The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-07-30
PLAYED WITH ILLUMINATE
4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 LY AVaRTED.

Young Boy Finds Beer Bottle E,zIn af
 Deadly stun Under the steps of chfl-
 drens' Home en manson strsss-.Hs
 and Companions Play wi,h It-mss.
 Holmes Tried to Kick Some Of 1t or
 sidewalk and It Blew Or Part sr Her
 Foot.
 A narrow escape from an explosion of illuminate which would probably have been accompanied by a loss of life and property occurred in the vicinity of Munson street, yesterday afternoon.
 Young Thomas McKeon, nine years old, son of former Patrolman McKeon, who was shot and killed in Prindle AL ley some time ago, is living, with his young sister, in the children's hone kept by Mrs Mary Martiss at PAS Mum son street,
 Yesterday afternoon about 4 o'clock young McKeon was shooting with a bow and arrow in the front yard of the AtOliiC. 44I tIOAuClltdt4y ollOt Lilt <kII0ftf under the front stoop and crawled ull- der .t to find it. While he was under there getting it he found beer bottle, tightly corked, full of a sort of grayish powdered substance. He took the bot tie and going to vacant lot near the house hid it in the long grass. His sis- ter saw him hide it and told two other boys about it. George Parker, eleven years old. os 2S1 Munson street; and Walter Bishop, about the same age, ot 279 Munson street
 After being told the boys went into the lot to find what had been hidden. After a little while young Parker found the bottle and picked it up he commenced to shake it. Turning to one of the, other boys, young McKeon told. the police last evening. he said. IT know whats in it; it's powder. Then young Bishop said, Walt minute and I will go into the house and get some matches" This he did, and when he z came out, the boys took the bottle and poured out quite a pile on the side- walk One of them then scratched match on his trousers and when it was burning he ran by the pile and threw the match into it. and the pile fiared up, They continued to do this until they had used up about half of the stun. They finally came in front of the. residence of Mrs. Nellie Holmes. at 2Sl Munson street. There they placed al circular layer of the explosive, which was described by young McKeon last 'evening as being about as large as a, |spies pan, on the sidewalk. ~ Es x x ',
 Mrs. Holmes, little boy William was playing in the street and when. she saw what the boys were doing she became alarmed and called the child. As the, boy failed to respond to the call she ran out O. the house after him. Cos ing over to the pile she started to kick it off the sidewalk into the street. As she struck it with her foot, the fulmin- Bate exploded and blew off the lower part of the foot, badly burning the rest Of 1t and the leg The police alnhulance was summoned and she was taken to Grace hospital. where it was stated Hast evening that she was doing we'll When this accident happened the boys ran away, and young McKeon and Parker had fight over the possession Hof the bottle, during which quite lit- tie of the stuff was spilled on the street.
 Parker finally got possession and again hid it. This time it was hid in a crack in a rock. The police said last evening that Burton Gale of 336 Mum son street. found the bottle and threw it a distance of about one hundred feet onto the Munson street dump. after this- It was found there last evening by Pa trolman Recor, who brought it to Sta ton 4 on Dixwell avenue. Several men who are familiar with explosives were sent for and examined the contents of the bottle. They said that the bottlS contained furrninate, one of the most deadly explosives known, and when they heard of the way its contents had been handled they said it was one of the greatest miracles that they had ever heard of that the entire contents had not blown un and done fearful damage.
 The police say that the illuminate uri- doubtedly came from Winchester but how it was ever procured is the mys- tery, as it is carefully guarded and nor particle is allowed to anyone except in very small quantities and then only to those who are expressly authorized to handle it. Why anyone should put such large amount of the deadly stuff under the steps of the children's home is another important question which confronts the police, and both these questions will be thoroughly investi- gated. Detective Frey and number of the officers were out Investigating the case last evening. but nothing fur ther was found out. Young McKeon was taken to the Dixwell avenue sta- ton house and carefully questioned by Sergeants McGrath and Smith. after which he was released There was considerable excitement in that section of the city last evening when the deni- zens learned of their narrow escape The deadly explosive, after it was found by Patrolman Recor was carried by him to the Dixwell avenue station and as the bottle was by that time only about half full, it was filled with water and put carefully away on a shelf, where it was kept last night, and the police will ask some one from Winches- ter'si shop to come over and take the stuff back there this morning.
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