The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-16
!ENT|RE TOWN WRECKED
BY POWDER EXPLOSION
Fontanetl Ind, Wiped Out Of E istence---Iwo-
Score Persons Killed an > Hun
dreds Injured.
Appalling Accident at the Mills of the Dup nt Company Which
Blew Up in Quick Succession

utes later ny fourth, even more Sc
rious than Ethe others, when the maya
zines wenfI up. Immediately following
the explosions the Wreckage took fire,
and the Inhabitants of the town who
rushed tot the rescue of the mill en-
ployes fo1ind themselves powerless to
aid those burning in the ruins. They
worked f antically, in constant dan
ger from possible succeeding eXplo
sions. unr mindful of their ruined
homes.
Dead and dying were picked up and
collected. ! Eighteen bodies horribly
burned AMI mangled, were carted TO a
protected Spot to await Identification,
while the badly injured, numbering up
ward of Fifty, were put on special
train anf taken to Terre Haute for
hospital accommodations.
Scarcely One Escaped Injury.
Scarcely one of the 900 inhabitants
of the TOWN but carried blood on hands
and face tfrom his own wounds or those
of people, who had required aid.
The m lis were located one mile south
of town. With the first explosion the
employees ran for safety, but most Of
them Were killed or wounded BY the
quick fJllONSing explosions in the other
mills. When the heat from the burn
ing mills exploded the giant powder
magazG he, ninety minutes later. de-
stroyiiB the town by the conclusion,
many bf those engaged in rescue work
were BADLY injured and several kille1
Super htendent Monahan of the plant
was illed while in his office, and his
wife nd sister-in-law were killed in
their home some distance away.
Many Barely Escaped.
That the death list is not far greater
is due to the fact that the people of the
tow1l had left their houses at the first
explosion and were not in them when
the explosion of the 1000 kegs of DOW
der in the magazine hurled their
homes to pieces and scattered house
hold goods in heaps of debris Among
thei buildings totally destroyed the
tow were the Methodist and Christian
chIyches, two school buildings, the
debit all business blocks, including a
larte block just completed, large
wa ehouse and 500 homes. In many of
thfm the fronts were blown away
while in others the roofs were hurried
ind space. the sides blown out or they
wJre left confused mass of COLLAPSED
wfeckage. Big Four railroad freight
trBin on the switch leading to the mills
WIS practically destroyed by the ex-
p1osion and the wreckage caught fire.
btrned and received a fracture of the
right leg.
School Buildings Destroyed.
| Three school buildings were de-
jtroyed at FOntanet and Coal Bluff,
dWo miles away. All We're filled with
tchool children. and every one of them
twas more or less injured by the COL
lapse of the buildings A four-room
school building was torn to pieces, and
mot one of the 200 children escaped ur-
thurt, though none was fatally hurt A
twO-room school building at Coal Bluff
\ was turned over and collapsed. The
4 teacher and ninety pupils were more or
! less injured. The force of the explo-
IASion destroyed all telephone commune
PATTON with outside towns, and if was
with great difficulty that aid was sum-
ymoned. Terre Haute and Brazil sent
1 physicians and nurses with supplies IN
carriages and automobiles, while spe-
4 cial trains were made up and run on
! the Big Four railroad for the care of
the injured.
! Governor Hanley ordered the Terre
| Haute company of Indiana national
guards to patrol the ruined district md
l to protect life and property. The gov
Aernor arrived this evening. He brought
with him 700 tents and cS1s for the care
\ of the homeless.
Company B, Indiana national guard
comprising forty men, Immediately on
! reaching here today reported to Sheriff
| Horsley, who placed them around the
/ most damaged sections of the city The
| soldiers will act under orders from the
sheriff. unless Governor Hanley sees fit
/ TO declare martial law. i'm which case
a state military officer will be placed in
control.
School Building Collapsed.
The country school near Fontanet,
with an attendance of fifty country
| children, had just been called to order
when the explosion occurred. The
walls of the building and roof coll
/ lapSed. but none of the children was
dangerously injured. The teacher.
| Miss Susan Bishop of Terre Haute, was
struck by a falling beam and seriously
| injured.
| Immediately after the explosion the
| four walls fell outward and the roof
| crashed down on the crowded room.
Continued on Page 2.