Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-02-14
Chest Belonging to Company B,
Second U. S. Infantry,
ExplodeS.
TROOPS GOING TO ISLANDS
Was It Intended that Explosion Should
Happen on the Meade When
At Sea?

san Francisco, Feb. IA board of
inquiry consisting Of capts. Simpson
and Nixon and Lieut.. Cabbel, the first
and last named of whom were members
Of the board Of inquiry that Investigate
ed the lire on the Meade. has been APP
pointed by Maj. Duyal TO examine the
evidence and endeayor to solve the
the chest belonging to company Il. Sec
ond United States infantry which ex-
ploded on Monday morning while being
packed on a dray al the Southern Pa
rite freight station,
Harry Loughrali, driver of the dray,
who was handling the cHest at the time
1t exploded ana was very painfully hurt
but has recovered sufficiently to be
able 10 tell what he knows about the
AFFAIR. In an Interview today he said:
The box was handed TO me by one
of the Southern Pacific warehouse men
who was unloading the car with me- He
let the box down easy from the floor Of
the car 10 the bed OF the truck | was
driving and | was prepared to shove
the box to the front end Of the wagon
when he remarked that had better
look at the number on the box to see
what company II belonged 10. For this
purpose threw the box TO the bed Of
the wagon, and was STOPPING TO turn II
over when the explosion occurred. That
Is all | remember about II before / was
taken to the hospital"
According TO the accounts of men In
the yard who saw the explosion. Lough-
ran was Knocked TO the bed of his
wagon by the force of the explosion.
While the injured man lay there the
box was burning In the middle of the
drivewall between the railroad tracks.
The lid and back that are now In pos
session of the army authorities were
blown off and hurled several feet away,
and did not catch fire, The rest OF the
box, however. together with the con-
tents, was consumed by the flames
caused by the explosion.
The only clew to the explosion Is n
cylindrical tin can. the top and bottom
OF which are blown out, and the curv-
ed sides OF which are badly warped and
twisted. This tin, which was blown
far across the railroad tracks from the
scene Is clean on It's outer surface, but
Its inner surface Is covered with an
odorous SCOT closely resembling burnt
powder Chemical analysis of this
SCOT may disclose the cause OF the ex-
poslon. but not, In all likelihood, I'M
I'll the Meade reaches port will IL be
possible to ascertain how an explo-
sive came to be packed In one OF the
company's chests.
Special Agents Levin and Madden,
who investigated the case for the rail-
| raod company. have made a full report
They examined the can and expressed
the conviction that 1t had contained
black powder, but said they were I'M
able to determine the nature of any
other explosive that the can. might have
contained. The black powder Will not
explode by conclusion. and the railroad
agents are satisfied that an explosive
OF terrific power must have been mixed
with the black powder before it was
placed In the box.
The chest was thought, as at first re-
ported, to have been intended for trans
portation on the Meade and in the light
or the fire In the hold OF that transport
II was at once imagined that there
might have been plot 10 burn or
blow up the Meade. Such ideas are
made to seem improbable In the light
OF what has since become known. for
the chest was plainly marked for stor-
age and could not under any clrcum-
stances other than absolute negligence
on the part of a succession OF workmen
have gone aboard the Meade.
The board OF inquiry into the matter
viii hold It's first session this forenoon.
MYSTERIOUS EXPLOSION.
San Francisco. Feb. 2l.--The Post to-
day says that II. l.. Laughran, an ex-
pressman, has been seriously injured
by mysterious explosion. and Is now
In a hospital, his condition being such
that he cannot be interviewed.
Ii Is alleged that Laughran went TO
the santa Fe railroad sheds on last
saturday morning to get box belong
Ing to company b Of the Second United
states Infantry. and convey IL to the
transport Meade, which was about TO
sail. He accidentally dropped the box
the contents OF which Immediately ex-
ploded wounding the expressman and
rendering him unconscious. The box is
declared to have been similar TO one
which previously had been placed on
the Meade In the section OF the hold
where the fatal fire occurred. the origin
OF which remains a mystery. Both
boxes were said to contain personal
effects OF the officers OF company b.
Mai. Duval, chief OF the transport
service. admitted today that the box
supposed to contain the supplies had
exploded at the freight sheds He Said
that he had appointed a commission OF
officers to investigate the matter, but
declined TO express an opinion regard