The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-05-14
GRIM DESTROYER IS
THWARTED BY BRAVE
MANS ACTION
CONTINUED From Page One1


forts toward clearing the immediate
vicinity of people who might have been
ignorant of the blaze.
The chief, assisted by his firemen,
| blockaded the road leading to Beck s
Hot Springs, about mile from the
blazing box car, preventing traffic
from passing that point. In the other
direction George Dixon and p w
Bryant colored, who had been en-
camped 200 yards from the car, warned
travellers and teamsters not to ap-
proach closer than haif mile men
the road had finally been cleared and
no one could be seen in the vicinity
of the car, thA spectators put their lin
gers in their Fears and waited for the
explosion
"a solid sheet of yellow flame fully
so feet wide seemed to shoot 200 feet
in the air said William Hunter of 1000
Beck street. who witnessed the explo-
sion from a hilltop a mile from the
car. 1t was magnificent to behold.
The great sheet of flame was fringed
with tiny bits of debris. including frac-
tured car wheels which could be dis
tinctly outlined.
Then came a crash and the concus-
sion nearly knocked me from my feet
1t was so terrific that 1t was sicken-
ing. We did not return to our homes
until we were convinced that all the
debris had fallen Fragments of car
wheels were carried fully mile away
and though we were nearly that dis
lance from the dynamite we were not
any too far away.
Second Car Escapes
There was a second car of dynamite
on another spur track of the Oregon
Short Line, not more than 200 yards
away. 1t had about Is tons of dyna-
mite. Though the conclusion from the
car that exploded was SO tremendous
that 1t ripped boards from the roof
of the second car, 1t was not strong
enough to explode its contents. When
people began TO rush down from the
hills to their damaged homes, Chief
Glore warned them TO remain at good
distance until he was certain that the
second car of dynamite had not been
affected. After a wait of nearly half
an hour, a signal was given that it
The box car that contained the dyna-
mite that exploded, FIT. ". c. No.
515.606-was so completely shattered
that only a single truck and a portion
of q. brake gear remained intact. The
rails from the spur track and the main
tracks of the Oregon Short Line were
bent and twisted as though they had
been hoop iron. while dirt and SleeperS
were torn from under the rails of the
Rio Grande Western and Hamburger
line tracks Huge telephone and tele-
graph poles were snapped in many
pieces. The huge high tension wire Of
the Utah Light & Railway company
came down with a crash and. mingling
its heavy charge of electricity with
wires and rails. an electric display con-
tinued until the current could be shut
off.
Practically all the window glass in
homes of the Beck street settlement
was shattered. The home of John Mac
duff, 1000 Bedk street, which was clos
est to the car of dynamite, was nearly
wrecked, though il is a heavy brick
structure Walls were cracked and a
heavy chimney partially collapsed. The
conclusion was so tremendous that
metal picture frame which hung on
wall of the Macduff home was bent into
an recognizable shape Heavy de-
canters were also shattered on side
board and even heavy crockery was
broken in a remote closet. William
Macduff residence. shared similar loss
as did Mr.. and Mrs. Robert Anderson,
Mr.. and Mrs. J. 3. Shaffer and Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph Burns. whose attractive ut
tie homes face on Beck street rather
close together
A Mystified Cat.
The examination of the interior of
the homes indicates that had anyone
been in them at the time OF she ex-
plosion they might have Jared seri-
ously A cat that remained in the
Macduff residence and could not I'M
derstand why people we're dashing for
when the members of the family re-
turned. But he was game, however,
and his tail and back remained bristled
up two hours after the carload of dy-
Mantle had gone into the air.
William Bingley of the Beck street
settlement was probably closer to the
car when 1t exploded than was any
other. Bingley. who delights in shoot
ing lawful game on the lake that ex-
tends from Beck's Hot Springs, was
huddled away in q bunch of willows
less than half mile from the car. He
says that he had his rifle up and was
taking careful aim at an object when
the explosion came, nearly tossing him
into the lake He says that the heavy
concussion actually brushed the rifle
out of his hands.
Crews numbering nearly zoo laborers