Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-07-14
Millions Pounds
Explosives Not
Reached by Flames

Dover, n. J., July 13.-lP)-Eve-
ming shadows settled tonight over
the high valley that holds what is
left Of the Lake Denmark naval ar
senal with only a wavering thread
Of smoke here and there over ruin
ed buildings and the occasional
muff1ed popping Of small arms
tatton that leaped from the skies
Saturday afternoon to send Fl per-
sous to death. !
For the last "a hours there had
been no serious explosions from the
magazines and only a few harmless
thuds of heavy shells exploding.
Marine and navy officials were
satisfied that millions of hounds Of
high explosives, still stored at Lake
Denmark and at the adjoining army
ordnance post. Picatnny arsenal,
had come safely throug the holo-
caust.
But it was terrible picture OF
destruction that was unfolded to the
group of news writer's and camera
men who were, shepherded in per-
son by Brigadier General Hugh
| Drum and members of his staff
through the ruins marking the heart
of what was the navy's greatest ord
nance store. Later they were led
around the Mount Hope sector, out
| side the northern and eastern fenc-,
| es of the Lake Denmark reservation
| to see the damage wrought among
| the cottages and little homes thar
| have sprung up along this line and
none of which remains intact.
| General Drum led his personally
conducted tour on a railway with
switch engine coupled to string OF
| four fiat cars and an ancient pas
senger coach. Ahead lay the shat
| tered roofs of officers quarters at
Picatinny with the garrison fiag
waving undaunted above.
| Farther on the army post close by
the track was shattered ruin OF
| fallen brick and toppled tiles. The
blast had swept a roof away here and
| there. crushed downward upon it to
fattep the whole building to the
| ground. The house where Lieutenant
| Bolts was crushed to death in the first
| fare had been toppled in like house
| of cards.
| All about the trees were snapped
| off almost to the ground or torn and
twisted by terrific force. A navy Of
| ficer, dingy with the CRIME Of two
| days work in the ruins. strolled into
| view bearing great yellow cat and
| her four kittens. They were the pride
| and Joy of Mrs. Brown. wife of the
| missing lieutenant commander doctor
! of the post. They were taken alive to-
| day from under the ruins of the Brown
| home which crashed in on Mrs. Brown
| as she rushed back in the moment be-
| fore the first crash to rescue them.
! Up a grade the train went with the
ruin of the army center now far below
| and the center of the disaster was at
hand Nothing green remained, moth
| ing whole, nothing that was not splin-
tered. smashed and scorched by ter
| rife heat.
One hundred yards above the track
was a great cavity, dug deep into the
| shattered hillside, that alone marked
! the site of Building No. which was
struck by the lightning bolt. To the
right gaped another yawning hole, 100
feet across and so feet deep in the
| solid rock. II was the site of the T
| r storehouse that went off to form the
| second great explosion. The third re-
/ ported major blast has not been def
| nitely located
These two buildings stood just below
| a hilltop above. 1t was the slope Of
| the hill that save direction to the re-
sistless surge of air and gas that bore
| down upon the army base below to
| shatter every window, topple brick
walls like tissue paper structures and
| destroy utterly all the working plant
Of the great base.
| over a 10-acre sweep OF that hill
side. green with shrubs and crowdins
plant life last saturday, was the hush
| of death