Rensselaer Union, Volume 2, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 October 1869 — Casualty at the State Fair. [ARTICLE]

Casualty a t the State Fair.

A terrible ftrckjnftt ocetirrd nt tin* Slato Kajjf, at lu«liann|Kvliis Innt Fridav nLuut 4 o'clock f« tin* afloniop#, by wnwli twenty | >crKO|iy either instantly killed, or lived but a tew hour*, und fiftysix othevk received wounds of vanon* degree* of seriousjieiis. The accident was occasioned by the explosion of the (toiler attached to a jtortablc sawmill on exhibition.— We take the following extract concerning the ealamitv and also ji»t of wounded from the Judinumjxylit Jomryai: Jhc heart siekeut and the brain rctjjt ,with the fearful tale of j esterday** horror. I'our days of unexampled pleasure ami prosperity had attended thp State Fair. In the midst of the excitement and giddiness of the closing hours, without a moment's warning of its dread ! ’jjliproach, death, in most horrid HDa{>cx and with fantastic tortures, clasped its icy fingers around the whole scene of joyous pleasure, enveloping it with a deep ami damning, pall, such as has hut seldom jMpH drawu about even tiiefliost doomed locality. In thu disordered brain of the poet we have been used to sueh sickening phantasms as thu sudden arrest of the revelry and the. dance bj T the unwelcome approach of disaster and death; we have read with bated breath and quiverft!:g lips of slich scenes as Avondale and Vet have failed to feel the fullest terror for lack -of personal apprehension. Yesterday the Pandora box of evil opened for us, and in the twinkling of an eye, an arena of pleasure and mirth was nictamor'phosed into literal acres of death, torture, and of terror.

A large circle of interested look-ers-on were gathered about the area occupied by the machinery, while i*erp and there over the grounds wer.o spattered ten or twelve thousand people. At a moment of undisturbed quiet, .while the hum of the machinery was hushed and attention directed toward the ring, in which the fast trotting 'was about to commence, a noise jike the explosion of a park of artillery saluted the ear, and a concussion of the earth as of an earthquake sent a thrill of fear to the heart. A volume of steam, a blinding cloud of dust and smoke, the air filled with delrit of timber, of pieces of iron, of shreds of clothing, parts of human beings, of groans, and of shrieks, men falling hither* and thither, and ranks opening as if plowed through by grape and shrapnel, told the fearful tale of an explosion. The engine, a minute before a thing of beauty, obedient to the fetich ot man, was torn and rent by a mighty convulsion; its .comeliness gone, its parts scattered to the four winds, hardly a joiutlcft in integrity. That which in one second had been an implement of industry, in the uert was turned into a sickle of death, reaping and mowing its victims in a swath confined by no rule and measured by uo regularity.

-•Whore the engine stood was left no perceptible trace, except an area of smoked and blackened ground. Kvett the foiuidation had been torn up, and not a brick was left standing the one upon the other. The framing of the saw mill was thrown askew, turned over, broken and dislocated. A large piece of the boiler, which must have weighed Jive hundred pounds, was carried a distance of a hundred yards. One smaller piece was thrown clear into the time track, and skipping over it, buried itself in the sod beyond. Another large piece was blown westward, clear over the dyke upon the cattle pens. Itcrashed through the roof ot one, and struck a large "ox on the horns, breaking off the tips, passing entirely out of the enclosure of the fair grounds. One ot the shafts, to which was attached an eccentric, was thrown sidewise over Power Hall [seventy-live yards j distant], and lauded at the side ofj Domestic Hall. One of the rods was twisted off aud carried at least three hundred yards in a northerly direction, striking a man on the who was standing not far Hu the amphitheater. In almost every smaller pieces of the uiaelduerv were thrown and the Air was' laterally full of splinters, holts, screws, »«ts, pieces ol rods, and sueliNJl the lighter portions oY the engine. * * * * * * The following list cf jd>e killed is from the Indianapolis Mirror: P. Dayis, John Goll, Vysilium Dunning. John Wilson, Peter Kroutzcr, Augustus Seidler, Clara Dawson, Ignatus L. I?wxsiu-r, Jerome Spriggs (colored), of Indianapolis; Myron ft. McVey, John A. JleYev, of Marion county; Heuel iteveriv, ParAgon; P. M. Benham, Fort Ji'.ayne; Daniel Long, Vienna; A. I'.'Jackson, Memphis; Sherrod Lshorh, Franklin; Isaac Barker, Hamilton cnajtty, John K. Bailev, recently from Sieneateles, N. V.; two or three a titers not recognized. The wounded arc.: Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Sinker, Jerome Staley, wife and daughter, Wm. Ballard, John Smithers, Mr. and Mrs. Tracy, —— BirkhaVdt, ‘f. A- Chappclle, jasper, Mrs. Gresheimer, Wm. Sample, Miss —. Long, Andrew Paddock, Nannie Kirlin, Lucinda H. Smith, Jasper Hess, Mr. Long, of the firm of Long, Joseph & Carter, a little sonojf Jaa. j

