Nebraska Advertiser

There was a terrible explosion at the Washington Arsenal on the 17th. Some red stars for fire works had been made and set out in black pans to dry. They could not stand a temperature of more than two hundred degrees, and, under the hot sun, soon reached that, when one of the stars ignited, which set the remainder off, exploding in the laboratory. There were about 1,200 men and 300 women at work, a number of whom were burned and bruised in endeavoring to get away. The alarm of fire was immediately given, and after the fire was extinguished a search for bodies commenced. Eighteen bodies had been found burned to a crisp. Eight females were taken out in a sad condition and placed in the hospital. The actual number buried in the ruins cannot be ascertained until the roll of the workmen be called.