An Event in Twin Sister Chautauqua County

[W. Gray]

Following is a summary of an article appearing in the December 28, 1911, Sedan Times Star and reprinted in the July 2007 Gen-Tree, the quarterly Chautauqua County Historical & Genealogical Society Newsletter, Sarah Miller, editor.

Five farm boys age 11 to 13 were using a dog to chase rabbits on a winter Saturday. One rabbit ran into an abandoned cemetery near Jonesburg. Jonesburg was a hamlet six miles southeast of Sedan having a post office from 1877 to 1903. Even in 1911, the cemetery was long abandoned and had only five graves. The rabbit picked one grave piled with a large mound of rocks (Osage Indian style burial) and disappeared into the rock crevices.  Aiming to get at the rabbit, the boys moved a large flat cap rock and immediately noticed a foot-long stick of what the newspaper called frozen nitro-glycerin. 

Having more interest in the rabbit, which now took off, they replaced the rock and continued their chase.

Later that evening all of the boys told their parents what was found and each received a stern warning not to go back.

Apparently, a couple years earlier oil well workers were using dynamite as an aid in drilling for oil in the area. They had one stick left over and decided to hide it in the rock pile in the old cemetery rather than properly dispose of it.

Curiosity began to take over, and as boys will be boys, they all went back the next day to have another look. One boy picked up the dynamite stick and banged it against a rock....

Three of five were seriously hurt in the blast, which detonated only the thawing part of the stick. One boy lost his finger and a doctor cut it out of another boy. Another boy lost most of the flesh on his arm. A third lad received eye injuries. Two boys were not hurt. All three of those hurt had finger tip size pieces of frozen nitro removed from their bodies--nitro that would have exploded had it been warmer.

Doctors from Chautauqua and Peru treated the boys in their homes. They all lived.