The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-26
TWO MEN ARE
 TORN ID ATOMS
 BY EXPLOSION I've Mills of the Powder Plant Utterly Destroyed
 at Midnight
WINDOW GLASS BROKEN
 IN ALL PARTS OF CITY
Vast Quantity of Powder Was Stored In the Corning Mill of the DuPont Powder Co.-Cause of Dlsas-
 ter Not Yet Learned.

Two men, a negro night watchman and a white man, in charge of the glazing mill, were blown ftno atoms, and both the corning and glazing mills completely wrecked by an explosion at the F. l. Du- Pont Powder companys plant, which is located about two miles beyond North Birmingham, and about a mile and half west of Boyles.
 The dead are:
 John s. Gilman, white, who was in charge of the glazing mill.
 Bill Huffstutler, colored watchman at the powder plant.
 The explosion occurred at just about midnight, and two distinct shocks were felt, the first being much the more vio- lent, and the second followed the first by a few seconds. The jar produced by the ex- plosion awoke everybody within two miles of the powder plant and the shock was felt by those who had not gone to bed at points everywhere from Ensley to East Lake.
 First Shock Violent.
 The violence of the first shock leads those who were near the mills at the time of the explosion to believe that the corning mill was the first to go. This mill contained vast quantity of powder and the violence of the first explosion Is accounted for by this fact The corn ing and glazing mill lay right together, and it is the general conclusion that the explosion in the corning mill caused that in the glazing plant. Both buildings, which were of concrete. were so com ppletely destroyed that they will have to be entirely rebuilt.
 The extreme violence of the explosion caused people in a mile or two of the plant to believe that the dynamite plant had gone up, but the severity of the shock is accounted for by the large quan- tity of powder which was in the corn ing mill at the time of the explosion.
 When the explosion occurred people for a great distance around rushed to the plant to learn the extent of the damage and the extent of the loss of life. Gilman and Huffstuatler are known to have been the only two men in the two buildings destroyed. and as soon as 1t was possible to enter the demolished buildings a search was made for the two men. All ground was gone over care fully and not a single part of the body of eithers of the two men, was to be found
 No More Missing.
 There were a number of other men working In the other buildings of the plant, and as far as Is known none of them are missing. When the explosion occurred thau al places at work, and when all was over they went Into the corning and glazing mills to look for the bodies of their fel- low workmen.
 The cause of the explosion Is not known and probably never will be- There are sim liar explosions every now and then, and there is seldom cause to which the ex- plosions can be definitely attributed Sey- eral years ago there was an explosion at the same plant of the DuPont Powder company, when no one was supposed 10 have been in the mill which blew up.
 There was muf1led report from the ex- plosion heard all over the Birmingham district. The sound which was heard in the central business portion of the city was like that of a small amount of DOW der being lighted at one's feet There was kind of puff, and then came the shock which shook houses in all parts of the city and damaged some of them by rattling window panes out of the sashes.
 Damage Was Extensive.
 Probably the only building which will have to be rebuilt besides the two mills Is that of the office of the company. which was some distance from where the explosion occurred. One side of the of flee building was blown off by the con- cussion.
 pr. A. c. Watts, who lives at Lewis burg. was located by a reporter and he informed The Age-Herald of the serious nature of the explosion. He stated that 1t had shaken every window pane out of the house within a mile of the powder plant, and that the stucco work in the gable of his residence was all shaken out. Twelve windows in the house were shat tered. Other houses in the same vicinity suffered like damage.
 Two minutes after the explosion was felt at The Age-Herald office inquiries by telephone began to pour in from Ems ley. West End, North Birmingham, East Lake and other places. One report came from a residence on the South High lands that window panes had been shat tered in that portion of the city, and 1t was reported from Woodlawn that large plate glass had been broken in the building occupied by the Woodlawn Supply company. at Woodlawn station.
 Much excitement was caused at police headquarters when the muffled sound of the explosion reached the ears of the officers there. The sound was very much like that of a safe being blown open. and within a few minutes after the report a thorough search had been made for the cracked safe. and much to the dis may of the officers, none was found
 Loss Not Known.
 It was impossible to tell or even esti- mate the extent of the loss to the pow der company last night. The amount will be large, however, as the buildings were expensive, and the quantity of pow der burned large.
 John s. Gilman, the white man who was killed In the glazing mill, was a married man and is survived by widow and-one child, who were in Morris at the time of his death. He was young man and very popular among his fellow workmen.
 Bill Huf1stutler, the negro watchman. had been employed at the powder plant for some time. Nothing could be learned
 I.-N xf.w1t