The times., 1897-07-06
Premature Explosions Sent Many
Youngsters to Hospitals.
TOY CANNONS MADE HAVOC
From Early Morning Until Mid
night Surgeons Dressed Lacerated
Fingers, Sewed Up Wounds ana
Picked Powder Out OF the Faces
OF Sufferers Many Disasters.


the Emergency Hospital ali Gay yesterday
From the time when the city became faiiJ
awake up To The hoUI OF midnlgnt the nos
litaI's ambulance and the wagons OF the
various PRECINCTS were constantly rolliii5
In bearing patriolic citizens whose ardor
resulted In painful injuries.
VILE these cases anu with the regular
dispensary cases of tue ltsutuuon, ooi[
tors, nurses ana ASSISTANTS were keps tc'f
stanuy on the move. The niajonby ul
The Injuries lIeateG were those from tiie
deadly toy cannon, which proved fnbiost
as effective ia is naiaInB QUANTITIES. as
ald those in The Continental Army over III
years ngo.
me endre' hospital staff reported foT
GUY aJ 5 clock a. III ana from ina houi
ntil this morning Uhey allowed themselves
no resi- or relaxation. The starr consisted
OF Drs. Yanebn, Turaers o Connor, Bahr and
JneneuanD. While many oil the eases
treated were slight ia their nature, There
were several severe but not necessarily
serious accidents.
1ne ethaii 10y, however, occupied the
ma joi.ty of the slaff's time, with injuries
ranging f,cm d powaer- -scoTched lace 10 d
laceratrd hand.
Probably tbe most painful accident
treated " as that OF little Willie Crawford,
an unccf-azed white boy, living al no.
l63S /. street northwest. Willie had
cannon which he was firing all the morning
aud kept his powder in a tin canister. a
number OF boys we're exploding tlrecrdckers
all around him and one of them accidentally
dropped d Igbled szzer into the powder.
| An explosion inslantly yfollowed, and Willies
hand was terribly lacerateu, the thumb
| being entirely blown off His face was
also fully burned. He was bror%nt 10
| the hospital for treatment by his uncle, ana
! bis wounds were bandaged and dressed.
Albcrt farkman. who lives at No. 100
| Tark placc, was responsible for his own
| Inquire His cannon was rather slow Ia
| exploding. so he exam ned IT, but al an
/ iiuppurtune moment, for no sooner had
! he one So when the full charge entered
! his hand necess tating instant attention.
John WeIsevs cannon went off before
| he was prepared, with the result that his
| face resembled the spotted boy at the cir
! GUS He lives at No. 2O56 Eighth street
| nortl west. and returned home as soon as i
cooling lotion was applied.
I
| ueycrtheless has become impre enatad with
! the spirit of the Fourth. He attempted To
| fire his cannon, and succeeded in flowing
his face fuIl Of powder grams. His in
| juIies were dressed at the Emergency
Charles Washington, a colored boy, who
lives at 507 Sixteenth street northwest,
was entirely too careless in the way he
/ managed his canpon. His righteousness re
| frfas fs,r Il
| Iacerated his hand in fearful manner.
Thomas Webster, white man forty-two
! years old, came to the hospital with his
| face blown full OF powder grains. His
cannon was another one OF those which
| explode before you are willing for them
10 do so.
Jimmie McCan, sixteen years old, came
| all the way from 1909 street northwest
| to have his land dressed All the George
town doctors were evidently busy, but
| he secured immediate reli ef when h c
| came to the hospital. Jimmie did a very
rash and foolish thing. He had shell
1 loaded with powder. 1t wouldn't go off
| when ne first attempted to explode it,
SO he took nail and colnmen ced hammer
ing with all his might Then the shell
did 20 off and so did the greater portion
| or one OF JlHlime 5 nanuS-
H e. Collins was the unfortunate victim
OF anotner's earelessuess. He was stand
ing at the corner of Tenth street and
Virginia avenue southwest when GROVE
OF boys began TO throw lighted fire.
crackers in the air. One of these de-
scended anG exploded in front of Collins
eye. 1t was badly swollen but a careful
examination by one OF the staff showed
that the injury was not serious
F. B. Clark wa making the welkin Tine
near his home, No. 1922 street south
west with cannon, w hen the thing went
the wrong way, producing extremely pain.
ful burns about the eyes and face.
An embryo aItilIerist must have direct
ed the cannon which in jured Percy Fietch
er and Clarence HeinZman, two little col
ored boys who were passing the corner oi
Twenty-second and h streets northw est
Before either OF the little fellows kne "
what was coming there was a blindine
flash and hundreds Of grains of powder
were blown into the bare legs OF each
No. wagon brought them to the Emer
gency for treatment and carried them horn,
again.
Giant crackers contain an immense
amount of injunng ability. and Fret
Ford, a colored boy, who was too neal
one yesterday, appreciates that The
terrible burns on his hand were dressed
ar the Emergency.
Charles Little had a cannon, out o.
range Of which he was not quick enough
in getting, so that his arm was badly
burned
Albert White, a colored man, was light
| ing giant cracker on Z street, betweer
Ninth and Tenth streets, when the fus.
went out Not Whit discouraged, h,
took lighted piece of punk and KEEP
jaDbing away at the cracker. The las
proved SO effective that his hand cams
Emergency for treatment about / o'clocl
p. m.
Another cannon got in its beguiling worl
upon James Simms, colored youth, Civ
ing his address as No 46S street south
west. Hishands Were so terribly lacera ter
by the discharge that, in parts, the muscles
showed through. All of his fingers needed
sewing up, but he refused to permit it
and left for his home.
A Can of powder exploded near the spo
where Mike and Marion Genfree, aget
six and eight years, were standing, an,
injured the little ones 80 badly That the,
were removed to the hospital for treat
ment.
A FATAL ACCIDENT.