Show BLOWN TO PIECES I i TwelveInch RreechlOEdlng Rifli Worth 25000 OFFltEllh NAIllllW ESCAIE 1 Sill 11 Coualn us 830 found of iun Cotton Ixpludu Inmnturelr Cousin In I MncL WASH 11 XCITON June loThe slate of Maryland trembled last evenln ai Ibo result of an explosion ol 830 poll it 1 of gun cotton at the government proving grounds 01 I hill a ullead twelveInch breeruloading riO > weighing 101000 pounds and worth 25000 was blown ta pieces The armor covered bomb proof lu wblcb the spectators take Wage while tests are made was wrecked and a dczan naval cOlzcra and ordinance experts narrowly neaped wllb their liver The final leit I waa being mado of a guncotton gun-cotton ahell Itivell l tea by a Chicago man and through nome unaccountable error the shall exploded In the KUI wrockln two mounter and ill carriage ana throwing BOMB of the Places more than a mile down the 1jiomac Col ONeill the chief of ordnance for Ibo navy and several United States naval ofllcera and navAl at lachea Horn Ibo various foreign legations lega-tions bad fortunately taken reluge ou a navy yard lug about a mile from shore Lleui Andenouwho bad been directed to firo the gun by electricity when Ibo signal WAR given Irom the i tug bad gone behind a big earthworks earth-works or Iouttlt about SOO yard from Ibeguu He and < tbo other apectatora I were unhurt though a massive piece of the gun weighing many toni flew through the air with Iriguiful velocity I and struck the water within a bilL red feet of the tug It the ipett lori bad gone Into the bomb proof aa they usually do then mob tests are made they would all han been killed for a big pleco ef steel alrnck It and < ripped through Ibo twelve Inch oemor as IbDnGb II bad boo much paper A great hole was torn In the ground where the lun Hood and Ibo buildings I al the proving ground were badly ehaken Not a panicle of Ihemalslvo gnu or Ua carriage remained Bruce last September the ordnance expert el the navy nave from lime lo time been making tests of this gun ootlon shell A doiun or more blank shells have been tired during the winter win-ter generally with great success and the tfllcora were confident that when the final toat was maile the ihell would I leave the guis safely and carry Iti heavy load f exploalve araown Ihcr river The virtue of this shelf wag that It waa expected safely to carry charge of gun cotton large enough in wreck a battleiblp or a lotlreaa for a distance of grain six to ten miles according to the powder charge lly an Ingenious arrangement In Ibe plot of the shell a vial fulminate ot mercury weld expected ex-pected lo explode the gun cotton Up lo this time no successful shell of big kind bus ben Invented and If the abell bad been successful It would have revolutionized naval ordnancu < Bud warfare Those who saw and beard the ex ploilon from the tug lay it was same thing terrific First thto was a rumbllcgcf the earth and then Ibe lull I clap of Ibo awful explosion beat A thick smoke covered the gun and in an It Steel an enormous piece ot steel came shriek Inc tbroujh the air and struck the water throwing tb 0 pray 10 ny ulnolou When tbe men looked I again they saw a great bolu where the gun bad been wllb the smoke floating away In the air For several I minutes the aound of the exploalon rover berated through the surrounding bllli This was Ice large charge of gnu cotton ever fired or attempted to be fired from a powder gun The government paid about 25000 for the BUD blown up and It who built especially for these test A shell thot Irom tblaguu waa expected to per Intend 2I l I Debts of foul at a dlltanco of IoOU yard and to travel from 0 10 10 miles before losing Its momentum |