The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1907-10-16
OVER A HUNDRED
DEAD OR INJURED
Awful List Of Casualties Follows
Blowing Up Of Powder Mills
Near Fontanet, Ind.
NOT A HOUSE LEFT STANDING
Inhabitants Warned by First
Explosion Escape Before
Buildings Collapse.
CONCusSION FELT FOR MILES

Immense Magazine, Containing Many
Thousand Kegs Of Powder, Is Ie
nited by the Heat From the Burn
ing Mills and Blows Up Ninety Min
utes After the First Explosion, In
Iuring Physicians at Work Among
the Dead and Dying.
Brazil, Ind, Oct. 16.-Late In the
afternoon it was estimated that there
are LOO homeless people in Fontanet
and that fully 600 people have been
more or less injured, though the great
er number have received but slight
wounds. 1t is impossible to get a
close estimate of the list of the dead
but it will number between twenty
and forty, while a number of those In
jured will die.
Brazil, Ind, Oct. 16.-From twenty.
five to thirty people dead and dying
100 persons injured and every house
in Fontanet destroyed, rendering zoe
people homeless, is the result Of an
explosion Of the mills of the Dupont
Powder company near Fontanet.
The first explosion occurred in the
glazing min of the plant at 9:15.
Quickly following the other mills blew
mp, there being three distinct concus-
sions at intervals of a few minutes,
In the mills at the time were from
seventy-five to eighty men at work.
When the glazing mill went up the
men ran for their lives from the
other mills and many thus escaped
death, but received serious injuries.
AT the first explosion the inhabitants
and thus saved themselves. No one
was killed in the town. although there
is not building left standing.
AT 110:45, ninety minutes after the
first explosion, the heat from the burn
ing mills exploded the great powder
magazine situated in a hollow several
hundred yards from the mills. 1t con-
tanned many thousand kegs OF powder
and the concussion was even greater
than those from the explosions OF the
mills. Among those injured from the
magazine explosion. were several ply
sicians who We're at work among the
dead and dying.
Freight Train Destroyed.
A freight train standing on the
switch leading to the powder mills
was partly destroyed by the. concus-
sion and took fire.
The heat from the burning mills
and freight train was so great that it
was impossible to remove many of the
bodies from the wreckage Eighteen
mangled bodies we're taken to the
morgue to await Identification. In
jured were found scattered everywhere
and were collected and relief given as
rapidly as possible. Not a house is
left standing In the town. Fronts,
roofs, sides and even foundations of
many buildings were wrecked. Great
have vanished and household goods
from the ruined homes are in con-
fused heaps of debris in all directions.
The people OF the town, who had
rushed from their homes at the first
explosion, We're saved because OF this.
The shock from the exploding maga-
zine wrecked the buildings in the
town.
A brick school building q quarter OF
a mile from the mills was wrecked
ands many OF the children inside were
injured, some seriously, but none fa-
tally A farmhouse three-quarfers Of
q mile away was totally destroyed.
Forty School Children Hurt.
The school at Fontanets had just
been called to order when the explo-
sion occurred AT least forty OF the
children We're injured
The first view,of the wreck was d
sickcning one Although men knew
that another explosion might occur at
anyinsoment they entered the wrecked
buildings to rescue comrades Flames
soon attacked the buildings and drove
the rescners away and the workmen
were obliged to stand by and see
their fellow workers burn to death.
When the wounded men were placed
on board Of the RELIEF train to be
taken to Terre Haute there was q
frantic rush made by the wives. par
ents and children Of the injured to
establish the identity of those fss-