
mander OF the battery to go to the
scene Of the accident and report the al.
fair. On the return of Colonel Wilt.
son he gave the following verbal &C.
count OF the accident preparatory te
writing out his report:
The caisson consists of a timber or
which is chest and the carriage con
tanning two chests more of ammunition
making three chests on the caissOn
The explosion occurred in the chest OF
the Timber and the force OF the explo
sion was to the rear, tearing away tn
caisson and igniting the powder in tn
other two chests. The first caisso1
carried ~ shrapnel and a. cartridges
TIE shrapnel are loaded percussio,
shells, containing Eliminates and small
, balls, and are fired from the cannon b,
cartridge containing, as in this case
three and three-quarter pounds O
powder.
. MY Theory of the Accident
!, is that the screw plug at the base o
one Of the shrapnel became loosened
Some of the powder leaked out, and
. beng ground and pounded by the jolt
ing of the Timber, ignited, the powde
: in the cartridges exploded, and the ie
milton of the cartridges in the other tw
chests followed. In the second chez
on the caisson were 10 time shells, l
shrapnel and their complement of 4
! cartridges. In the third and rear ches
were AZ shells and A. cartridges. Th
+ force of the explosion can be NOR
, readily understood when it is remeu
> bered that the 1872 cartridges containe
( 400 pounds of powder. The men O
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