The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-05-11
THE PARTICULARS,
Incidents of the Terrible Calamity at
F0reston On the Fateful
Fourth Day of May.
An Authentic Account of What Took
Place, Obtained From James
and John Hunter.


Foreston on the morning Of May 4.
The full particulars have been OBJ
tanned from James and John Hunter
and the following account is authentic:
James Hunter lived one-half mile
southeast of the Foreston village linn
its and about three-quarters of mile
from the village proper. The house
stood about half mile from the road,
near the river. Theodore Abbott and
his wife, sister to James and John
Hunter, live about half way from the
village to the Hunter place.
James Hunters family was CON-
posed of his wife and four children.
Roy, aged six, Leo, five, Mabel, two
and the baby Myrtle four month IS old.
John Hunter. a brother, was staying
with James and tie two we're blowing
stumps out of the field with dymna-
mite, which they had been in the habit
of thawing in the oven: The house
was a frame, 16x24, fourteen foot
posts, ceiled on the inside and the
space between the ceiling and outside
covering was filed with shavings from
a planer to make it warm. It stood
the long way north and south, with a
partition across, dividing the lower
part into two rooms. The north room
was the kitchen, the stove standing in
the northeast corner; door was on
the east side and cellar underneath
with an outside entrance. The chin
ney was built in the partition with a
small cupboard underneath. The
stairway was on the east side of the
south room.
On the morning Of the Hateful day
Roy, the eldest boy went to school as
usual and thus escaped the fate of the
other members of the family. About
nine O'Clock James started to the vii
lage, telling John that if he went to
work he would find some dynamite all
thawed out ready for use, in the Chin
ney cupboard and that there was some
in the oven thawing. The amount in
the oven was six pounds. John short
ly afterWard took the dynamite from
the chimney cupboard and went into
the field about thirty rods from the
house and commenced the work of
blasting stumps. At 9:25 there was a
terrific explosion at the house and
John looked up and saw papers,
Inf nd che ;ol, /, i
blown out of the north end of the
building. flying in the air. He in
stantly realized the terrible calamity
which had befallen and ran toward
the house: when a few rods away he
heard screams in the south room: as
he approached he saw that the whole
north end OF. the building had been
blown out, all the windows and doors
were shattered and out and the sides
OF the building bulged out at the top.
He did not wait to make any exam
inatiOn at the time. but hurried to one
of the south windows and looked into
the room where he saw the little bow
Leo standing near the center, sur
rounded by the debris which had fall
len around him. John climbed into
the room, got the boy and carried him
out. The boys face was covered with
blood from wound on the forehead
but he was in possession of his facul-
ties and says he could not get out and
when he saw his uncle John comm g
ne called to him; he says he was in
~ss&he south room and his mamma was
in the other room when the explosion
took place. Not waiting to examine
the boys. injuries John placed him
on the ground and returned to the
house. The partition and stairway
had been blown to pieces and the de-
bris scattered over the south room,
the boards and timbers making it i'm
possible for him to get through into
the kitchen and he went around the
house but found the kitchen door
blocked also; he then vert down GEL
lar from the outside, all the time cal
ling on those whom he knew must be
there, but received no response. Fire
had started in the kitchen and there
was no time for him to remove any of
the rubbish and not being able to find
any of the others and seeing that the
whole building must soon be consumed
by flames, composed as it was of the
most infamable kind of lumber and
shavings, he took Leo in his arms and
started for Abbott's house. After
carrying the boy part of the way he
met Paul Johnson and Charlie Sven
son going to the scene with horse
and buggy and giving them the boy
he took the rig and drove to the viii
lage for the purpose of telephoning