The Portland daily press., 1901-02-08
TON OF POWDER
Exploded at GambO bills
Yesterday.
New Mill of Company
Completely Wrecked.
Two Employees Of Company We're.
Killed.
Cause Of the Explosion
is Unknown.
Force of Explosion Plainly Felt
In This City.
Cause Of the Explosion
is Unknown.
Force of Explosion Plainly Felt
In This City.

The press mill nf the Oriental Powder
Company at Gambo blew up shortly
before 30 O'Clock yesterday morning,
and two men employed there were killed,
Gambo is all of eight miles from Port
land, but SO terrific was the concussion
when the tons of powder in the mill blew
up, that the effects of 1t were felt In this
city. Windows were rattIsd, floors
shaken, and In some cases doors burst
open, while the people on the street at
the time thought that an earthquake
had ocoCred.
The explosion was in the press mill.
IL was here that tho powder was pressed
into sheets, preparatory TO being taken
TO another mill for the purpose of being
ground up into powder OF different de-
grees of tineness. An explosion never
before occurred in the press mill, 1t being
regarded as the safest mill In the whole
plant.
Yesterday morning In the press mill
there were about 2.0O0 pounds or powder.
Two men wers at work there, ana no
one else was near the building What
occurred or what tie men did to cause
the explosions not known, and never
will be known, since both men are dead
and the mill has been leyelled TO the
ground. The explosion was OF the most
terrific character Ths shock In the
vicinity was very severe. Many build
ings which stood within radius OF half
mils from the place OF the explosion
H..
windows were blown out and dishes
broken. No one except the two men who
were killed, was In any way Injured.
The press mill WAS an inex pensive
wooden structure, about S5 feet square.
1t stood all by itself, no other building
being within go yards OF 1t. In fact,
the mills are buils in this way, so that
If an explosion occurs the entire plant
will not suffer. The timbers of this
building were split into kindling wood
and scattered over a half mile OF terri
tory. The last fatal explosion at thess
powder mills occurred in 1898.
The two men who were in the press
mill when it blew up were j. Z. Ross
and 4. "A. Field. j. q. Ros1 was
married but had no chIl1ren. He
lived some distancs from the mill, up on
the Pleasant River road lie was about
80 or 35 years of age and had not been
employed at the mills long time. Il.
A. Field was a widower, and had four
children. lie was AS or so years of age,
and had been In the employ Of the COM
pany for many years, He lived in one
OF the houses owned by the Oriental
Powder Company, the proprietois of the
powder mills. Both Ross ana Field were
good men and were valued employees Of
the company.
SThs machinery In this press mill was
massive and set up in the most solid
manner. The huge stone foundation
was cleft asunder, nieces OF iron ma
chinery Weighing many hundred tons
thrown many feet away, sheets of galva-
nlzed Iron were hurled through the air
and hung from trees all about the
wrecked mill. The aluminium plates
used in the mill were found hundreds of
feet away from the scene Of the explosion
and were warped and twisted into all
kinds of shapes. The aluminium plates
were quite heavy, being half an inch In
thickness and two feet square.
The mill was surroundedEby large birch
and maple trees. Some of these had
been uprooted and hardly any OF them
were found which were not battered and
broken by the flying debris from the
mills All kinds OF artiol IS were found
hanging from the branches of the trees
within a radius Of mile of the Fpat
There were shreis of clothing, pieces Of
human flesh, parts OF machinery and
spinters of wood from the wrecked
building.
hut the worst feature of this explosion
was the manner in which the bodies of
the two men in the mill at the time
were torn into shreds and scattered
about over the snow for raaius of a
hundred yards. some portions OF the
bodies were recovered, but there was
nothing about the pisess picked up by
which they could have been identified.
The relatives and friends OF the dead men