The sun., 1905-09-10
POWDER MILL BLAST KILLS 20.
RAND WORKS, EXTENDING OVER
100 ACRES, BLOWS UP.

Seven Terrific shocks Follow Each other
III Quick Succession Is Different Parts
OF Great Plant Explode. Carrying
Death and Destruction with Them.
CoNNELLsvnLE, Pa; Sept. 9.-The Rand
Powder Mills at Fair Chance, near here, /,
blow up at o'clock this morning. Twenty
five employees Of the plant were killed,
literally blown to pieces, and the ten build
ings Of the powder mill were torn to sticks
and splinters. All that remains is hole
fifteen feet deep and fifty yards across
where the storage magazine stood, partially
filed with blaokened debris and heaps Of
blackened wreckage. Hundreds are search
ing with lanterns tonight for the remains OF
the dead.
From the stories told by survivors. there
we're seven distinct and terrific explosions
coming within few seconds. Nobody
knows what caused the first which occurred
in the mixing mill From that building
to the others Of the plant run tracks for
small trucks on which powder in various
stages Of preparation is carried. There is
always train of loose powder on these
truck tracks. it is said, although the tracks
are wetted to prevent explos ions.
When the mixing mill blew up the fire
apparently ran with lightning speed along
these trains OF powder, reaching one building
after another almost as quickly as 1t takes
to toll 1t. The roar Of the explosions was
80 tremendous that it broke windows fifteen
miles away from the Rand works, and
persons in this city, Mount Pleasant. Scott
dale and other places suffered from the
shock. At the village Of High Chance
several were slightly hurt by falling bits OF
iron and wood.
Everybody for miles around knew what
had happened as soon az they recovered
from the shock. Within half an hour
thousands were at the ruined plant. The
appearance Of the place was too horrible to
describe in detail. Shattered bodies could
be seen in the debris piled in the deep hole.
half buried under banks Of earth thrown
up by the explosions in different parts Of
the lOO-acre grounds, and remnants were
clicked up afterward long distances from
the mills.
The morbidly curious seized anything
and everything for souvenirs. going so far
even, as to carry away several fingers. A
girl from the carnival show at Uniontown
exhibited with some pride u human finger
wrapped in handkerchief, and wore be-
sides necklace Of dynamite exploders
with fuses attached which she had found
In the debris.
Harry Brown of this city found twisted,
half melted bit Of machinery. 1t was a
Typewriter that had been used in the Offices
of the plant. Others in the crowd carried
away shreds OF clothing, torn shoes, the
half OF burned hat maybe; sticks, stones
and pieces Of timber-anything that would
se rye as a souvenir.
The police and powder mill people or
ganized force to clear the ruins and search
for bodies ss quickly as could be done. II
is known that twenty-five at least were
killed, perhaps more. Late tonight che
grounds Of the powder mill were filed
with men digging in the wreckage by the
light of lanterns, and finding, every now
and then, something that had once been
part of man. 1t will take another day,
perhaps, before the exact number OF dead
and injured is known. Among the latter
is Manager Rand Of the Rand powder
mill who was taken to his home in Union.
town, Pa.
One Of the employees who escaped was
Orville Swaney. He is employed in the
glazing mill and had stepped outside when
the explosion in the mixing mill occurred.
He was thrown high in the air, but fell on
his feet in a network of fallen wires. He
dodged through these and was running
away when there came a second explosion.
He fell on his face and knew nothing Of the
explosion that came when the storage
mag azine blew up. He was picked up an
hour afterward more dead than alive.
To-, tkN La ID.
when tho first explosion came.s said the
walls of the building seemed to spread
suddenly apart and kegs Of powder began
to roll down. With two others he esca ped
injury and fed. Others of the survivors
some of whom were terribly burned and
bruised, said they could remember nothing
but frightful roar and being hurled up
ward. Elmer Hevner. brother Of Ray,
Ia one OF the dead. He was working In the
packhouse.
Albert Woods, teamster, was killed
with his two horses. His father, John,
searched for hours before he found the re-
mains. 1t was lying near the Pennsylvania
Railroad track, badly mangled. The horses
lay not far away, the head Of one Of them
driven into the ground.
On siding were two wrecked cars. One
of them had been loaded half full of dyna-
mite. but curiously enough the dynamite
did not explode. The cars were shattered
by the force Of the explosions at the mill
and a rain Of missiles.
Tie trees and bushes in the near neigh
borhcod OF the buildings were stripped
of leaves and are bare and brown. Several
small trees were literally torn out by the
roots, while others were broken Of. The
green turf was st cared and burned.
Passenger train on the Baltimore and
Ohio Raii cad, which runs near the plant,
had narrow ESCAPE. II was on its way
from Morgantown to this city, and was
passing the mills when the roar came.
Windows werc broken by the concussion
and fying debris, and the passengers
were badly scared. Several of them were
out by broken glass.
The explosion was the third at the Rand |
plant within two years. Three men were
killed in the first and ten were injured In
the second, which was comp aratively |
slight.