Johnson, Jr., A. K. Vinton, James l (iogen, Henry f’oleiiian, Win. ! Sloan, ]iulinnij|tdi* ; Mi**. Tbiidsp, ' Columbus, liiA, Meorgo I*. Kelley, Connersville, <»eo. Wright, Shelby , copnty, Jatues Suett, Indianapolis, j Con. Hamilton, Hamilton county, Uodabaugii, (Ireeneaxtle, Win'. Wasson, Hendrick# county, (100. licit*, F.li/.aboiliiowii, Win. Kindle, Greeucarile, Johnson T. .Mason, tireencastle, Mrs. Sylvester Jiallard, Shelby county, Mr*. Licbemieyer, I Indianapolis, j. J. Cox, Charlottesville, A. M. bong, Johnson county, Robert liavis, Hendricks county, John White, Tipton county, Win. Pearson, Hendrick* county, Niitliau Albertson, l’laintield, J. 8. I.igo, Wabash, (Jideon Mariz, Cicero, Mrs. J. It. Weaver, Hamilton county, Mrs. Jackson Williams, Frank liu, Noah H. Kva'us, Putnam count v, and a number whose names couid not be learned. So far as we can learn from the published evidence elicited before the coroner's jury, the accident was the result of culpable foolishness on the part of the engineer, stimulated | by liquor and an insane desire to run his engine under the pressure of just a trifle moru steam than competing engineers dared to put on — He will not do so again—he was killed. The verdict of the Coroner's jury is as follows: That P. L. Davis and twenty others came to their death from injuries received by the exploding ot a boiler attached to one of Jv P. Sinker & Co.’s portable engines, at the Indiana State Fair Grounds, on the Ist day of October, 1869, which explosion was caused by careless and culpable mismanagement on the part of the engineer m charge, Joint Goll, deceased. Winston I*. Noble. Foreman.

A Gaul lie disciple ot Ksculapius has recently published to the world his discovery that crying and its concomitants, groaning and boohooi.ng, are greatly conducive to health and comfort. The next we shall probably hear is that some practical Yankee has acted upon the suggestion of the learned Doqtenr de McNquE and invented a Patent Compound-acting Lachrymose Persuader, with Vos f/mnaiia accompaniment, warranted to produce a cataract of tears and perfect roar of groans at adju stable intervals, or no pay. If the profound navan succeeds in making bis discovery fashionable,‘Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Sirup may as well sav “good-bye Nursery,” first as last, ior it will bbsuperceded by Madame le PiiKAGfKi’Oxn's Highly Concentrated Triple distilled Cold-pressed Quintessence of Cayenne pepper, Indian turnip find ongonfragrante. Throw paregoric to the dogs and welcome the new era of dripping noses. Scat, you mnjnight cats, and listen to the baby wa-ha.

Of forty-three criminal cases 911 the Circuit Court docket last week there was but three convictions—one for timber stealing and two for selling liquoffto minors. Twenty-four cases were nol. prosed by the State’s attorney. The cases of Maloy and Fountain, (appeals from Commissioner's Court on applications to sell intoxicating liquors) were dismissed by the plaintiffs, at their cost. It appears that notices of the appeal were made during the session of the Commissioners, but the appellants neglected to file the required bonds until the court adjourned. It was therefore held by his honor, Judge Test, that it was necessary that summons be served on all the parties who had remonstrated to the license. Upon learning this decis- ' ion, the plaintiffs concluded it would he cheaper to have the cases dismissed, pay costs and try the Commissioners again at their December session, than to allow them to go over to the next March term of the Circuit court with a large bill of costs assessed against them for issuing aud service of summons. In the case of Osborne vs. the Trustee of Hanging Grove township, a.claim for wages as school teacher, the jury returned a verdict of $75 t or the plaintiff. The defendant moved 1 for a new trial, which the court took under advisement until the next term. Judgments were rendered for the plaintiffs in each of the following pases: Lecklider vs. Clark.,.. * 349.22 S>tein rt. ul. vs. Beans., 7 84.Q§ McCoy «fc Thompson pf. Beaus 1987.38 Laßue ri. 8auk....... 198.80 Emmett & Pow ell r». Busey,. J 55.15 William Andrews Was granted a divorce from Eliza J. Andrews. It in estimated that not less than three hundred and fifty thousand bushels of wheat have been brought po Terre Haute thus far this seaiiQja. A large amount is expected to be brought in during the month. Hanover College has one hundred and thirty students.