The sun., 1903-11-05
SEVEN KILLED ON IONA ISLAND
TWO SRELL HOUSES or TIRE
NAVAL ARSENAL BLOWN UP.
The Shells Keep Up Violent Explosions
for Two Hours s-StOnes ana Bricks
Hurled Far Out Into River and Up the
Mountain sIde--The Reports Heard
Twenty Miles Away Many Injured.

seemed to shake the big mountains all
around and VIII ch was heard for dis.
tance of twenty miles, two big shell houses
of the naval arsenal on Iona Island blew
up at nine minutes before ! o'clock this after.
noon. killing instantly seven men and
wounding dozen or more. two Of them
so seriously that one was taken to the
General Hospita, here and another went
to a hospital in Brooklyn. or the killed,
three were so frightfully mangled-itsrally
torn to pieces, in fact-1hat they werc
beyond recognition. Their names are
known only from the fact that they were st
work in the smell houses when the exT losion
came.
The dead are George Moorehead Of
Tomkins Cove, Frederick Ward of Stony
Point, Frederic Brown of Haverstraw.
Patrick Gurian of West HaverstraV.
Frederick Locke of Peek skill, James Con.
molly and John Brown, former sergeant Of
marines.
All these men were employed by the
Ordnance Department. The most sert-
ously injured are Gunner Fries, in COM
mand of the arsenal; Gunner Kuhlwein Of
the battleship Massa ohusetts and Frederick
Danielson. kuhlwein was on a visit
to the island. He was struck on the
head with piece of flying shell. and part
OF his scalp was torn off He was taken to
Brooklyn. Frederick Daneson was the
only one in the building where tho A rst
explosion took place who came out alive
He was thrown to the ceiling with great
1yio1anco opI hoo ,,l,- tto
receiving several severe cuts and bruises,
besides being badly burned.
1t was in shell house No. 4 that the hrst
explosion took place. There are four
shell houses altogether, placed in two
pairs with space Of about two hundred
feet between the pairs. Between the
shell houses in each pair is merely a
driveway, so that there is only space Of
a few feet separating them. The houses
are of brick, the only woodwork about
them being the floors.
Within three minutes after house No.
went up, No. followed with an explosion
by far the heavier of the two. Both houses
and the 400 or 500 tons Of smokeless powder
In each instantly took fire. The powder.
which was in the form of long faggots. like
kindling wood, not being confined, only
The shells, however. which were Of ell
sizes, ranging from 1s-inch to the ride
shell used in the marines small arms kept
up a constant series Of violent explosions
for two hours, hurling stones. brick. pieces
of shell and smaller shells entire all over
the island far out in the river. up on the
mountain side, and all up and down the
West Shore Railroad tracks for distance
- l..1c tI1 18th
The engineer of a tug that was tied up at
Jones Point, two miles away, was knocked
down in his engine room by the concussion
of this second explosion, and the front
windows facing the river. of st. Joseph's
Home, across the Hudson in Peekskill,
were blown in, causing for few minutes
panic among the ! 300 children there.
There are regularly stationed on the
island about seventy-five persons. many
of them the wives and children of enlisted
men. 1t was thought that all Of the vast
stores Of powder in the arsenal would 20.
Gunner Fries. hurt as he was, ran toward
the house. shouting to everybody to get on
board the Government tug and lighter,
which were at the Arsenal dock unloading
ammunition. There was a stampede of
men, women and children toward these
DOdtS ana lOWHTu tIle entTduCc koVcp py tlo
West Shore Railroad.
Iona Island is, in fact, no longer an island.
The strip Of water between it and the rail.
road was long ago filled it. Out Of the gates
and over this bit of made land to the tracks
streamed the fugtives, making for High
land Falls, Fort Montgomery, Jones Point
and other nearby places, while those who got
on board the tug were carried out on the
river beyond reach of the terrific bonn
bardment, which kept up without inter-
mission, filing the air with deadly missiles.
Among the buildings on the island the
havoc was fearful. In addition to the
four shell houses, there are six great powder
magazines, two fixed ammunition houses
barracks for the marines, the administra-
tion building and number of smaller
structures. The big powder magazines
are away at the north end Of the island, and
were out OF the zone Of danger, coming out
of the homoardment unscathed, save
light dents made by a few of the flying bits
of shell. The two liked ammunition houses
were badly battered and had their roofs
crushed in, but the walls remained intact
and the fixed ammunition was uninj jGred.
Shell house No. 4was completely demolished;
hardly one brick left standing on another
Shell house No 2 is almost as completely
A wreck, althougH a portion oi the walls
is left standing.
Close by he gateway 70 the grounds is
the little station of he Vest Shore Railroad
The agent and operator, James Sloat O.
Highland Falls, was sitting there in dreamy
reverie, incident to railroad station where
few trains stop, when suddenly there came
the appalling crash and the no So Of one eN.
ploson after another EServ pan" of glass in
the building was smashed and the building
itself seemed TO be leaping into the air.
Nr Sloat went ont the front window ~
one Jump. because he window was few
fcet nearer 10 him than the door. and in the
hideous panGemon,lm Of bursting shells
and fyi ING debris he. too, took i ~ the
track toward Highland Falls.
The railroad eiegraph V'i!os fortunately,
p'erC no, estroyed, 20 me ssagts were strt
from Highland Falls and Jones Point,
holding up trains, otherwise the disaster
might have had I railroad wreck added to
i,s sum total OF damage. for great masses
of rock and heavy pieces Of shell, cs well
as some shells that were entire and UneX-
plodeG, rained down upon the tracks 70!
the better part Of TWO hours.
Nearly n quarter Of a mile below the sta
tion there vas found fragment Of human
BODY. and bits of torn she cts, bedding and
fragments Of clothing We're found
for long distance north and south OF the
station The sheets and bed clothing
doubtless came from the marine barracks,
substantial brick building. which, with