New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-07-28
SHOCK FELT FOR MILES.
CONTACT MINES EXPLODED OFF WILL
LETS POINT.
A GREAT BODY OF WATER THROWN TWO Fun
MINES ALSO SET OFF AT THE SOUND

pRED FEET IN THE ARRIVE OBSERVATION
MINES ALSO SET OFF AT THE SOUND
ENTRANCE TO THE HAEBoR
Eight more mines exploded in the mine
field between Fort WIets and Fort Schuyler. at
the Sound entrance. the harbor. yesterday
afternoon At the engineers quarters at Fort
Wiliets In the morning II was said that more
mines would be exploded. owing the weather.
but later II was found that the conditions were
most favorable as owing to the storm there were
Few craft using the channel.
Accordingly al IL o'clock the engineers boat
TOOK one OF the RATS in tow and with Sergeant
Carroll In charge towed 1t out 10 the mine fields
ana placed II over the riddle point Of group Of
contact mines. Three OF these mines form
group The raft constructed OF two large oil
casks dashed TO heavy timbers. the whole held in
position by a nve-hundred- pound anchor on me
ratt was large amount Of gh explosive
From the anchor ran three steel cables and these
IN turn connected with the contact mines They
were 50 arranged that when the raft do
stroyed by the explosion Of the dynamite top
OF 1t the heavy anchor would drop. and IT went
down would draw the three ropes toward Il. and
they would upset the mines As the mines tipped
they attained the firing position just II the huh
az ship struck one of them and pressed 1t ever.
The sides Of the triangle formed by the three
mines were each two hundred feet When the
work Of placing the raft IL position had been
n!ctcd. and the cables 10 the mines under
the direction Of Sergeant Carroll. he returned to
the raft in a yaw The boat hoisiod rcd flag
. and proce eded out toward the Sound ordering all
vessels In that direction keep back. At the
same time police patrol launch No /. which had
been waiting took up position beloH the raft. and
warned back all vessels approa hing from the
direction Of He'll Gate
Sergeant Carroll connected the firing appliances
on the raft with the dynamite. ana then the firing
apparatus with two insulated wires which he had
the raft toward the Fort Schuyler side paying out
tho wires ne receded
This took until O'Clock. little time before
that Colonel Robert and Major In ght United
States Engineer Corps. companding at W.cts
Point. took positions the long pier az Nlets
Point With them a signal corps man. When
Sergeant Carroll reached the portion he desired he
anchored his yawl and sgnalled 70 the officers on
the pie: that he was ready Major Knight took a
look over the mine folds with his glasses ard then
gave tho word This repeated to Carroll by
the signal man. Carroll repeated the message 10
be sure he had read II correctly and then STOPPING
over attached the free ends % the wires 70 A pat
A THREE-CoRNERED COLUMN
There was a fash and a roar. and the water few
up in spray and pieces Of the raft few nigh IN
tho air Perhaps Ave seconds after the expos on
there was low rumble. and then column Of
water triangular in form. thckets and denscst a.
the three points. shot into the air The water new
two hundred feet into tho air. and then mush-
roomeI and fcll back There was no g ear report,
only 4 muffed roar and a rUmbling The collapse
o; the great column Of water with It's three splre-
Ike points made big cOmmotion. thr"" heavy
waves on the shores and almost unset rowboat
which had gone out 10 $50 the explosion ne s'I-
sation when sitting in a rowboai half mile from
tho explosion was peculiar Tho water seemed 70
ircmb.c and tho boards NJ the boat seemed 10, y"
irving 70 separate. Many persons comp aln"d tha'
the sensation made them sick. ard several actuaiy
had fits 81 vomiting afterward THIS sensation va
smu taneors or nearIy so VIII ' iasind ,,,,n
the uprising 81 the great geySer ~ az" i o,''
tho water mad almost attained us greatest elrNa,
ton and had ceased entirely before IN" descent OF
the column began. IL, go,
dishes ratified and houses shook for long hS,ih.o
from either shore This despite tho fact mat ta'r"
was No sharp report ard apparently niue d'S'"'o
% tho ar.
THE THREE WENT OFF TOGETHER
The Observers agreed that the three mines had
exploded as riinned. that the three went OF AZ Al
most the sin,, second and that they made pracu-
cay one EXPLOSION \ peculiar feature ~ The afair
vas that when the peculiar trembling % the water
occurred fsh a mile away lcaped out OF the water
some 81 then, 10 A heghth Of ten feet After the
eNnlosion thousands 81 dead hsh foatei on the TOP
Of tho water f1r a radius OF two and half miles.
Later oNe-y gVailahl" hont was IN use gathering
M IN" hsh The police launch took g"od supply
,fe- the big explosion some Of the waiting boats
started on their courses. but we're AZ once warned
hack and few minutes later thor" were t"o
moro explosions The .rsi o. three ooserNatiop
mines fred electrically. and the second vas ot TWO
mines o. the same character inc hring o. tnese
Nonday The water was hurled from twfnty 10
forty feet in N" air ana there vas the same
rumhnE. but a lack Of disiurha nee ., me az.
While tho second and third explosions were heavy
thoy were small and weak compared with the ter
riAc explosion ~ tho three contact mines