The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-07-31

q this city. but fortunately were cit
uated more than q mile away from the
factory itself. They were built OF
brick about ten feet high, with a
rounded roof of corrugated iron They
were constructed some thirty years
ago in what was then q broad open
field on the banks Of the Concord river.
During the past decade small wooden
dwelling houses have gradually sprung
up in the vicinity, crowding nearer
and nearer with fancied security to
the two innocent looking little build
ings until they almost completely sur
rounded them, except on the river
side, the nearest house being scarcely
fifty feet away
s One Of the magazines was just
within the roadside fence, while the
other was about 100 feet behind 1t
near the bank of the river. Both
magazines ordinarily contained two or
three tons of gunpowder in tin kegs.
each keg being about eighteen inches
high and foot in diameter
Sent to Remove the Powder.
The company had for some time been
DESTROYS of strengthening the floor. of
the magazine nearest the street and in
the morning eight men, three of them
employees of the company, three ex-
pressmen and two carpenters, were
sent there with three large express
teams to take out the powder and
mend the floor. Two Of the teams had
been loaded and the other was almost
full when at 9:06 o'clock the explo-
sion occurred.
1t was long time before the actual
cause of the explosion could be ascer-
tanned. 1t was thought at first that
everyone within radius of fifty feet
of the magazine had been killed, but
later 1t was found that Clarendon
Goodwin, the foreman Of the men who
we're loading the powder on the teams,
mad survived, together with one of his
assistants, Amadee Boulanger, and In
the afternoon the latter was seen in
The hospital.
He said that the men went down to
The magazine nearest the street to fix
Che floor and after the teams had been
loaded with the powder which was in
the magazine. it was discovered that
can of nitroglycerin, which was
stored In the magazine, was leaking.
Mr.. Goodwin picked up what he
Thought Was a jug Of Water
and began pouring it onto the nitro
glycerin with the idea of diluting It
and washing it up. AS soon as the
fluid from the jug struck the floor, he
found that it was nitric acid. The
door at once began to smoke and
when the men saw it, they rushed from
the building, but had not gone ten
feet when the explosion occurred.
This magazine was therefore the
first to go up, followed Immediately by
the gunpowder in the three teams and
several seconds later by the second
magazine. ).
ATo those who heard the crash, 1t
seemed as If there were two distinct
explosions with a continuous roar be
tween them. There are, however,
Ave holes in the ground, which seems
to clearly indicate five explosions, :
: The entire catastrophe, however,
occupied the space Of scarcely five
seconds, but in that time the sur
rounding property was swept as If a
small volcano had broken forth in it's
midst. Every house within 200 yards
collapsed. Trees were blown down,
the grass within 100 yards moved as
If by lawn mower, while bricks from
the TWO magazines were hurled lar
across the river and all over the neigh
borhood.
Air Filled With Smoke.
For several minutes afterward the
air was completely filed with smoke
and dust, Illuminated by the glare
from the already burning houses.
The work Of rescue at once began,
but in many cases the flames had al
ready gained full sway over the
crumbled ruins and several persons
were burned to death before the de-
bris which covered them could be re-
moved.
The property Is situated just over
the Lowell line in Tewksbury, but the
Lowell fire department did noble work
n caring for the wounded. Before a
stream Of water was started from the