A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 814, 19 February 1910, Page 3

A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION.

The Pelorus Guardian of Friday gives the following particulars of the narrow escape of a family: — The settlers in the neighbourhood of Mr Samuel Watson’s homestead at Deep Creek were startled at 3 a.m. on Thursday by a terrific explosion, followed by a rush of flames that quickly dissipated the early morning mists. The disturbance proved to have arisen in Mr Watson’s smithy shed adjoining the residence. Mr Watson and his son were busy in the smithy on Wednesday evening, and when they had finished sharpening some tools they very carefully extinguished the fire in the forge. It is supposed, however, that they must have overlooked some sparks, for about 3 o'clock next morning Mr Watson’s son Gladdy noticed a flare through the window of his bedroom. He awakened his father, who saw flames darting through the windows cf the shed. Suddenly remembering there was a quantity of gelignite stored in the shed, Mr Watson roused his wife, and the three retired to a sate distance. Five minutes later the gelignite exploded with a deafening roar, and the burning shed timbers were hurled in all directions. Hurrying back, the three startled people set to work to save their home. This proved a difficult task, for burning debris had been thrown on the house, the washhouse, and the dairy ; while the hayshed fifty yards away, and full of hay, was utterlyldestroyed. The violence of the explosion can be imagined by a glance at the havoc in the residence. Every window is broken, the shelves were stripped of crockery and glassware, which were thrown in fragments to the floor, and the piano and organ were overturned. In addition, the house, which is an old one, was badly shaken, as though by a violent earthquake.