THE LATE GUNPOWDER EXPLOSION NEAR MANSFIELD.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 14, Issue 1146, 22 April 1870, Page 3

THE LATE GUNPOWDER EXPLOSION NEAR MANSFIELD.

; (From tho "Argus" Correspondent.) A most sensational accident occurred upon the road between Jamieson and Mansfield, by which one. man lost his life, and which has created an immense amount of excitement in the district. Two carriers passed through Mansfield en route for Jamieson, carrying in their waggons, among other articles, a large quantity of gunpowder. William Jewel, the driver of one of these waggons, discovered when in Mansfield that his cargo of gunpowder was leaking, and attempted to re-arrange his load. At this time lie was carrying 70 kegs of jjowder, and Cruickshank, the other carrier,' 'had, with the rest of his load, 35 kegs. They proceeded on their journey, and arrived within about twelve miles of Jamieson in safety, when, without notice or apparent cause, the powder in the first waggon exploded. Cruickshank, the driver, of the second team, was instantaneously knocked back into his own waggon, and rose from it to find that Jewel's waggon and driver had disappeared. The burning pieces of wood and other debris were hurled into his waggon, and had set fire to the tarpaulin and a couple of bags of. chaff which covered the powder. Without apparent alarm at the explosion, and the fearful fate of his companions, he immediately set to work, and by rapidly unloading his cargo succeeded in saving it. The scene of the disaster has been visited by crowds of people from both Mansfield and Jamieson, in which places the report of the explosion was distinctly heard. It is impossible to cdnvey a just idea of the spectacle. The second waggon still remained in the place where it had been, at the time of the accident, and some twenty yards in front of it lay a few fragments of wood and iron, the sole remains of the waggon driven by Jewel. Four horses of his team lay some eight or ten yards distant, scorched, shrivelled, and mutilated. Part? of the body of the unfortunate driver were found in different directions, at amazing distances from the scene of the catastrophe. His head and neck were discovered at a distance of about 200 yards, his entrails at over 500, and one of his legs at 40 feet in the air suspended from the branch, of a tree, and upwards of 100 yards from where the horses lay. All around the ground was strewn over with parts of the load. Stockings, ribbons, yards of calico, and such like articles hung from surrounding trees, and tires of wheels, axles, spokes, and other fragments were found in all quarters. All the horses in the second team were scorched and terribly injured ; their eyes burned out, their manes and tails frizzled up, lame, and still shivering with terror, they presented a sad spectacle. Cruickshank's escape was nothing short of marvellous. Jewel was well known on the road, and the accident can in no way be attributed to any fault of his. Tho probability is that the powder was leaking a second time, and that the spark which caused the calamity arose from friction occasioned by the jolting over a rugged road.