Year: 1871




on yesterday afternoon, four hundred
pounds of nitro ycerine in cans, load
ed on a wagon bound from Titusville to
Tidioute, exploded about three quarters
of mile this side of Enterprise, on the
public highway leading from Titusville
The driver, MIR. Charles q. Clark, who is
one Of Roberts & Co. s most careful agents,
was blown to atmos, as also was the horse
and wagon. A large circular excavation
about four or five feet deep and twelve
feet in diameter was made in the middle
of the road the fences and trees for a
considerable distance on either side were
shattered into fragments. A barn, the
property Of Mr.. Confer, about forty rods
nearer Enterprise, was blown to pieces,
and the whole neighborhood converted
into complete wreck. The butt end of
the drivers whip was driven distance
of nearly quarter Of a mile, passed
through window in Mr. Arnamine' S
house, and knocked his wife senseless.-
Several persons remote distance from
the scene of disaster were so stunned by
the shock that they are confnnd in bed.
The houses all along the road leading in
to Enterprise were all more or less injur-
ed, being twisted out of shape in such a
manner as to prevent the opening or shut
ting Of windows or doors. The shock was
like that of an earthquake, extending for
miles and being felt throughout the whole
surrounding country and distinctly heard
in this city. Several houses were shaken
to their foundations On Church run the
report sounded like boiler explosion,
and, in this vicinity like the low rum
bling ofan earthquake. DR.. Raguel, with
the exception of the unfortunate Clark,
was the nearest individual to the explo
sion. He was on horseback, on his way
to Tidioute, and had made an attempt to
pass Clark's wagon, but fell back to allow
his going down hill At the instant of
the explosion, Raguel was about sixty
yards in the rear, and the concussion of
the air almost unseated him, and forced
both him and his horse backward. He
was so stunned that he staggered, and the
rider received so severe a shock, that
he could hardly realize the situation
Immediately after the explosion tcle
gram was sent from Enterprise to this
city, and large numbers of people visited
the scene of the disaster. Strange to say
Clark's face was found almost entire,
without the skull. One eye was blown
and the other was open, glaring and trans
fixed in death. The mouth and nose and
moustache were perfectly natural, and
apparently he had not time even to put
on an expression of alarm. All the re-
naming portions of the body were scat
tered so widely and SO torn into such
diminute fragments that it was difficult
to tell which belonged to the man and
which to the horse At the time our re-
porter reached the spot the supposed hu-
man remnants were lying in basket. A
telegraph pole on the roadside, bore strong
evidence of instantaneous demolition leav-
ing the wire intact overhead. The woods
on the upper side of the road were set on
fire in several places, but it was sub
sequently extinguished. The appearance
of what was once the horse and wagon,
beggars all description. The fore quar-.
ter of the animal was lying in the road
way, the shoes of the fore feet gone, and
the entrails and hinder parts scattered !;
while broken shaft and small piece of
steel and iron were all that could be col
lected Of the wagon. The fragments of
steel were, for the most part, twisted in.
to peculiar shapes and broken with rag
ged edges - TausuiUe Herald, Saturday