Explosion of an infernal machine.
The attempt to kill
A. Hoveler, of
Pittsburg Pa., by means of an infernal machine, on Saturday night last, has been noticed.
The Pittsburg Post gives the following particulars of that extraordinary case:
About eleven o'clock, the residents not only of
Lawrenceville, but some in
Alleghany and
Pittsburg, were aroused by a terrible explosion, which seemed to be continuous and reverberative, lasting several seconds.
Investigation proved that the explosion originated from an infernal machine, which had been placed in the window-sill of a room in the lower part of
Mr. Hoveler's house.
The room contained two beds, one occupied by
Mr. Hoveler and wife, and the other (a trundle bed), by two children.
Mr. Hoveler had only retired about half an hour before, having been sitting at the window where the machine was placed awaiting the arrival of a physician, who had been sent for to minister to a member of the family then ill.--The occupants of the room were suddenly awakened by the shock, and found the room literally covered with fragments of glass and bullets, several of which were embedded in the wall, while the beds were also strewn with the leaden instruments of destruction.--A door opening in to another room gave vent to the charge, and permitted Mr. H. to remove his family from the suffocating atmosphere.-- By what seems an interposition of
Providence, the design of the fiendish plotter against the lives of the innocent was frustrated, as none of the family were injured beyond a slight burn received by one of the children.
There is a porch in front of the house, and the window where the machine was placed opens upon the porch from a recess at the end. The machine evidently consisted (from the fragments picked up) of a box made of inch-thick pine, about a foot long, four inches wide, and the same depth.
This was packed with powder and a number of bullets, (new, and of two different sizes,) fastened up, and then bound securely with twine.
The firing was effected by a long fuse, which, after the box had been placed on the sill, was drawn along the railing of the porch, four or five feet, and a match applied.
The effect of the explosion of such a Satanic contrivance may be imagined.
The
window glass and sash were shattered to atoms, and scattered over the rooms, while pictures and other small articles were torn to pieces.
The burning twine set fire to the trees outside, and ignited the bed clothing inside.
The room was filled with smoke and soot shaken from the chimney, and the explosion tore a shutter from its hinges.
In the morning
Mr. Hoveler picked up fifty balls on the ground, and nearly as many in the room, and throughout the day persons visiting the scene found them all over the premises.
The box must have contained several hundred balls, and it is indeed miraculous that no one was injured by them.
It is probable, however, that they were not so arranged in the casing as to give them full effect, and that the box was not strong enough to offer much resistance to the force of the explosion, thus permitting a large proportion of the missiles to fall outside, while those which entered the room fell with little force.
Marks of blood were observed upon the porch, and it is believed that the contriver of this fiendish projectile was himself injured by the explosion.
