The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1907-10-24
POWDER BLAST
NEARLY TWO SCORE PERSONS
KILLED AT FoNTANET, IND.
ENTIRE TOWN DESTROYED
More Than 600 Are Injured, About
so of Them Seriously-Loose Box.
ing of Explosive Blamed for
the Disaster.

the Disaster.
Fontanet -Thirty.eight lives
snuffed out, COO injured, of which
number so were seriously hurt, and a
property loss of approximately $780,
900 is the latest estimate of the de-
struction wrought by the explosion at
morning.
Where stood a thriving and busy
town of 1000 people there is ruin and
scattered wreckage. The dead and
more seriously injured have been
taken away. Five hundred inhabit-
ants, all more or less wounded, remain
to gather their scattered household
goods and sleep under tents and on
cots, guarded by soldiers of the state.
From workman employed in the
glazing mill it was learned Wednes-
day that a hot box" which was
caused by too much friction on the
shafting, causing sparks to be trans
mitted to some loose powder, was in
al PlOOoulIlIy luS CduSS VI Tue lSl-
rible catastrophe.
Loose Boxing Blamed.
The employe, whose name is Will
liam Sherrow and who is dangerously
hurt as the result of the explosion,
said:
The explosion in which so many
lives were lost was caused by loose
boxing on the shaft. The day before
this terrible explosion happened we
had to throw water on it when it be-
came too hot. This time it got too
hot and sent off the sparks that
caused the explosion"
Another company of state militia
arrived from Indianapolis Wednesday
evening and Immediately went into
camp. The town is now under mar
tial law, the two companies of state
troops being in full control.
Seven Mills Blow Up.
Without warning the powder mills,
seven in number, blew up at 8: Is
Tuesday morning. They employed 200
men and of these rs were at work
when the first explosion occurred in
the press mill. In quick succession
the glazing powder magazine blew up,
followed by the cap mill. In the
magazine, situated several hundred
yards from the mills, were stored 40,-
600 kegs of powder. The conclusion
when it blew up was felt nearly 200
miles away.
Every house in this town was de-
stroyed. Farm houses two miles away
and schoolhouses equally distant were
torn to pieces and their occupants in
jured A passenger train on the Big
Four railroad four miles away had
every coach window broken and sew
eral passengers were injured by fly
ing glass.
The mills went up with three dis
tinct explosions, followed 80 min
utes later by a fourth even more seri-
Gus than the others when the maga-
zines went up. Immediately following
the explosions the wreckage took fire
and the inhabitants Of the town who
rushed to the rescue of the mill en-
ployes found themselves powerless to
aid those burning in the ruins.
They worked frantically in constant
danger from possible succeeding ex-
plosions, unmindful of their ruined
homes. Dead and dying were picked
up and collected. Eighteen bodies
horribly burned and mangled we're
carted to a protected spot to await
Identification while the badly injured,
numbering upward of SO, were put on
a special train and taken to Terre
Haute for hospital accommodations.
Scarcely one Of the 1000 inhabitants
of the town but carried blood on
hands and face from his own wounds
or those of people who had required
aid.
The mills were located one mile
south of the town. With the first
explosion the employees ran for safe
ty, but most of them were killed or
wounded by the following ex-
plosions in the other mills When the
ASSN AlShl VIC Jul ulllS HILLS SADlUuSu
the great powder magazine, 80 min
utes later, destroying the town by the
concussiOn, many of those engaged in
rescue work were badly injured and
several were killed.
Superintendent, Monahan of the
plant was killed while sitting in his
office and his wife and sister.inlaw
were killed in their home some dis
tance away.
Gov. Hanly at Indianapolis ordered
the Terre Haute company of the In
diana National Guard here to patrol !
the ruined district and protect life
and property. The governor arrived
in the evening about the time the sol.
diers reached here. He brought with
aim 700 tents and cots.
Citizens subscribed more than $4,000
to the relief fund and the council ap.
$1,000 to be expended to
relieve suffering.
Snow Falls on Upper Lakes.
Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.-Snow fell