The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-07-17
A CAHSON EXPLODES.
Terrible Accident to Government
Troops at Chicago.
FOUR KILLED, A SCORE INJURED.
Several OF the Latter Horribly Mangisd
and Likely to Dis-Grsat Damage Done
to Surrounding Property by the Flying
Shells and Fragments.

and Likely to Dis-Grsat Damage Done
to Surrounding Property by the Flying
Shells and Fragments.
CHICAGO, July IA caisson Of Battery
F. Second artillery, U. s. A., exploded
with terrific force yesterday afternoon at
Grand and Oakwood boulevards. Three
nrtillerymen and one trooper were in
stantly killed. Nearly a score of other per-
sons-troops, residents In the vicinity aud
passers- -by-were injured, some of them
fatally. The list of the killed and wounded
ia as follows:
Killed.. Donovan, private, Battery
#. Second artillery; Edward Doyle. pri-
vats, Battery b, Second artillery; Joseph
Gaylor, farrier, Troop b, Seventh cavalry;
Fred Stolz, private, Second artillery.
Wounded--SerReant Linear. Battery r,
Second artillery, badly shot through the
body and severely burned with powder
about face and head; recovery doubtful.
John Allen, u private In the Second
artillery, shot in head and neck, fatally
injured. Maurice O'Donnell, Second ar
tillery, shot In the head and powder
burned; may recover. c. Encke, driver in
rear, private, Second artillery, blown
from his horse and badly injured; will re-
cover John Urquhart, private, Second
artillery, ball Of left foot crushed by
bullet; not serious. Herbert Antes, bug
Ter, Troop B, Seventh cavalry, shot in
shoulder and arm; will recover. Sergeant
Anthony Kane, Troop b, Seventh cav
airy, ear shot off. Sergeant George Hoff-
man, Troop b, Seventh cavalry, shot in
chin. Corporal Abraham Riley, Battery
+, Second artillery. thrown to the ground
and badly bruised. Sergeant King. Bat
terry b, Second artillery, thrown from
horse and bruised. Unknown artillery
man, thrown from horse and picked up
unconscious; injuries slight. Unknown
boy, thrown from bicycle: injured about
the legs. Miss Alice York. tendon of heel
severed by bullet. Mrs. b. c. Huhling,
severely cut and injured in her home by
falling glass.
The troops left Brighton park for a long
march to exercise the horses. They were
in command Of Captain Dodd, of Troop
+, Third cavalry, and consisted of Troop
+, Third cavalry, forty men; Troop Il,
Sixth cavalry Lieutenant Tate, forty men;
platoon of Battery +, Second artillery,
two guns, Lieutenant Gayle, twenty three
men; Troop b, Seventh cavalry, Captain
Varnum. forty men. Tho men marched
In this order. Everything went smoothly
and there were no Incidents until the
column marching south on Grand boule-
ward was just crossing Oakwood boule-
ward. Then terrific explosion occurred.
The 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 fifty feet ahead against the trees
on the boulevard. The caisson was blown
to atoms, not piece Of it larger than
mans hand being found. Tho boulevard
looked like a battlefield.
There was IA quick series of explosions
after the first report aud shrapnel shot
rained like hail among the trees on the
boulevard and pierced the surrounding
buildings. The conclusion broke every
window in the houses for blocks away.
Tho walls and roofs Of the dwellings
showed the terrific effect of the missiles.
Unexploded shells of the rear part OF the
caisson lay strewn over the ground. With
the explosion came great confusion of the
troops and for a moment the men and otfi-
GERS seemed powerless to move.
1t was some little time before the two
artillerymen could be found. One OF them,
mangled beyond recognition, but sup
posed to be Doyle, had been blown over a
board sign twenty-five feet high and was
found in vacant lot behind it. One leg
and an arm were gone The other man,
supposed to be Donovan, had been
thrown about 800 feet and was found in q
vacant lot near the Lake Shore tracks
Joseph Gaylor was found near where he
was struck.
Great damage was wrought by the OK
plosion to neighboring property. Win
dows in most of the surrounding houses
were blown out, and the damage to resi-
dence and park property In the neighbor-
hood of the accident Is estimated at about
$4,000. The house of +. c. Huhling was
damaged to the extent of about 81 900 j.
il. Custer lives directly opposite where
the accident occurred aud sustained
loss of about 81 500. Alarge piece of one
of the wheels of the gun carriage was car
ried through his sitting room window and
carried away large lamp which stood at
the window.
The caisson consisted of limbcr on
which is u chest, and the carriage, con-
tanning two chests moro of ammunition,
making three chests on the caisson. The
explosion occurred in the chest of the
Timber. and the force of the explosion
was to the rear, tearing away the caisson
and igniting the powder in the other two
cneStS. Inc ufSt chlssOn carried 1Orby-twO
shrapnel and forty-four cartridges. The
shrapnel are loaded percussion shells. con-
tanning Eliminates and small balls. and
are fired from the cannon by cartridge
containing, as in this case three and threei
quarter pounds Of powder.
The theory Of the accident Is that the
screw plug Mt the base Of one of the shrap-
nei became loosened, some OF the powder
leaked out any being ground and pounded
by the jolting of the timber ignited. the
powder in the cartridges exploded and
the ignition of the cartridges in tho other
two chests followed. The force of the ex-
plosion can be more readily understood
when it is remembered that the 1879 cart
ridges in the chests contained i95 pounds
of powder.
The guns were the new rified field pieces
recently introduced into the service and
have never seen active duty, The ammu-
milton is couple of months old and has
been jolted over the rough roads in Kan
sas, and yet when going at a light trot on
the smoothest road in Chicago, the ex-
plosion took place. ...
Thoy Fought at the Card Table