Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1903-08-07
SCORE Die In EXPLOSION
GunpOwder Magazines Are Blown Up In
Lowell, Mass, Suburb.
NEARLY FIFTY PEOPLE ARE INJURED.
Four Boys 200 Yards From the Magazine
Killed by the Concusslon-l4 Frame Houses
LeveIed TO the Ground-Seven Caught Fire
and Were Consumed-The Explosion Heard
10 Towns Fifty Miles Distant.

Lowell, Mass. Especially Two small
gunpowder magazines, situated in the
very midst of humble residences of fifty
mill operatives, exploded with fright
full conclusion, and the resultant wave OF
death cut off the lives of more than a
score Of human beings and injured
nearly fifty others.
Half dozen men who were loading
/ kegs of powder from one of the maya
zines were blown to pieces, four boys
200 yards away were killed by the force
of the explosion, and fourteen frame
houses within a radius of 400 yards went
down as if they had been built Of cards.
Seven of these houses Immediately
caught fire, probably from the kitchen
stoves, and were completely consumed.
At least three persons were caught in
the ruins and burned to death, while
seven or eight others, who were rescued,
died subsequently of their injuries.
1t is estimated that seventy separate
pieces of property, including those al
ready mentioned, were destroyed, while
the force of the explosion wrecked win
dows for five or six miles around, and
its thunder could be heard distinctly
more than fifty miles away.
The magazines were the property OF
the United States Cartridge Company of
this city, but fortunately were situated
more than a mile away from the factory
itself They were built of brick, about
ten feet high, with rounded roof of
corrugated iron. They were constructed
some thirty years ago, in what was then
a broad, open field on the banks of the
Concord river. During the last decade
small wooden dwelling houses have
gradually sprung up in the vicinity,
crowding nearer and nearer, with fam
cied security, to the two innocent look
ing little buildings, until they almost
completely surrounded them, except on
the river side, the nearest house being
scarcely fifty feet away.
One Of the magazines was Just within
the roadside fence, while the other was
about 100 feet behind it, near the banks
of the river. Both magazines ordinarily
contained two or three tons of gum
powder in tin kegs, each key being about
eighteen inches high and foot in diane
ter. The company has for some time
been DESTROYS of strengthening the floor
of the magazine nearest the street, and
eight men, three of them employees of
the company, three expressmen 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 six minutes
past 9 o'clock, the explosion occurred.
1t was a long time before the actual
cause of the explosion could be ascer-
tanned. 1t was thought at first that
everyone within a radius of fifty feet of
the magazines had been killed, but later
it was found that Clarendon Goodwin,
the foreman of the men who were load
ing the powder on the teams, had SUR
vived, together with one of his assistants,
Amadee Boulanger, and the latter was
seen in the hospital.
He said that the men went down TO
the magazine nearest the street to fix
the 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 jug OF
water and began pouring it onto the
nitroglycerin 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 floor
at once began to smoke, and when the
men saw it they rushed from the build
ing, but had not gone ten feet when the
explosion occurred. This magazine was
therefore the first to go up, followed inn
mediately by the gunpowder in the three
teams, and several seconds later by the
second MAGAZINE