The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1909-05-21

tally Explodes. Firing All The
Charges-Workmen And Tons OF
Rock Hurled Hundreds OF Feet
Into The Air - Panic Reigns In
Village Half A Mile From The
Quarry - Fragments OF Unrecog-
nizabIe Dead Carried To Morgue.
Albany. N, Y. Especially AT least
20 men were killed by a. premature
blast of dynamite in a stone quarry
operated by the Catalan Road Inn
provement Company. near South
Bethlehem. IL miles southwest OF
Albany.
One thousand pounds of dynamite
exploded, and the bodies of the vic
Tins were hurled hundreds of feet
by the conclusion and so badly mutt
lated as to be almost beyond recog-
milton. AS darkness was falling a
wagon drew up to the enginehouse
loaded with bodies that had been
picked up back on the quarry hill.
A crowd of griefstr.cken relatives
gathered around, eager to identity
the dead, only to turn away at the
sickening sight.
Italians with shovels found here
and there portions of bodies and
brought their gruesome loads in box
es to the enginehouse, which served
as a temporary morgue.
The Catalan Road Improvement
Company furnished crushed stone for
road building. The preparations for
the days blast had been going on
for six weeks. Thirteen holes. Is
feet deep, had been drilled at points
about 20 feet back of the face of the
big quarry, and the explosion of the
dynamite with which they were to
be loaded was expected to displace
10000 tons of rock.
Over 5000 pounds of dynamite
we're to have been used. The work.
men had placed 500-pound charges
in six of the holes and were work.
ing on the seventh when a percus-
sion cap was prematurely discharg.
ed A terrific explosion followed,
which hurled tons of rock into the
air and scattered the bodies of the
victims in all directions. The off,
GERS were standing nearby at the
time directing the work.
en- and windows shattered by the
conclusion and CONSERVATION reign
ed in the little village half a mile
away
All that was capable of recognition
of Leroy McMillen was his head,
found some distance from the ex-
that might have been his body.
% % kA toll nI ov,
brothers, John. was found on top
of the ledge, where the charge holes
had been drilled and were being fill
ed, SO feet from the explosion.
In the pit below, outside of the
displaced rock, lay the body of the
other brother, Charles. All there
was left to identity him by was a
charred trunk and head. Both bod
les were torn asunder.
The bodies of Baumes and Maloney
were burned black and dismember-
ed.
The quarrymen being unfamiliar
with the powder expert, Zephart,
there is some doubt as to the identity
of the body believed to be his. He
was a large man, six foot or more
tall, weighing about $50 pounds or
more. Such body. dismembered and
with the head and face burned be-
yond recognition, was picked up.
In addition to the trunks and
larger part of the bodies recovered,
a table three feet wide and ten long
was filled heaping with burned and
broken arms and legs, parts of heads
and trunks of the victims of the
accident
The nine bodies of Italians not,yet
recovered are either buried in the
rocks or have been blown into such
small pieces that it will be impos-
sible to associate them as bodies.