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Show Bjauaawi iiiinliiii" ni " ' " KILLED BY A LAUGH. It 8et Off 8ome Nitroglycerin, and Big Explosion Followed. An accident, ono of tho most ex traordlnary on record, has Just occurred oc-curred at some new oilfields In the Baku district of Ilussla, on tho borders bor-ders of tho Caspian sea. Ono of tho big "gusher" oil wells became be-came choked, and, with a view ol blowing It clear, a number of Iron drums full of nitroglycerin were brought down from Derbend and deposited de-posited overnight In a large shed which wns used by tho men as a sort of canteen. Tho steward of this cstabllsment, Greek named Darlos, opened one oi the drums for somo reason best known to himself, and "decantod" a small quantity of tho dangerous liquid into a long thin glass for mixing vodka. vod-ka. This bo placed on a shelf behind tho bar. Shortly afterward thcro entered a workman named Borkovltch, who was lamous ior mo uoisierous niiaruy oi his manner, and especially for his loud, resonant laughter. Tho sight of nitroglycerin In a vodka vod-ka tumbler so oxcttcd his risibility that he gavo vent to a scries of stentorian sten-torian guffaws. This set tho half-filled glass "ringing," and tho treacherous contents exploded. Tho concussion sufficed, 'in its turn, to cxplodo the rest of tho stuff in tha drums, entirely demolishing tho shed and killing flvo persons, all who wero In it at tho time. , 'Tho barman escaped through having hav-ing gone down Into tho cellar Just previously, whenco ho distinctly heard tho laughter, followed by tho musical "singing" of the thin tumbler and tho two oxploslons. Stray Stories. |