Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1914-01-31
M TEOR EXPLODED
DYNAMITE At Ia
LUZ MINE !?
MIoer Brings Report TO B.
R1ooe, One of the Owners OF
Claim in Sandals That Pow
der House Went Up

o,nuo vest arday brought manifold
ng,atien of c. w. Christs ana
II Gurhnsts statement that they
~ hure meteor fan Thursday
PIN opnarontly striking the north
'.s nool. az the Sandia mountains IL
ma, brought the news that an i'm
-..isod now Ter house at the La Luz
PIMA twenty-five miles from here,
,lnw rp Al practically the same time
g,,a iocation of the la Luz property
,,rosnonds with the spot where Wit
,ossos say the fiery mass dropped
Martin Garcia, q workman at the
,no arrived here afoot carly
,astorday afternoon with the report
KIN be Ia Luz companys store Of
g'.namta had o1plcdcd lie brought
,bts information 20 j. Ruppe' drug
9,st enc of the principal stockhold-
7rs In the company Garcia said he
did net know anything about mo-
,oor when Mr. Ruppc questioned him
nonald Brown. mine foreman, Luis
Gonzales and himself We're playing
cards IN "a log cabin about twenty feet
from inc tent and log structure where
tbo blaetinu charges were stored, ac-
cordlne Ia Garcia a flash of fire
nehlod up tive interior of the cabin
ana Gonzales. running to the door and
poerifg outside, shouted: "Fuego
scramble for The entrance followed.
Gonzslcs and Garcia started toward
~ ,eut wth The intention Of saving
tbeir ploporiy rut Brown commanded
them to nun. realizing that delay
would mean death. The men We're
about $50 yards away when the dyna-
mite exploded
AIR. Ruppe said yesterday that more
than 1870 pounds of dynamite was
stored there, with 1000 feet Of fuse
and three boxes Of Illuminating caps.
The caps exploded in the heat pro-
dncng inc .oucussion necessary to
sel off Che dynamite, in the opinion
Of Mr.. Ruppe The improvisel pow
der house-that is the few boards
and shrods Of canvas scattered about
the hillside, burned brightly so the
men were able TO find their way back
70 the cabin. They found this badly
wrecked. with the roof timbers scat
tered over ground for 100 yards in
every direction. The stove and furni-
ture OF the cabin was piled in eonfu-
sion A stove, i'm the tent. where the
dynamite was stored, was blown
tI..,,..l. a.. fs....,, t.r.. Cd. t.... al "a frnt
practically stripping it to a stump.
Garcia left soon afterwards for Al
huQuerque. lie and the others We're
without clothes except what they Wore
and they were not heavily clothed
for The card game. The others prob
ably slept i'm the mouth of the mine,
or under an overhanging ledge Mr..
Ruppe said last night his daughter
Mrs Luis Gonzales, wife of enc Of the
men at the mine. would leave for the
place today with provisions ami
clothes Mrs. Gonzales and her baby
who live IN she log cabin, with her
husband, were i'm the city Thursday
night
Brown ana Garcia lived in the tent
where the dynamite was, according 60
Nj Ruppe There was a stove in
the tent The tent and cabin were
about ten minutes walk from the en-
uancc 90 the tunnel where more dy-
Mantle was cached and consequently
the mouth If the mine was not dam
aged
Mr. Ruppe said he did not know
what seq the powder tent afire. He
thought q spark from the stove IN
The cabin or tent might have caused
fl Garcia gave No information on
this point. According TO Mr.. Ruppc,
Garcia left for his home near La r.
llra Yesterday evening.
Despite the fact that several per-
sons notified the Journal THURSDAY
night and yesterday that they distine,-
ly saw "a huge bah of fire hover over
The Sandals and then drop. Mr..
Runpe is not inclined to place much
eredence i'm the meteor story heliey-
ing that a spark set fire to the tent
Several persons. besides the two
men who reported seeing the PLAN
eiaB fragment fan Thursday night
made known yesterday the fact that
they also were spectators of the pho
homenon Their stories generally co..
inciac, suggesting that a small piece
of the mass might have struck the
ifnl ausing the fire MI Iuppe die
NOT learn from Garcia whether he
and his companions In the cabin hai
ielt amy tremor Of the earth when the
iare lighted The room
Several residents of the Highlands
near The University Of New Mexico,
and persons who live IN the mountains
reported that they heard two eXplc-
Nnns one following the other within
few seconds. This again suggests
lhe possibility OF the meteors havine
emitted the powder tent Witnesses
saId that after the flaming obiec'
dropped flames shot mp and burned
hercely for few seconds. Then fol-
lowed the heavs hoom--two, som
say
J wish a meteor had fallen on ths
IA Luz claim" said Mr.. Ruppe. +
would be luck sign Stock would
Jump up then"
Persons who yesterday said thoS
saw the meteor fall include District
Judge II. F Reynolds, Probate Judg'
John Paron Burg and Harry = owen
court stenographer