The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-17
SOLDIERS BLOWN TO ATOMS
A CaiSSOn EXplOdeS During a March
at Chicago.

Like Hall and the Scene Resem-
bled a Battlefield Windows Blown
Out of Nearby Houses and the In
mates Panic Stricken.
Chicago, H., July 16.-This afternoon
caisson belonging to Hotchkiss gun of
the second regular artillery exploded at
Fortieth street and Grand boulevard,
fine residence district Following are the
casualties
Joseph Gaylor, farrier troop B, Seventh
cavalry, head blown off.
Cannoneer Donovan, battery f, Second
artillery Fort Riley, Kansas, killed.
jeremiah Doyle, cannoneer, battery F,
Second artillery, Fort Riley, Kan, killed.
Herbert Andrews trumpeter, troop B,
Seventh cavalry, fatally wounded; taken
to Mercy hospital,
The injured are Sergt. King Sergt
Liner Private O'Donnell, Private Stilsey,
Private Enke, Private Urquhart-all of
battery f, Second artillery, Fort Riley,
Kan.
SEVERAL. MADE DEAF.
Several other soldiers were made deaf
by the explosion.
A lady in the house of Frank Devil, at
the corner of Grand Boulevard and For
tieth street, was struck with proiectile
and badly wounded She was taken to
Seven horses were killed and three
wounded.
The battery was making a practice
march down Grand boulevard when the
explosion occurred
There is no explanation of the explo-
sion except coniectural The caisson had
lust ratified across the Lake Shore rail
road track on Fortieth street when the
explosion occurred inside the caisson,
sending hail of projectiles in all direc-
tions. Every pane of glass within two
block were broken. 1t is conjectured that
the jolting over the railroed tracks ig
nited fuse or some loose powder, setting
off all the shells in the box.
THE MARCH.
The troops left Brighton Park for a
| long march around the city to exercise
| the horses. They were in command of
Capt. Dodd of troop f, Third cavalry,
and consisted of troop F, Third cavalry,
40 men; troop e, Sixth cavalry, Lieut..
! Tate, 40 men; platoon of battery +, Sec
! ond artillery, two guns, Lieut.. Gayle, %
men; troop b, Seventh cavalry,
| Capt. Varnum, 40 men. The men
! marched in this order. Everything went
til the column, marching south on Grand
| boulevard, was just crossing Oakwood
| boulevard. Then terrific explosion oc-
Cured The men on the caisson, sup
! posed to be Donovan and Doyle, were lit
orally blown to pieces, and others were
thrown many feet by the violence of the
| concussion.
Four of the horses drawing the caisson
| fell in their tracks, shot through and hor-
! ribly mangled, while three others were
! blown fifty feet ahead against the trees
! on the boulevard.
The caisson was blown to atoms, not a
! piece of it larger than mans hand being
| found.
LOOKED LIKE A BATTLEFIELD.
! The boulevard looked like battlefield.
There was a quick series of explosions
after the first report, and shrapnel shot
/ rained like hail among the trees or the
| boulevard and pierced the surrounding
| buildings. The concussion broke every
| window in the houses for blocks around.
| The walls and roofs of the dwell
! lings showed the terrific effect of the
missiles. Unexploded shells of the rear
! chests of the caisson were strewn over
| the ground. With the explosion came
! great con Illusion among the troops, and for
/ a moment the men and officers seemed
| powerless to move. TO this was added
! the fright of the occupants af the sur
rounding houses, who ran screaming from
! their dwellings only to be sickened by the
| sight in the street.
POLICE RUSH TO THE SCENE.
A still alarm of fire had been turned in
and with the fire department came the
| stock yards police patrol wagon. The
wagon was sent back to the station and it
returned with twenty-five men under
command of Lieut. Morrissey. He then
telephoned to Hyde Park for REINFORCE
ments and soon Capt. Dollard arrived
with twenty-five more men. Later In
spectors Hunt and Fitzpatrick and Lieut.
Bontield arrived. 1t was some little
time before the two dead artillerymen
could be found. One of them, mangled
beyond recognition, but supposed to be
| Doyle, had been blown over board sign
% feet high and was found in a vacant
lot behind it. One leg and an arm were
| gone. The other man, supposed to be
| Donovan, had been thrown about 300 feet
diagonally to the right and was found in
a vacant lot near the Lake Shore tracks
Joseph Gaylor was found near where
he was struck.
Great damage was wrought by the eX-
plosion to neighboring property. The
windows in most of the surrounding
houses were blown out and the damage
to residence and park property in the
neigh oorhood is estimated at about
$4,000.