Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 June 1907 — PREMATURE FOURTH OF JULY EXPLOSION. [ARTICLE]

PREMATURE FOURTH OF JULY EXPLOSION.

“Squire Thornton, Jr.,” the five-year-old son of Squire J. H. Thornton, oonld not contain his pent np patriotism until the 4th, and as a result is nursing some burns received Thursday afternoon from fire-crackers. It seems he was down near the Makeever hotel shooting off fire-crackers, a bunch of' which he had in his breeches pocket. The fire-crack-ers got afire in some way in his pocket and begun cracking quite lively, and the boy let out some yells that would put a Rensselaer football player to shame. When the rescuers bad gathered up the remains and a doctor was called it was found that aside from a ruined shirt and pair of pants and a skin burn a few inches square in the groin, the boy was all right A few years ago a boy in Lafayette died from injuries received hi about the same manner.