The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1907-10-17
IS DIE IN BLAST.
Powder Mills of Du Pont Co. at Fon-
tanet Ind. Explode, Wreckins
Town.

Town.
lhlrty-hve persons were killed, a
score or more fatally hurt, more than
600 injured-some of them seriously
and the town of Fontanet practical
ly obl1erated Tuesday morning by
the explosion OF the Du Pont Powder
company's mills Every building in
the town was either destroyed or
partly wrecked, and the force of the
explosion wrought serious injury to
persons and damage TO property
throughout the surrounding country
for miles in all directions.
Schoolhouses two miles away were
demolished and scores of children
hurt. A passenger train on the Big
-Four railroad four miles away had
every coach window broken, and
many passengers on board were in
Jured by flying glass. The cause of
the explosion will never be known 1t
IS Thought probable It was due to heat
caused by friction resulting from grit
IN the bearings of part of the machin-
cry.
Where stood Tuesday morning a
thriving, bustling town of 1000 souls
there is ruin and wreckage The
dead and more seriously injured have
been taken away Five hundred in
habrants, 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. The property loss, as
near as it can be estimated, will reach
$500, 600
Without warning the powder mills.
seven in number, blew up at OILS
Tuesday morning. They employed
200 men and of these sevemy-five
were at work when the first explo-
sion occurred in the press mill.
In quick succession the glazing
mill, the two coming mills, and the
powder magazine blew up, followed
by the cap mill In the magazine,
situated several hundred yards from
the mills were stored 10000 kegs of |
powder The conclusion when it |
ew up was felt nearly 200 miles |
away
The mills went up with three dis
tinct explosions, followed ninety min
utes later by fourth, even more SER
ious than the others, when the mag
azine went up.
Immediately following the explo-
sions the wreckage took fire and the /
inhabitants of the town who rushed |
to the rescue of the mill employees |
found themselves powerless to aid |
those burning in the ruins They |
worked frantically, in constant dang
err from possible succeeding explo-
sfons. unmindful Of their ruined |
homes.
Dead and dying were picked up
and collected. Eighteen bodies hor-
ribly burned and mangled were cart
ed 70 a protected spot TO await iden-
tiheatron. while the badly injured,
more than fifty, were put
on a special train and sent to the
Terre Haute hospitals.
Scarcely one OF the 1000 inhabi-
tantsS of the town but carried blood
on Glands and face from his own
wounds or those of people who had
required ard.
The powder mills were located one
mile south OF the town, and with the
first explosion the employees ran for
safety, burt most of them were killed
or wounded by the quick succession
of the following explosions
When the heat from the burning
mills exploded the giant powder mag
azine, destroying the town by the
many of those engaged in
rescue work were badly injured and.
several killed.
Supt Monahan of the plant was
killed while sitting in his Office, and
his wife and sister-in-law were killed
in their home some distance away.
Their bodies were all recovered just
as the ruins of his home caught fire
from the min.
That the death list is not FAR great
er is due TO the fact that the people
of the town had left their houses at
the first explosion and were not in
them when the explosion of the 10000
kegs of powder in the magazine hurl-
ed their homes TO pieces and scattered
their household goods in heaps of
lebris
Among the buildings totally de-
stroyed in the town were the Meth
odist and Christian churches, the
depot. all business blocks,
including a large block just complet-
ed; large warehouse. and 500 homes.
In many of them the fronts were
blown away. while in others the roofs
were hurled into space, the sides
h1Ax,n n,,t fbAv mara Lift con |