The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-06-11

Washington, June 10.-The state of
Maryland trembled last evening as the
result of an explosion of $50 pounds of
gun cotton at the government proving
grounds at Indian Head.
a twelve inch breech-loadiIg rifle
weighing 10000 pounds and worth
$4,000 was blown to pieces. The armor
covered bomb proof in which the
spectators take refuge while tests are
made. was wrecked and a dozen naval
officers and ordinary experts narrowly
escaped with their lives. The final test
was being made of gun cotton shell,
invented by Chicago man, and
through some unaccountable error the
shell exploded in the gun, wrecking
the monster and its carriage and
throwing some of the pieces more than
mile down the Potomac.
Colonel O'Neill, the chief of ordnance
for the navy, and several United States
naval officers and naval attaches from
the various foreign legations had for
tunately taken refuge on a navy yard
tug about a mile from shore. Lieuten-
ant Anderson. who had been directed
TO fire the gun by electricity when the
signal was given from the tug. had
gone behind a big earthworks. or
butt" about 300 yards from the gun.
He and the other spectators were I'M
hurt, though a massive piece of the
gun, weighing many tons, flew through
the air with frightful velocity and
struck the water within a hundred feet
of the tug.
If the spectators had gone into the
bomb proof as they usually do when
such tests are made, they would all
have been killed. for a big piece of
steel struck it and ripped through the
twelve inch armor as il it had been so
much paper.
A great hole was torn in the ground
where the gun stood and the buildings
at the proving grounds were badly
shaken. Not particle of the massive
gun or its carriage remained.
Since last September the ordnance
experts of the navy have from time TO
time been making tests of this gun
cotton shell. a dozen or more blank
shells have been fired during the win
ter. generally with great success, and
the officers were confident that when
the final test was made the shell would
leave the gun safely and carry its
heavy load of explosive far down the
river
The virtue of this shell was that it
was expected safely to carry a charge
of gun cotton large enough to wreck
DaIlieSnlD OF d 1Ol ulSbdAANC
of from six to ten miles according TO
the power charge. By an ingenius ar
rangement in the point of the shell, a
viol OF illuminate of mercury was ex-
pected to explode the gun cotton. Up
to this time no successful shell of this
kind has been invented, and if the shell
had been successful it would have revo-
lutionized naval ordnance and warfare
Those who saw and heard the ex-
plosion from the tug say it was some
thing terrific.
First, there was a rumbling of the
earth. and then the full clap of the
awful explosion broke a thick smoke
covered the gun, and in an instant an
enormous piece of steel came shrieking
through the air and struck the water
throwing the spray in every direction.
When the men looked again they saw
a great hole where the gun had been,
with the smoke floating away in the
air.
For several minutes the sound of the
explosion reverberated through the
surrounding hills.
This was the largest charge of gun
cotton ever fired or attempted TO be
fired from powder gun.
The government paid about $4,000
FOR the gun blown up and it was built
especially for these tests. A shell shot
from this gun was expected to per-
forate q inches of steel at a distance
of 500 yards, and to travel from six
to ten miles before losing its mo-
rnanfl1m