Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1907-10-22
THIRTY KILLED IN
POWDER MILL BLASTS
ENTIRE TOWN OF FoNTANET,
IND, WRECKED, RENDERING
INHABITANTS HOMELESS.
DOCTORS ATTENDING
INJURED MEET DEATH
Great Magazine Blows Up Long After
First Blast, Bringing Death to
Those Engaged in Work of Res
cus-Secton of State Shocked.

Brazil, Ind, Oct. 16.-Thirty people
dead and dying, six hundred persons
injured and every house in Fentanet
destroyed, rendering twelve hundred
people homeless, is the result of the
explosion of the mills of the Du Pont
Powder company near Fantanet, at
OILS o'clock Tuesday.
The first explosion occurred in the
/ glazing mill of the plant at 9:15.
1 Quickly following the other mills blew
up, there being three distinct concus-
sions at intervals of few minutes.
In the mills at the time were from
rs to so men at work. When the glaz-
ing mill went up, the men ran for
their lives from the other mills and
many escaped death, but received Sc
rious injuries. AT the first explosion
the inhabitants of the town ran from
the buildings and thus saved them
selves. No one was killed in the town
although there is not building left
standing.
Second Blast Kills Physicians.
At 10:45, ninety minutes after the
first explosion, the heat from the
burning mills exploded the great pow
der magazines situated in hollow
several hundred yards from the mills.
1t contained many thousand kegs of
powder and the conclusion was even
greater than those from the explos-
ions of the mills. Among those in
jured from the magazine explosion
were several physicians who were at
| work among the dead and dying
: freight train standing on the
! switch leading to the powder mills
was partly destroyed by the concus-
sion and took fire
q Heat flinders Rescue Work.
|, The heat from the burning mills and
9 freight train was SO great that it was
impossible to remove many of the
bodies from the wreckage. Eighteen
mangled bodies were taken to the
4 morgue to await Identification. In
: jured were found scattered every
4 where and were collected and relief
f given as rapidly as possible. Not a
house is left standing in the town
Fronts, roofs, sides and even founda
lions of many buildings have been
blown to atoms Great holes are torn
in the ground, fences have vanished
and household goods from the ruined
: homes are in confused heaps of de
bris in all directions. The people OF
! the town who had rushed from their
{ homes at the first explosion were
, saved because of this. The shock
, from the exploding magazine wrecked
the buildings in the town.
Burned to Crisp, Begs Piteously.
: The first body taken from the wreck
ed mills was that of Doc Carroll, ar
: employee of the mill 1t was burned
e to a crisp, but the man was still alive
: and begged for someone to shoot hin
o and put him out of his misery. HI
8 lived but few minutes.
e Two other employees were found
Il near Carroll. They were Yes Dial ant
! his son. Both were dead. Will Dalto1
:. was found unconscious, his body badl.
= mangled. He cannot live. Charles
Wells, engineer on the freight train, il
left leg is fractured
# A brick school building quarter o
n mile from the mills, was wrecked
# and many of the children inside wer
n injured, some serious but none fatal
ly. A farm house three-quarters of
mile away was totally destroyed.
Superintendent Missing.
y Brazil, Ind, Oct. disappointment
y ent Menahan of the mills is missin
and is believed to have been blown t
le pieces and his body burned.
t. Monahan's Wife and Sister Die.
le The bodies of the wife and sister-ir
ii law of Superintendent Monahan of tn
n powder plant were recovered fror
the wreck of the Monahan home lat
this afternoon and were placed in
wagon with four or five other bodie
and taken to the morgue.
AID Webster and Samuel Nevil, en-
70 ployed in the glazing mill, were blow
rs to pieces. Mrs. Al Hines and Mr.
ST. Brannon, her mother, were fatally il
o. tured in their home. Frank Justit
be was instantly killed.
he Among the dead is Edward Haltol
ct whose home was in West Terre Haut
pit Forty School Children Injured.
ed The school at Fontanet had jus
,p been called to order when the explt
a, sion occurred. At least 40 of the Chi
~ dren were injured
View Is Sickening.
The first view of the wreck was
sickening one. Although men kne
re that another explosion might occu
at any moment, they entered tn
wrecked buildings to rescue con