Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1903-08-01
IS KILLED.
Dynamite Explosion Causes
Destruction At Lowell, Mass.
Besides Those Killed Ten Are Miss.
Ing and More Than Forty injured
sixty.seven Buildings Demolished,
with Property Loss Of $125,oo0.

Lowell - Eighteen persons are
known to be dead. 10 more Sre missing
and sCme are believed to have per-
lshed, fully 10 are injured, Is families
are homeless, 81 dwellings are dam
aged, and the French section Of the
village OF Wisginsville. Tewksbury, Is
devastated. Three companies OF MI
!itia are patrolling the wrecked dis
trict.
A large quantity OF dynamite, stored
IN q small brick building on the edge
II a thickly settled little community,
exploded, ignited gunpowder in the
,ame structure, and the concussion
stirred to action the contents OF an
ether powder storehouse 200 feet away.
The second upheaNal followed the
first but q second or two, and the sue
ceeding Ave minutes saw houses In the
vicinity crumbling. roofs crashing,
wooden walls falling apart. chimneys
topping and rain Of bricks.
Men at work near the magazine
were dismembered, so that 1t is doubt
tul II the remains Of four Of them will
be found.
Women were killed in their homes.
men and boys were felled with fatal
force on the street. and four little
boys were killed while bathing In the
Concord river. more than 1000 feet
away.
Eighteen Is the known loss Of life,
and the flames and the conclusion
worked over 100000 damage to the
buildings of the village Of Virgins
ville and several thousand more in
the city of Lowell in shattered win
dows and shaken frame buildings.
OF the wrecked buildings In the
vicinity of the explosion 13 were set
Oh fire and laid fat with the ground.
SO powerful was the force.
The explosion terrorized every one
within q radius of q mile. Many who
were within the zone Of the flying de-
bris. but who were uninjured, fed be-
reft of reason.
Two very small brick buildings did
the damage. One was owned in part
by the U. 9. Cartridge Company of
Lowell and the Nichols & Fletcher
estate. The one-third section owned
by the Nichols & Fletcher estate had
been rented to the American Powder
Company.
The second brick building. 200 feet
away, was owned by the U. s. Cart
ridge Company. and leased to the Du'
pont Powder Company for storage.
Each building had capacity CT two
and one-haif tons Of explosive.
1t had been dripping from the cans
In white streaks across the floor for
several days. Just after the cartridge
companys workmen had taken the
last can Of their powder from the lit
tie building. q thin column of smoke
issuing from the dynamite section was
the first notice Of danger.
As the workmen ran back to the
door with water. an admittedly inef-
fective agent, the powerful nitrogly-
cerin burst its bounds and blew the
little structure into more pieces than
there were constituent bricks. killed
and manned wcrkmen and scattered
death and destruction in the vicinity.
To the north side Of the magazine
land stood once the home OF William
Riggs. Mrs. Riggs is dead. her son
Edward is in the hospital. and only
charred beams are left of the dwelling
and stable.
On other streets running from River
street, opposite the magazine land,
stretches lines Of toppled structures,
those nearest the end Of the street
showing not one timber erect.
This appalling ruin was accom-
plished within o. minutes time. Moth
ing but three large depressions in the
earth show the locations of the two
powder houses.
Mer. and women, seeking faces that
have failed to appear since the two
magazines uttered their direful roar
crept among the disjointed timbers
that had been their homes. and fol
lowed, with fearful eyes. the militia
men In their search fer the evidences
OF tho dead that they feared were In
the ruins. Here and there were frag
ments of flesh and bone which might
have explained why some Of the miss.
ing persons had not been found either
at the nndertakers' or the hospitals.
Under the houses, In the fields and be,
meath the leveled roofs militiamen
picked up tenderly charred misformed
objects that added to the dependency
of those seeking the lost.
Three two-horse wagons owned by
George E. Stanley, freight forwarder
were driven up and halted in line just
beyond he entrance to the powder
house, ready to receive the cans
John b. Sullivan. now dead, was IN
charge: Of one wagon; Charles Moore
whose body has not been found, and a
man named Rolleau, who Is also miss.
ing. drove the third.
From the cartridge company's works
more than two miles away. In Lowell
came employees to remove the powder
cans to make way for the carpenters
Louis E. Richards. now in the hospital
was in charge of the powder men and
Clarendon Goodwin. seriously injured
at st. Johns hospital. was to superin.
tend laying the new floor.
Under these men were Almeda Ber.
langer, Patrick ]. Spencer. Charles E
Brown, Harry E. McMasters, Albert
Lybund, messenger at the company g
works; George Flynn, all amcng the
injured. Two others were there and
nothing has been seen Of them since.
Thew ware I rc> Gradv son of Pa.
Suicides Among English Doctors.
large increase has been reported