River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-07-13
BLOWN TO PIECES
BY DEADLY BLAST
HORROR CAUSED BY EXPLOSION
OF ROCK POWDER.
EIGHT WORKMEN ARE KILLED
Two Others Are Injured-Bodies of
Victims Horribly Mangled--Dis-
aster Occurs Near New
Cumberland, Pa.

Harrisburg, Pa, July 10.-Eight men
were blown to pieces and two others
were injured by the premature explos-
ion of big blast of rock powder on
the Pennsylvania railroad improve
ments near New Cumberland, at 1870
O'Clock Sunday morning. The accident
occurred directly across the Susque-
hanna river from the scene Of the
Pennsylvania railroad wreck on May
H., in which % persons were killed and
many others injured All the victims
of Sundays disaster were employees of
p. S. Kerbaugh & Co., Incorporated,
contractors, who are building the dou-
BILE tracks for the Pennsylvania rail-
road to connect with the Enola yards.
The bodies of the men were terribly
mangled and particles of flesh and
bone were scattered for a distance of
200 yards from the scene of the explos-
ion. &s2s liz 4se
The Victims.
The dead are: James Wiseman, aged
so, dynamite boss, SO Front avenue,
Buffalo, N. Y; Arthur Green, colored,
% years old, steam driller, Harrisburg;
Robert Thompson, colored, 23 years
old, steam driller's helper, Harrisburg;
Frank Mullach, Slav, 43 years old;
three Italians and one Slav, known
only by numbers.
Not trace of the two colored men
who were killed can be found and it
is supposed their bodies were blown
into the river, which is being dragged
An inquest was held by Squire Coble,
of Lemoyne. The jury rendered a YER
dict of premature explosion from an
unknown cause, and no blame attached
to the contractors
Horribly Mangled.
All the killed and injured were la
borers, aside from Wiseman, whose
body was terribly mangled What
could be found of it was identified by
the fact that he dyed his hair. His
scalp and a portion of his head was
found on hill, 200 yards from the
blast. Wiseman has been with the
Kerbaush company for five years, and
had gone to the scene of the explosion
to personally superintend the prepara-
lions for what is called a "big shot" to
be fired this morning. A big shot"
consists of series of blasts, the holes
having been drilled in row, and the
charges being set off simultaneously
by an electric spark. Five of the holes
had been filled with powder and the
men were at work on the sixth when
the explosion occurred. 1t is supposed
that small stone had gotten into the
hole and that the iron bar with which
the men were "tamping" down the
charge caused a spark by scraping on
the stone, and that this ignited the
powder.
A leather belt containing 1912 in pa
per money, supposed to belong to one
of the men, was picked up near the
scene of the explosion. Pieces of flesh
and bone were found fastened in the
telegraph wires over the railroad
tracks. The fragments of the bodies
were placed in rough caskets after the
coroner's inquest, and they will be bur-
led to-day. There were no buildings
in the immediate vicinity of the ex-
plosion and there was no damage ex-
cept for the destruction TO a few tele-
graph poles and large tool shed in
nearby quarry, which was torn clear
out and drawn Is feet toward the
scene of the blast. The explosion shook
the country for miles around and broke
many windows in Harrisburg and
towns across the river. Twelve hum
dred and fifty pounds of rock powder
had been unloaded just before he ex-
plosion. but it was not disturbed.