The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-10-17
Powder Explosions Cause Aw,
full Results.
DEATH LIST IS LENGTHY,
Every Structure In the Town Utterly
Destroyed, About Thirty-Five Souls
Ushered Into Eternity and Some Six
Hundred Injured


sons lost their lives and some 500
were injured. Five Of the dead pass
ed away in the hospital here. The ex,
act property loss and correct number
| of dead will not be known for several
days
Governor Hanley arrived at 7:O5
O'Clock Tuesday evening, and immedi-
| ately took charge of the situation. and
late at night proclaimed martial law.
The governor ordered all places where
| Intoxicating drinks of any kind are sold
| closed
The town is practically wiped ont.
NOT building stands intact. and
throughout Tuesday fires kindled the
ruins cost the lives of the manned
| pinned in the wreckage and added to
the terrifying scenes of obstruction
Hospitals and homes in Terre Haute
were thrown open for the care of the
injured Relief trains, carrying ply
sicians and supplies were hurried to
the scene, and the injured We're
brought TO this city.
While hurryng to st. Anthony hos
pital the city ambulance was struck
by street car and wrecked No one
was injured, but it is feared the shock
will be fatal to the explosion victims
who were in the ambulance.
Citizens al once subscribed more
than 81, 900 to the relief fund. and the
city council, in special session. appro,
priated $4,000 to be expended in re-
lieving the suffering
Assistant Superintendent Nash. who
was seriously injured about the head
and hips. Is at a hospital. He said he
knew nothing after the explosion I'M
til he was picked up on a nearby hill
about 100 yards distant from the plant
by helping hands. who tenderly car
ried him to the Big Four relief train
and brought him to Terre Haute
Mr.. Nash said the loss of the plant
would be more than 100000 He stat
ed that thi, was not the first explo
sion of the plant. In the nine years
he has been in the plant seventeen
persons had been killed. Trouble has
been experienced in the past few days
with the shaft in the glazing room
Several times the shaft has become
Overheatsd, and has caused the stop,
ping of the machinery. There were
81, 100 kegs of powder in the magazine
in the department. according to Mr.
Nash.
The mills went up with three dis
tinct explosions. followed ninety min.
utes later by fourth even more
serious than the others, when the mag
azine went up. Immediately following
the explosion 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 fiaEtically. in constant danger
from possible succeeding explosions,
| unmindful of their ruined homes Dead
and dying were picked up and collect
ed. Eighteen bodies horribly burned
and manglcd were carried to protect.
ed spot to await Identification. while
the badly injured. numbering upward
of fifty. were put on special train
and brought here for hospital accom-
modations. Scarcely one of the 1000
inhabitants of the town but carried
blood on hands and face from his OWE
wounds " wounds of those of people
who had required aid. The mills were
located one mile south of town.
When the heat from the burning
mills exploded the giant powder maya
zine ninety minutes later, destroying
the town by conclusion, many of those
engaged in relief work were badly in,
jured and several killed Superintend-
ept Monahan of the plant was killed
I'll IL <,fe IL
and siste--in-'aw were killed in their
home, some distance away. That the
death list is not greater is due to the
fact that the people of the town had
left their houses at the first explosion.
and were Lot in them when the explo.
sion of 10000 kegs of powder in the
magazine hurled their homes to pieces
and scattered their household goods
in heaps of debris
Among the buildings totally destroy
ed were the Methodist and Christian
churches, two public school buildings,
the depot, all business blocks, includ-
ing a large block just completed a
large warehouse and 500 homes. In
many of them the fronts were blown
away, while in others the roofs were
hurled into space te sides blown out
and left in a confused mass of wreck
age,
Big Four railroad freight train
on the switch leading to the mills was
partially destroyed and the wreckage
caught fire. Engineer Charles Wells
was badly burned and received frac
ture of the right leg.
A four-room school building was torn
to pieces at FoEtanet, and not one
of the 900 children escaped unhurt
A two-room school building at Coal
Bluff was turned over and collapsed
The teacher and ninety pupils were
more or less injured
The force of the explosion destroy.
ed all telephone communication with
outside towns, and It was with great
difficulty that aid was reached Terre
Haute AMI Brazil sent physicians and
nurses with supplies in carriages and
automobiles across the country. while
special trains were made up and run
On the Big -Four road for the care of
The injured Governor Harley ordered
he Terre Haute company of the Indi.
ana Natl NAL Gina rd here tn DatroI tina