The San Francisco call., 1904-06-05
Two Whites, One With Fam
lily, and Five Chinese In
stantly Killed by DetO-
nation of NitrO-Glycerine
PREMONITION SAVES
YOUTH FROM DEATH
Howard Veale Receives Mys-
teriOus Warning--Men Bat
tie With Flames Unmind-
full of the Terrible Danger

BERKELEY, June 4.-Three hundred
pounds Of nitro-glycerine exploded at
the California Powder Works this
morning at Pinole and crushed out the
lives Of five men. two Of them white
and three Chinese. In an endeavor to
save the entire plant from destruction
by the fire that followed the explosion
TWO other white men were injured, one
Of them so seriously that he may die
The dead are:
ALEXANDER MCCULLOUGH, 80
years old. married.
JOHN EVANS SMITH. 80 years old,
single.
All HUNG.
HONG SOY.
LOE BOW.
The wounded are:
s. S. Mckinley, skull probably frac-
tured.
George c. Cooper, foot injured.
Besides the loss Of life there was
a great destruction Of property. The
powder company estimates its loss at
$4,000. This was due TO the complete
wiping out Of the gelatine mixing
plant, the giant mixing plant and the
ice works. All around the inclosure at
the works are evidences Of the great
force Of the concussion. OF the two
mixing plants there is nothing standing
above the ground but a few broken
timbers. Only the gelatine plant suf-
fered from the explosion, the other two
buildings having burned to the ground
after being set afre by the flying de-
bris.
FIRE FOLLOWS EXPLOSION.
The explosion must have occurred at
y $40 O'Clock. for all the clocks in Pinole
were stopped at that hour There was
sudden detonation, that Jared upon
the ears Of all within a mile of the
plant Every man about the works
knew at once what had happened at
the gelatine works. There was no time
10 so there TO investigate. for fire had
broken out Immediately in a dozen
places. Burning timbers landed upon
the roofs Of buildings full of expIo-
sives, and the dry grass was being de-
Toured by the flames in a dozen direc-
fions.
In defiance Of all rules Of safety and
self-preservation, the employees Of the
pant O. DA-LI AAAlAE4 OuL 10 90 NndI
they could TO blot out the flames. The
hre department called every man to
his station, and for an hour they all
worked with desperation. 1t took all
that tine TO master the flames. so that
some idea Of the danger involved in
this undertaking may be had. The fight
cost S. S. Mckinley, shipping clerk at
the plant broken head, and George
c Cooper, carpenter, a badly lac
Grated foot. These men were caught by
falling timbers while fighting at the
ice plant and buried beneath them.
The bravery Of these workmen turned
hremen saved an immense amount of
property and probably many lives.
Tons and tons Of high explosives were
time and again in danger Of being
fired BY the falling embers. It was
mainly fight to keep the flames away
from the big storage houses, and out
OF the struggle came victory.
After the plant had been saved from
destruction there was time to investi-
gate the ruins Of the geIatine plant.
where it was certain there was nothing
left Of the five human beings to tell
the tale. Where formerly there stood a
stout building for the manufacture of
gelatine there only remained then a
Few blackened ruins. Even the great
bulkhesds surrounding the works to
modify the effects Of just such an ac-
cident as occurred to-day were toppIed
over on their sides.
VICTIMS ANNIHIIATED.
OF the human beings who had gone
20 destruction little while before
there remained hardly enough Of their
! flesh for Identification. The skulls. or
pieces Of the skulls. OF Mccullough and
Smith were found but that was all
There was nothing to help reveal the
identity OF two Of the Chinese
One person only escaped ont of the
six who were regularly employed in
the gelatine house. He is Howard
Veale, Is years old. son Of Sheriff Veale
OF Contra Costa County. VeaIe's es-
cape was nothing short OF miraculous
end he owes his life TO premonition
that there would be an accident to-
day. Just before the explosion Veale
was suddenly seized with the convic-
tion that the plant would be blown up.
Then he said to Mccullough. who was
foreman Of the plant:
1T don't look good TO me. She's GO
ing TO blow up.
With these words Veaie left the place
snd ran behind the bulkheads fifty
feet away. He had not any more than
go: behind them and thrown himself
2n the ground when the explosion
came. Timbers landed on all sides OF
the youth. but he escaped altogether
unhurt
y The body Of a Chinese, thought to be
that OF All Hung. was found some dis
fAnee from the scene of the ruin.