Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-03-29
AWFUL EXPLOSIONS.
At the Acme Powder Works at
Blacks Run, Pa.
Five Persons Killed Instantly and One Se-
verely Injured-Three of the Dead
Persons Sisters-Terrible Eff
fects of the Explosions.

PITTSBURGH, Pa, March 24.-Two
explosions occurred yesterday morning
| at the Acme Powder Co.'s works, at
Blacks Run, fourteen miles from this
city. on the Allegheny Valley rail-
| road, resulting in the death of five
| persons, the injury of another, and the
destruction of five buildings and ten
thousand pounds of dynamite. The
monetary loss is about $4,000.
THE DEAD.
Charles Robbins, aged 20, of Allie
| gheny City.
Nellie Remally, aged 25.
Sadie Remally, aged 80.
William Arthur, aged 49,
Belle Arthur, aged 10, wife of Will
liam Arthur.
The three women were sisters.
The person injured was James Moo
ney, superintendent of the works. His
| right thigh was struck with flying
splinter.
The location of the works was about
a mile from Hutton, in ravine. The
first explosion occurred in the pack
inghouse about 7:15 a. m. shortly af-
ter work had been commenced. The
only eyewitnesses of it are Supt. Moo
| ney and Simeon Bradley, one of the
worllmen. They were at the glycerine
house, almost 200 feet above the pack
ing house, arranging to make nitro
glycerine, which was their first duty
i'll the morning. Bradley had his eyes
in the direction of the packing h ouse
when he saw flash of fire come out
of the door. In terrified shout to
Mooney said: whats that?"
Mooney shouted in return:
ITS FIRE; RUN FOR YOUR L1FE!'
Then they fed up the run as fast as
their legs would take them, but in a
few seconds the awful explosion deaf
ened them and hurled them to the
ground. Mooney was struck in the
right thigh by splinter. Bradley
was uninjured, but his hat was blown
off and his spectacles torn from his
face.
The packing house was located about
100 yards from the Allegheny Valley
railroad tracks, and was a two-story
wooden structure, 20 by IS feet.
THE VICTIMS OF THE EXPLOSION.
AT the time of the explosion Mr..
Arthur, his wife, Sadie Remally and
Robbins were in the building and were
blown to fragments. Nellie was in
the boarding house, which was located
about 100 feet below the packing house.
This building was a two-story frame
structure about 80 by 40 feet. It was
leveled to the ground and Nellie was
crushed by the falling timbers. She
was rescued and brought to this city
on the first train, the intention being
to take her to the West Penn hospital,
but she expired just as they were talk
ing her off the train. She did not re-
gain consciousness after the explosion.
THE SECOND EXPLOSION.
occurred at the Westinghouse at S:25 a.
In. This was caused by spark from
the ruins OF the clearinghouse. The
smoke had been seen in time to warn
all in the vicinity to get out of the
way before the second explosion took
place, so no damage was done to life
then. In this explosion 1000 pounds of
dynamite in process of Incorporation
let go, blowing the mixing house with
all its machinery to atoms.
AN TERRIBLE PICTURE.
After the second explosion n terrible
picture of damage and destruction met
the eye, the smoking ruins of the
clearinghouse with splintered tim
bers, furniture and torn bedding and
clothes lying about, the house being
RACED so completely that in no place
did the ruins lie above the ground
more than foot. One hundred feet
further on. where the pacl>ing-house
had been, there was a great hole in
the ground, probably ten feet deep.
For 500 feet about the ground is liter.
ally covered with splintered wood.
The hillside to the right was used in
making dynamite shells. Large trees
on the hillside were torn up by the
roots, others broken in the middle and
others stripped of their branches.
A little further on to the left, look
ing up the valley where the mixing
house stood, nothing of it remained
save splinters. Where the dynamite
exploded the ground about is light
gray as though sprinlled with slate
dust. The side of the engine house
toward the packing-house was blown
in. A little storehouse right along by
the railroad tracks was so shattered
that light was let in on every side, but
it remained standing. The heavy iron
machinery of the packing and mixing
houses was blown to pieces.
BLOWN TO ATOMS.
The bodies of the unfortunate vic
TINS were blown to atoms. The larg-
est parts found were portions of two
trunks supposed to be of the women
on account of the proximity of pieces
of scalp with long hair on them.
foot was found. Small pieces of cloth
ing were found here and there, but
none was found on the flesh picked up.
The portions of bodies found were
blaclSened and burned somewhat. The
most of the remains were scattered
about within radius of 100 yards, but
pieces of bloody flesh and debris were
found a mile and half away.
THE EFFECT OF THE EXPLOSION AT
OTHER PLACES,
The explosion created the widest
kind of excitement in the Allegheny
valley above and below Blacks Run.
and was felt at Sharpsburg, nearly
ten miles distant.
At Acmetonia, directly over the
river from Blacks Run, nearly every
window in the town was shattered,
while houses rocked to and fro Tor
perhaps two minutes. Almost similar
scenes were enacted in Hutton, Oak
mont, Verona, Johnston, Parnassus,
Kensington, Tarentum and other
towns within radius of four or five
miles.