Year: 1876

What was Done by n Driver while Sur


rounded by Burning Dynamite.


While transporting wagon load OF
dynamite from one storehouse to anoth-
er in St. Louis the other day, Frederick
Julian was dragged forty or fifty yards,
a wagon was smashed, and several build
ings levoled to the ground. The driver
was only slightly injured, and was able
the next day to give very intelligent
account of the explosion.


"We have two powder magazines, !"
he said, "in which We store our giant
powder. One is in Lowell and the
other up on the bottom land near the
Seven Mile House. In the former we
had a lot of damaged powder, some OF
which had been stored there for more
than year and half. I went up to
remove some of this damaged powder
from the Lowell magazine to the other,
to have it renovated. 1 put four inches
of sawdust in the wagon and then put
in ten ffty.pound cases of powder, on
the top of which I put twenty empty
boxes that 1 desired also to remove.
This heaped the wagon up full, so that
had not even room to put my feet
down on the bottom of the wagon bed.
I drove out to Bellefontaine road. 1
didn't smoke any on the way. Near the
gate of the cemetery 1 smelled smoke.
| haven't the remotest idea how the fire
could have been started, but 1 immedi-
ately comprehended that my load was
burning. I reached down, dropped the
reins and pulled out the nearest box.
When I lifted it I saw that it was on fire
on the back side. I tossed it out OF the
wagon and caught hold of the box near
est to me, which was burning still more.
I threw that out, too, and in doing so
burned my hands pretty badly. Then
I saw that the fire had started pretty
we'll back, and was burning in the saw
dust and all along under the empty
boxes, 80 that 1 could not possibly get
at it to put it out. My horses began to
be frightened, too, and if you know any
thing about dynamite you know that
when it takes fire it burns with an in
tense heat. I was therefore afraid that
if the load burned there it might set fire
to some of the houses. Accordingly 1 let
the horses 20 toward the common.


"By that time the flames were blazing
up among the boxes and I detected the
peculiar odor of the burning dynamite.
I Jumped off the wagon and unhltched
the horses. At the same time lot Of
men came out and began tearing Mrs.
Clark's fence to prevent it from taking
fire. I led the horses about twenty OF
thirty feet away from the wagon and
stood holding them by the head and
looking at the thing as it burned. Ibe
men had the fence torn down and were
standing little back, but between Mrs.
Clark's house and the wagon looking at
the blaze, so you can know it must have
burned violently for some time. Twas
standing, as I said. only just so as to be
out of range of the heat, with the horses
between me and the wagon, when the
explosion came. 1t was an awful noise,
but it did not stun me so but that hung
to the horses and was dragged forty or
fifty yards in state of bewilderment.
Then I lost hold of the horses, but they
ran only q few yards, and l went up and
caught them. They were not much hurt.


II started with 500 pounds. 1 threw
out two boxes containing 100 pounds,
and from the length of time it was burn
ing I Judge that half the remainder was
consumed before the explosion came.
That would leave 200 pounds. 1t was
heard four or five miles in every dlrec-
tion. The force OF the explosion didn I
seem to come my way at all. The stuff
is queer about the direction OF its vlo-
lence. It strikes mostly down. There
were plenty of men between the wagon
and Mrs. Clark's house, yet the house
was shattered and the men only slightly
hrrt