The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1908-01-30
TOWN OF HOOKING
BADLY WRECKED
EXPLOSION or CAR OF pYNA
MITE WORKS GREAT HAVOC.
ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND LOSS,
Company Store Completely Destroyed,
and Entire Town Suffers Dam
age-People Warned and
No One Hurt.

Abba. Jan 25.-Fire in the com
pany store caused the explosion Of
about forty thousand pounds of dyna.
mite at the coal mining camp OF
Hooking, three miles south of Abba,
at two O'Clock this morning and a
property damage amounting to over
one hundred thousand dollars result
ed. The shock wrecked the town of
Hooking and did considerable damage
in Abba. Fortunately the people Of
the mining camp were warned of the
danger and no injuries are reported
The company store near which a
car of the explosive was standing, is
wiped out of existence and a number
of other buildings near the scene of
the explosion were badly damaged
A number of horses and other domes
tic animals near the company store
were killed.
Explosives Arrived Yesterday.
A car load Of dynamite was receiv.
ed at Hooking yesterday, consigned
to the mining company, and the car
was placed on the siding near the.
company store. The stuff arrived al
the camp too late to be taken to the
company storage house, some distance
from the town, and hence remained
I in the car. Few people, If any, out
side of the company management
knew of the presence of the explos
i've, and it seems miracle that nc
one was killed. t7rt
u People Are Warned. -
Fire was discovered in the building
of the Hooking Company store about
one-thirty o'clock this morning. The
fire had made considerable headwa!
when discovered and people began
gathering about the place to see II
anything could be saved. About thai
time announcement was made by the
management of the store that great
quantity of dynamite was in close
proximity to the fire and would Ger,
tainly be exploded. The warning was
scattered about the mining camp and
people hurried away from the scene
o. the fire and abandoned their homes
as rapidly as possible. The greater
part of the population put big hill
between themselves and the scene Of
the fire and waited anxiously for what
was sure to come. The frightened PED.
pie did not have long to wait. With
roar and a believing that seemed to
rend the very atmosphere the dyna
mite was exploded and moment lat.
er the people of the place were gath
cred about the spot to see what was
left of their town and their homes.
Big Store Wiped Out.
The greatest damage was done at
the scene of the company store, which
was practically wiped out of exist
ence. Nothing of the big brick and
frame structure was saved. All OF
the great stock of goods contained In
the building was either burned or was
scattered to the seven winds. Sew,
eral other buildings near to the com.
pany store were also considerably
damaged by the force of the explos
ion. The homes of the miners being
at a greater distance from the point
of explosion were not seriously dam,
aged, but it is doubtful If there is a
whole pane of glass left in the town.
The concussion was terrific. Those
who fled from the scene of the fire
to seek safety behind the hill were,
fairly lifted off, their feet when the
explosion came and many were
thrown violently to the earth. No
one was hurt to any extent, however.
Destruction At Abba. a..
The explosion caused the greatest
excitement at this place. Practically
the whole town was awakened by the
force of the explosion. 1t had more
the effect of an earthquake than an
explosion. The explosion did not
seem like heavy report. 1t had
more an effect like heavy cannon.
aiding and with rumble and roar
like a heavy thunderbolt. Buildings
seemed to totter and shake, and many
thought an earthquake shock had been
experienced Considerable damage to
windows in Abba resulted from the
concussion which was great even at
this distance. Abba people were in
Ignorance of the cause or the explos-
ion for some time following the dis
turbance. No one could get commu-
nication by wire and no one seemed
to know from which direction the re-
port had come. The first news came
from distant phone and then prac-
tically all Abba went to the scene of
the explosion. AS soon as the cleo.
trio line between the places placed |
car on the tracks people almost |
fought for place. The cars have
been crowded to capacity at every |
trip. VII
The Hooking company will imme-
diately commence the rebuilding of
the store and a new stock will be Sc
cured Immediately.
This is the second time in the his.
tory of the business that the store
and stock have been entirely destroy
ed. The first loss was by fire.
CHICKENS COST TEN WEARS.