The sun., 1895-05-27
THEIR JOKE WENT TOO FAR
WARRANTS FOR THE MEN WHO
WRECKED SMITHS BARROOM.

n-r,ou, Injury to bartender Turner but
Upset and Damaged the whole Place
Damage Suits May Follow Speedily.
BRIpaEpoRr, May 26.-"It was more than a
foot long, bigger around than beer bottle. and
made OF paper tougher than boiler iron." said
Capt. Miner Smith this afternoon in describing
the giant Hrecrackcr thnt was exploded In the
barroom of his hotel on Friday night by one Of o
party of we'll known residents OF Ansonia.
The explosion wrecked tho room and seriously
injured the bartender. II was intended as
practical joke. but the affair has taken serious
turn. and II will probably provo expensive to
the perpetrators.
Smiths hotel Is on the banks of the Housa-
tonic River near the Sound, and is q popular re-
sort for shore dinners. On Friday afternoon
Mr.. Smith received an order from Smith
Brothers, livery men in Ansonia, to prepare
dinner for q party of a dozen for that evening.
About o'clock the party arrived, and while
the dinner was being prepared they went to the
barroom to drink. The hotel is three-story
wooden structure built after the fashion of
shore hotels, with q wide veranda running all
around it. On the FIRST floor Is the barroom
and over 1t are hnlf dozen private dining
rooms. -
While the visitors were in the barroom Smith
stepped into an adjoining room where the Ice
box is kept When in there he heard the crowd
in the barroom make q rush for the door. and
he stepped to the door leading to the barroom
in time to see his bartender, young man
named Charles Turner, step into the middle Of
the room and pick up from the floor what
seemed to be package done up in darkbrown
paper. 1t was smoking. and at glance Mr..
Smith saw there was lighted fuse attached.
Drop it, Charley" called Mr.. Smith. The
next moment terrific explosion occurred.
Every light in tho room was extingushed. and
the smoke was SO thick 1t was stifng There
are two large open freplaces in the room, and
both were filed with fine wood ashes. The force
of tho explosion blew the dust into the room and
made 1t difficult to breathe.
Mr.. Smith stepped into the room and heard
groans. As soon as a light could be brought
great agony. The front of his coat, vest, and
right sleeve Of his coat. The flesh in the palm
face was filled with small pieces OF the tough
paper OF which the cracker was made. He could
not see.
On being carried up stairs. 1t was found that
Turner had wound about the size of silver
plosion there were several parties dining in the
private rooms up stairs.
door in the house and the crash and breaking OF
glass startled the guests. and all rushed to the
With bosn
from the ,h FIRE places ' ara IL, momentary it was
The crowd IN the barroom had rushed out
leaving the cracker kissing in the centre Of the
barroon. and they halted just outside the door
laughing. When the explosion occurred and
they realized that a mistake had been made
they started IN to- concoct some excuse to shift
After the excitement had subsided somewhat
Mrs Smith, wife OF Capt. Smith, was standing
on tho veranda and the party from Ansonia
were standing directly underneath It was
the men. but heard one Of them say:
Il am sorry we did that
keep still; don't admit we did #" said
another
Its a bad affair."" was the reply.
Thus Mrs. Smith heard them talk over the
way the explosion occurred. She heard them
say that when 'they were all in the barroom a
rpfhed in With the = cartridge "a in hi,
the room. They saw it. and made rush to get
out OF the way.
appeared in the darkness This is the story they
told to Mr.. Smith. They tried to convince him
that some enemy had attempted to blow up his
,,.p Up to this time Turner had not recovered 50
had dressed his wounds anu administered drugs
had the
with the cartridge in his hand, and. putting it
se ,hsg g's susSsd irsa Ua
and were standing outside the door when he
fGr the TO how i Jq
The particles Of the material Of which the
cracker was made have been removed. so that
there is no danger that he vii lose his eyesight.
His hand is terribly lacerated and the wound in
the abdomen Is dangerous. 1t will be long
time before he will be able to leave the hospital.
Yesterday complaint was made to Justice G.
II. Peck. and warrants were issued and placed
in the hands Of Sheriff Stagg. lie has made an
investigation and found most OF those impli-
Gated, and arrests will be made tomorrow. The
statutes of this state provide for a severe PEN
atty tor using explosives and injuring individ-
ua!s and private property. AS the persons i'm
plcated in the affair are wealthy II is not un-
tuted.
To-day when THE SUN reporter visited the
hotel there was an abundance of eyile lence left
of the wreck made by the explosion. The plas-
ter had been knocked from tho walls and cell
inCs in many places and in the yard the furnI-
ture that was in the room at the time
stacked up
Olive 7. Smith, the ten-year-old daughter of
Mr.. Smith. was i'll in her room at the time OF
the explosion. The excitement OF the night and
the shock of the explosion caused relapse and
to-day she had not entirely recovered from the