New Ulm review., 1913-07-02

child was thrown distance Of sixty
FIVE or seventy feet: He ;alightsd il
small sand pile, to which TACT h.
doubtless owes Ills life, and wa.
found lying at the base Of . tele.
phone pole. When picked up he, was
Unconscious, and it was thought that
he was dead.
Mr.. Balmes, father of the unfor.
tunate boy, had stepped to the back
door to polish his shoes. He was il
a STOPPING posture when the ex.
plosion came, and as he cast start
led glance in the direction of the
sound, he deserted a dark object
hurled through the air, seemingly
some twelve. of fifteen feet aboveet the
ground. 1t struck near the telephone
pole, and in the cloud of dust and
dense smoke Mr.. Balmes saw a pair
Of boys legs.
Running to the spot, he found that
the child's clothes had been torn, to
tatters, his face was cut and bleed
ing, and be was so blackenea by
smoke and CRIME as to be unrecogniz-
able. Not knowing that he was suc-
coring his own son, Mr.. Balmes, rais-
ed the injured boy from the ground
and started for the house. AS he did
so he remarked to Mrs. Smith, who
had hurried out of her. own home,
that the boy, to whatever family he
belonged, was dead. 1t was not un-
til Mrs. Balmes saw the victim of the
accident that the child was recogniz-
ed, and then the shock was so great
that the mother was driven frantic.
While the boy was being carried to
a place of safety Mrs. Smith tele-
phoned to DR.. f. P. Strathern, and
the latter dressed Russell's wounds.
His examination disclosed the fact
that the boy had a bad burn on the
upper lip, and that other burns ex-
tended along the left side Of his face
and across his forehead. The flames
singed away part of his hair, and he
was bruised about the hips and body.
So great was the force Of the ex-
plosion that both ends of the tank
were torn out. The detonation was
heard in all parts of the city, and
even as far away as Oshawa. A dense
cloud of smoke arose, and fire
alarm was sent in. Deputy Sheriff
C. J. Norman, who was one of the
first men to reach the scene, drew
the tank wagon out from between
the barns, and doubtless prevented
them from igniting. Gravel and
ashes were thrown into the burning
tank, and the blaze was extinguished
in that manner. There was great ex-
element following the explosion, and
a large crowd collected.
All indications go to show that the
boy was standing on the foot-rest
near the front of the tank when the
match OF fire cracker was dropped
into the opening at the top. The
front of his trousers was torn from
his body and has not been found,
50 that a logical conclusion is that
ne was caught by the explosion that
ourst out the front of the tank.
curious feature of the affair
s that there was a strong odor
If gunpowder about his clothing, and
4 theory has been advanced that
other boys poured quantity of the
explosive into the tank. The boy
vas quite alone at the time, and his
olaymates deny any knowledge Of
;he matter.
When picked up by his father,
Russell was unconscious, and there
we're fears that he had been fatally
injured. All day Sunday he lay in
4 stupor, but on Monday he began to
regain the use of his faculties. The
shock was so great, however, that he
aas not been able to give clear ac-
count of the accident. It was feared
hat his ear drums had been shat
;ered by the explosion, but it ap-
pears that they were not injured.
His physician believes, too, that his
eyesight will not be affected. All
;hings considered, his escape was a
one.
When he had recovered sufficiently,
,e told his parents that he climbed
% the very top of the tank, and drop
,ed just one match into it.
Storm Works Havoc at St. Peter.