Fatal Explosion
The filling house at the Mare Island Navy Yard, located in the Straits of Carquinez, 'i'olano County, California) was blown to atoms*on Monday, June 13th, and 13 sailors belonging to the United States war cruiser Boston, engaged in filling shells with black and quick-burninp powder, were literally torn to threads. Two others who survived the explosion were terribly mangled. Nobody can tell the exact cause of the disaster, aod there are many theories extant concerning it. It is just possible, according to some old expert ordnance men, that powder fragments might have become lodged in the screw threads and ignited while the cap of the chide was being screwed in. Others say that two opprentices were racing to see who could till the most shells in a given time, and one of them in his ha.-tc handled ii shell carelessly and tho explosion lesulted. The Boston's officers are blamed for allowing other than experienced men to engage in the work. An investigation was held, but the verdict was " pure accident/
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Bibliographic details
Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 13, 19 July 1892, Page 4
Word Count
172Fatal Explosion Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 13, 19 July 1892, Page 4
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