Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1908-10-07
Continued from first page.

house when the explosion took
place. He was thrown violently
to the platform and was struck by
a piece of casting or a portion of
the flying debris.
Storekeeper Norman and Walter
Page, one of the storehouse force,
heard the fire alarm. Each de-
partment has its own specific
alarm in case of fire, and noting
that the storehouse alarm was
given they ran to the hose reel at
the end of the building and while
getting the hose ready for opera
ton the whole thing let loose.
The platform was disrupted, the
end of the ,storekeeper blown
out and Mr.. Norman and
Page were thrown down
and almost covered with the
fragments of timber, castings,
etc. Neither we're hurt. A COM
plete list of the casualties, trivial
and otherwise can hardly be
given, a number received small
hurts who have said nothing
about it.
The damage can hardly be esti
mated at this time, but it is safe
to say that it will be heavy.
1t is a most fortunate thing that
the explosion did not take place
an hour earlier. At that time
the shop train, which brings the
men to Salisbury would have been
standing where the greatest force
of the explosion seems to have
been, and one has to shudder
when he even thinks of the fear.
full loss of life which would newt
ably have resulted.
There was a great hole in the
ground where the powder house
had stood, box cars and heavy
gondolas standing near we're hurl
ed away or crushed topieces. The
south end Of the storehouse plat.
form, weighed as it was by heavy
casting was born to pieces. The
end of the blacksmith shop was
blown into kindling wood. The
end of the storehouse was Jared
out by the conclusion. There was
a grand mix up in the offices OF
MI. Kederly and Mr.. Norman and
the office furniture was hurled III
all directions. Mr.. Brands was
in his office at the time with some
of his assistants, but none were
injured.
That the force of the explosion
was very great is evidenced by the
fact that almost every window
sash in the adjacent shops, the
machine shops, glass in the store
windows at Spencer were Jared
out by the shock. 1t Is said, that
a number of families in the town
had their entire stack of dishes
smashed to atoms.
However this may have been, a
sight of the ruin and desolatlon on
Friday morning was really appall-
ing, and an outsider could not
but wonder why it was that such
a catastrophe had not been accom-
panied by a much greater loss of
life. This is only explained by
the fact that but a comparatively
few men were near the scene at the
time.
The powder house was an sbso-
lutely fire proof structure just
eight feet square, and how it coud
contain a car load of powder, etc
as stated by the Charlotte Obser-
ver's correspondent, is a mys-
terry the railroad men have not at
tempted to fathom. There was
about Is or 50 pounds of smoke
less powder, in cans, in the house,
together with a lot of torpedoes
and fussees, During the day
there had been 10 acquisitions is
sued for any of this material and
the house had not been opened.
1t would be impossible for the
smallest spark to find it's way into
the iron structure and just what
caused the fire Is not known,
though the only tenable theory is
that Of spontaneous combustion.
While under the circumstances
it does not seem that there a be
any censure attached to any one
for the fire and the cons quent
explosion, some in authority is
o.-la. o.- ..1.. IL. =: L-.