Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1911-03-17
FIVE STATES SHAKEN
bY DYNAMITE BLAST
Explosion al Powder Works al
Pleasant Prairie, Wis.

The explosion Of dynamite and gun
powder which wiped out the plant OF
the Dupont de Nemours Powder com.
pany, practically destroying the town
OF Pleasant Prairie, Wis, is remark
able IN that it resulted directly in the
des i Of but one man and indirectly
il lie death of a woman. They are:
T. s. Thompson, foreman of the
g,aza room Of powder plant, blown to
atoms.
Miss Alice Finch, died of heart dis
C. a blast opened doors and rocked
lcr home at 319 DuPage street. Elgin.
i've states were shaken, 5000 900
persons felt the blast, but several
powder mill workmen who were blown
through roof are reported not seri-
ousiy injured
he shock was felt as far west as
Clinton, Ia, and as far east as Cleve-
land.
TWO millions dollars, it is estimated,
will hardly cover the damage. So
terrific was the shock that the earth
crust shook and trembled as if torn
by an earthquake for 800 miles.
The first Of the explosions occurred
at SLY p. NJ, and was followed by
four others in rapid succession that
shook the ground and shattered plate
glass windows in every part of Chi
cago. The tremors caused we're felt
throughout a radius Of more than 100
miles each way.
Five magazines of the Du Pont de
Nemours Powder company, containing
1S0 tons Of finished black powder and
dynamite, exploded The magazines
contained 5000 kegs Of giant powder
finished; $4,000 kegs giant powder in
process eff manufacture; $50 tons fin
ished dynamite, 130 IONS dynamite, in
process Of manufacture.
One man, Eldan Thomas, an en-
pl0ye in the powder plant, is dead
Another Joseph Flynn, engineer at
the plant lies seriously injured at the
Kenosha hospital, and more than 100
Others are cut about the head and
face as result Of the literal shower
of glass caused by the shock.
Sheriff Andrew Stahl of Kenosha
county sWore in more than 100 depu-
ties from among the powder monk
eys' and employees to maintain order.
Some Of the deputies were armed and
at the point Of guns forced people
back of the picket lines, more than
mile from the actual scene of the ex-
plosion
According to Edward EIillyer, night
watchman at the Du Pont plant the
FIRST explosion came from the glazing
building in which e. S. Thomas, who
was known as "the old man." was
working Thomas was blown to
atoms. Iiillyer himself was not far
from the building, and tells a graphic
story.
81 was Knocked down by the force
OF the first explosion" lie said, ex-
citedly, and | turned and ran to-
ward the pgailics as fast as | could.
with each explosion was Knocked to
the ground ana aAese bruises are the
lesults,' and he l~inted to a scratched
cheek, cut hand and various black
and blue marks. Twelve men were
working there at the time and all but
one Of thom, L understand, escaped.
was so terror stricken that did not
see what became Of them. It seems
remarkable that only one death oc-
cured. | would not be surprised to
find that more had lost their lives"
a special carload Of nurses and ply
sicians arrived, attending to the wants
Of the cut and bleeding villagers.
In the town Of Kenosha there is
scarcely a window unbroken. Foc
miles around the powder company
residences and barns are a pile Of
splinteTed timbers.