The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-10-16
AT FOntanet, Ind, Vary From
rs to so
WITH OVER 800 INJURED
Entire Town Of 1000 People Destroyed,
There Not Being . Building Which
Did Not Suffer in the Dupont
Mills Explosion.

Fontanet, Ind, Oct. io.-Estimatca Of
thr dead following the great explosion
IN the Dupont powder works yesterday
vary from 2s 20 so, with more than
BOO injured. Every building in town
was wholly or partially leveled to the
ground. Where there was a thriving
town Of 1000 people there Is nothing but
ruins now.
The mills went up with three distinct
explosions, followed few minutes later
by fourth, even more serious than the
others. when the magazine went up. I'm
medistely following the explosions the
wreckage caught iirc and the inhabitants
OF the town who rushed 70 the rescue Of
the mill employees found themselves pow.
erless to aid those burning in the ruins.
They worked frantically in constant
danger from possible succeeding explo.
sions, unmindful Of their ruined homes.
Dead and dying were picked up and col
lected. Eighteen bodies burned and man.
gled were cartcd 10 q protected spot 10
await Identification, while the badly in.
iurcd, number upward Of ilfty, were put
ON a special train and taken to Terre
Haute for hospital treatment. Nearly
all Of the 900 inhabitants carried blood
on their hands and faces from their own
wounds or those Of others whom they
assisted.
ri. !. lii. .-.... .,t..at.a 49,. .nff, .r,,tt
Of the town. With the first explosion,
the employees ran for safety, but most
OF them were killed or wounded by the
quick following explosions in the other
mills When the heat from the burning
mills exploded the giant powder maya
zine later, practically destroying the
town by the conclusion, many Of those
engaged in rescue work were badly in.
jured and several killed.
Superintendent Monahan. of the plant,
was killed while sitting in the Office, and
his wife and sister.in law were killed in
their home some distance away. That
the death list is not far greater is due
10 the fact that the people of the town
had left their homes at the first explo-
sion and were not in them when the ex-
plbsion of the 10000 kegs Of powder in
the magazine shattered their homes and
piled their household goods in heaps Of
debris
Among the buildings totally destroyed
IN this town were the Methodist and
Christian churches, the depot all bust
ness blocks, including a large block just
completed, a large warehouse and 500
residences.
The fronts and sides Of many were
blown away, the roofs Of Others were
hurled into space. while some were re-
duced to a mass of collapsed wreckage.
a Big -Four railroad freight train on
the switch leading to the mills was par
TALLY destroyed by the explosion and the
wreckage caught fire. Engineer Charles
Wells was badly burned and received a
fracture of the right leg
Three school buildings were destroyed
two at Fontanet and one at Coal Bluff
two miles away.
All were filled with school children
and everyone OF these was more or less
injured by the collapse Of the buildings.
A four-room schoolhouse was torn to
pieces and not one Of the 200 children es-
capped unhurt. None was fatally in
jured.
The force Of the explosion destroyed
all telephone communication with out
side towns, and it was with great diff
Guilty that aid was summoned.