The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-13
MEN BLOWN TO PIECES
ELEVEN KILLED AND TWENTY IN
JURED, SOME VERY SERIOUSLY.
Gun-COttOn Plant and Mixing House
of Lafin-Rand Powder Mills De-
strOyed by an Explosion.

NEW YORK, July 1.-TWO explosions
which killed eleven men. wounded about
twenty others and wrecked two buildings
occurred at the plant of the Laflin-Rand
powder works, at Pompton, n. j., to-day.
The dead are:
JOHN CRAIG. thirty-five years old, chief
engineer of works, lived at Wynoko.
WILLIAM BRENNA, thirty-five years
JAMES PHILLIPS. forty-five years DID,
married and leaves a family, lived at Pomp
DANIEL FREEMAN, thirty years old,
boss of the drying room.
WILLIAM FISHER, an inside worker
WILLIAM FISHER, JR., helper
JOHN BONATTA. laborer. of Butler.
CASPER COZZINO. fifty years old, Ital-
ian laborer, married. lived at Pompton lake.
GUIDO MAaNQ Of fragment Tag lotbO of body
was found due slip for work done for
JOSE tcAsENNE, Italian laborer, killed
in the ditch.
A canvass Of Pompton Plains shows that
G. j. Garrigan, an employe of the company,
is missing. The most seriously hurt are:
Private H. Emmons. Company 1, Third N.
]. Volunteers; Ernest Granger. electrician,
Brooklyn James E. Rowe, of Bloomsbury;
Walter Moore, of Pompton lake; Amzi
O'Dell. of Pompton lake; Edward Rose, a
blacksmith of Pompton; Charles Luke, of
Butler; John Phillips, of Brooklyn; Frank
Leonard of Pompton; John Larson, Of
Pompton lake; Edward Lewis, of Pompton
lake; J. w. Burchel, of Pompton lake.
The first explosion was in the house where
gun cotton was being made, and the sec
ond, presumably superinduced by concus-
sion, was in the drying house. close by.
Three men were in the mixing room when
the explosion occurred and they were blown
to atoms. Chief Engineer Craig, who was
in the engine room, had his head crushed
to a jelly in the wreckage Of the boiler
house. the side of which was blown out
John Phillips was standing near tree
some distance from the mixing house. His
head was blown from his body and was
picked up. His body was frightfully torn
by the force of the explosion and his clothes
were whipped from his body. The foreman
of the drying room was also blown to pieces
and number of Italians who were digging
trench near the building were killed.
The first explosion was at about half past
10 o'clock. Before the noise and roar of 1t
died away, there was a second, louder and
more terrific than the first. The roar was
heard for miles and the conclusion broke
windows in all directions. The explosion
was followed by fire which threatened to
spread to the other buildings of the plant,
in which tons of high explosives were
stored.
Five companies of the Third New Jersey
Volunteers have been stationed at the plant
since the war with Spain began and they
were ordered under arms and went to the
scene of the explosion, at double-quick time:
Within ten minutes the soldiers had formed
a Gordon about the entire works and soon
the firemen were at work trying to quench
the flames. Almost Immediately after the
working at the mill congregated near the
scene. The soldiers tried every means of
keeping the crowd back, telling them of the
danger of further explosions and the impos-
sibility of their passing the line. Women,
frantic with anxiety, tried to rush through,
and the soldiers were compelled to fix bay
onets to hold the crowd back AS the in
jured came through the lines of soldiers
the scenes of excitement were redoubled.
Everyone of the working men who came out
! was immediately ,sSIrounded, and begged for
word of those who had been left behind,
many of whom are still missing. The f1re
was soon under control and hnally
missing was Immediately begun and will be
prosecuted diligently. During the fire two
nitroglycerin were in constant danger of
being exploded by flying sparks.
The Laflin-Rand Company has been en-
gagged in the manufacture of brown powder,
nitroglycerin, gun cotton and smokeless
powder under contract to the government.
The loss to the company will be great: but
wrecked buildings will be begun at daylight
tomorrow and that the plant will be in full
running order in two weeks.
After the explosion there. was some talk
of a Spanish spy being implicated in the at
tempt to destroy the powder mill. but the
theory Of the men connected with the works
is that a grain of gravel or sand got into
some powder which was in process of hand
ling in the mixing room. and that as 1t
went through the machinery the foreign
substance came in contact with a metal
surface and threw out spark which ignited
the explosive.
Adjutant Patterson. of the Third Regi-
ment says the men of the regiment showed
the greatest GOODNESS in face Of the greatest
danger. About 5 o'clock in the evening
while the night guards were being posted
they came across a body or rather portion
of one This made eleven killed. This man
appears to have been working on the side
of the mountain thousand yards from the
works His head was blown off. Who he
was no one seems to know.
Working in the gun cotton, when the eX-
plosion occurred. was man named Fisher.
The body found on the mountain side may
be his as his remains have not been found
A boy a son of Fisher, is also missing He
was working with his father and he may
have been blown to pieces