The Portland daily press., 1899-05-04
One a Brother Of Well
Known Portland Men.
A Flaw in Casting Said to Have
Caused Trouble.
ESPECIAL TO THE rREss.J

Benton Falls, May S.-A terrible acci-
dent occurred in the Kennebec Fibre com.
pany's mill at this place this morning at
about eight O'Clock. A new boiler used
for cooking wood while being tested, ex-
ploded, Instantly killing two men and
seriously injuring several more.
The killed are Charles Skillins, fore
man, and James Noseworthy, mill hand.
Skillins leaves wife, two brothers,
Walter and Oscar, both in business In
Portland, and two sisters. Mrs Charles
Piper and Mrs. Annie Skillin, both of
Benton. Noseworthy is foreigner and
unmarried. He was twenty. two years
old.
There were two explosions. At the first
some.men who were working near saw
Skillin start to run, but the second shock
came almost instantly, and he was not
seen until later, when he was found
crushed beneath pile of broken ma
chipery and wood. Nosewortby was work
ing at a saw and was killed instantly by
the flying pieces The fireman and some
CO the machinists had narrow escapes
from death by scalding. Coroner Edwards
was soon on the ground and the dead and
injured were removed to their homes.
The part of the mill in which the
builer was situated is total wreck. The
boiler itself was blown twenty-five feet
from its place. The explosion is supposed
to have been due to defect in the cast
ing for the cover, that being the part to
give way first The loss to the company
is about SIC, 900, which is covered by in
surance.
Skillin, the foreman, who was Killed
WAS one of the most popular and highly
respected men in the place. He has been
employed by the pulp company for great
many years, and was regarded as an ex-
tremely valuable man. His father WAS
Simeon Skillln, one of the lsading citi-
zers of Benton, who has formerly repre-
ssnted that town in thu state Legislature.
His brothers in Portland are Mr. Walter
Skillin of the well known firm of Skillin,
Hawkes. q Co, Commercial street, and
MIR. Oscar SkiIlin, who is engaged in
business as wood turner at the c. j.
Mcdonald Co. mill, York street Mr..
Skillin was So years old.
The coroner, Mr.. W. w. Edwards,
states that it is one of she most shocking
things that he ever witnessed. The two
men who were killed were standing in
the line Of the cooker head that was
blown out, and were driven bodily into
the machinery near ny, and held up there
in suspension while the flying contonts
cooking their bodies horribly. They were
badly mangled, but death must have been
instantaneous for at least one of them,
and the other was cooked alive, while
conscious.
Drs. l. e. Rand and g. Il. Webber
from Fairfield were summoned. They
could do very little for the injured men,
but made them AS comfortable as possible.
The force of the explosion blew the head
of the digester through two feet thick
stone wall The cooker WAS twenty-five
feet long and weighed forty tons, and
there were fifty pounds of steam in pres
sure inside while in. the boiler there were
seventy five pounds. When the head went
out If the digester it flew twenty five feet
before it struck the stone wall through
which it weEt Heavy junks of wood
were hurled two hundred feet through the
mill injuring and breaking the machinery
and nearly hitting many other persons