The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-04-10
THAT BIG EXPLOSION.
1t StartIes Thousands in the
Center Of the City Today.
THE NEWS SOLVES THE MYSTERY.
A Papcr Roll of Giant Powder Tossed
Into the Street Was Kun Over by
Heavy Express Wagon-How IL
Came There.

There was a terrific explosion on Dyer
street this forenoon caused by one OF
Baker Brothers express wagons running
over a paper roll containing about pound
of giant powder. Fortunately IL was only
the rear wheel that struck the
explosive ana the wagon escaped with no
other injury than a shattered tire and
rim. The downward force OF
the explosion was such that
two paving blocks were
shattered into fragments. The concus-
sion was sufficient TO jar neighboring
buildings and the report created sensa-
tion all over the lower part of the city.
The presence of an explosive in the
middle of the street was explained
several hours afterwards by William
Robinson, carpenter employed In
SHrh" Court. Robinson found six
inch roll of paper containing
what he supposed to be rat poison,
on the floor of the shop yesterday
afternoon and he threw 1t out OF one of
the end windows on TO Dyer street at the
same place where the explosion occurred.
The presence of the stuff in the carpenter
shop is a mystery.
People who heard it thought of
anarchy or earthquake. Bank
clerks, lawyers, policemen and
bank of the river rushed out expecting to
see the Board Of Trade Building
in ruins. Bank clerks, law
yers, policemen and ordinary people
on the east bank rushed out expecting
to see the postoffice building scattered
in fragments around Turks Head. But
east siders and west siders came to-
way of the bridge and formed in
an awe inspired circle SPOUT shat
tered block of paving stone.
There might have been five hundred
people viewing what was left of the stone
before timid typewritcrs in the neighbor-
ing Office blocks dared TO take their
fingers from their ears.
''What was it?"
"What is it?" "Where will it go off
next?" were the questions and
at the hint of a repetition the
circle about the hole spread out and the
more cautious retreated TO the sidewalk
The man to get really foolish wanted the
crowd to stand way back so he
could hunt for blackened
line along the pavement to show where
the fuse had been laid. Just for guess
he thought that it had extended
over the river wall, and the anarchist after
lighting it had rowed rapidly away. At
Other suggestions:
The bursting of gas main.
The same of a sewer main.
An electric light wire.
a concentrated elect or the Individual
walls of all the Democrats.
Dynamite, nitro giycerine, gun cotton,
ordinary powder, giant powder, fire.
crackers, poorly directed torpedo
from the Newport station.
woman who had the appearance OF
being careful mother thought IT
was one of those toy pistols.
But the hole told no tales, and no ves-
tige was left of the cxplo-
sive whatever it might have
been. The first ray of light on the mat
ter was when Officer Curtis found one OF
Baker Brothers express wagons on
Pine street with n rear wheel wrecked
and the driver said he run over something
and il went off. The something was
the cartridge alluded to above, which
containing some very powerful explosive.
It made pebbles out of two granite
blocks and the souvenir hunters left the
hole.
The Crawford street cadets moved slow
ly northward to the spot and spent the
rest OF the forenoon in advancing theories.