A similar "exaggeration" on a somewhat grander scale had happened a quarter century earlier in the south of Iowa as news of a supposed 4th of July, 1874, disaster in Osceola --- four men dead, a dozen injured, a woman killed in a runaway (perhaps), even two children smothered (maybe) --- spread across the land.
There had been no formal celebration in Chariton that year, perhaps because the holiday was sandwiched between two other major events in Chariton. A "musical convention" conducted by famed American songwriter George Frederick Root had drawn hundreds to the new Mallory Opera House during the preceding week and the Burr Robbins Great Menagerie & Circus was due to roll into town in a few days.
"There was no general celebration in Chariton on the 4th," The Patriot reported, "but from the number of picnics, dances, &c., throughout the county on that day, we presume that the people of Lucas county celebrated about as much as usual after all. So far as we have heard, the following comprised the festive gatherings in the county on that day: A Sabbath School picnic near Hugh Larimer's in the corner of this (Lincoln) township and one in Cedar township, near the Dickerville school house; two Grange picnics, one in English and one in Liberty township. In addition to these, there were diverse small parties that went to the woods and had a good time in a quiet kind of a way."
Confronted with a lack of news in Chariton, the editor looked westward to Osceola on his local news page and reported under the headline "Accident at Osceola" the following:
"We learn that amid the pleasures of the celebration at Osceola on the 4th, an accident occurred which cast quite a gloom over the large crowd present on that day. we did not learn particulars any further than that a fire-cracker was accidentally thrown into a box of powder where the cannon was being fired, and an explosion caused, resulting in killing one and severely burning three other men. We did not learn the names of the killed and injured, but it is a sad accident that we are sorry to record in connection with the otherwise successful and pleasurable celebration of our neighboring city.
"Since writing the above we learn that many other mishaps occurred there on that day, among which are the following: One case of sunstroke, a woman killed by a runaway team, and two babies smothered to death in the crowd at Robbins' Circus and Menagerie. We do not vouch for the foregoing, but such are the rumors, and we give it for what it is worth."
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Up in Des Moines, rumors of the Osceola disaster reached the offices of The Des Moines Register in somewhat different form, minus the woman and children, and was published on Tuesday, July 7:
FATAL ACCIDENT AT OSCEOLA
"Saturday morning a fearful calamity occurred at Osceola, whereby four men were instantly killed and twelve others wounded. A large pile of cartridges and loose powder was on the ground near the cannon with which the salute was being fired. A spark from the fire ignited the powder, and a terrific explosion occurred with the above result. We have the bare intelligence of the accident, without the names of the killed."
But wait a minute! Later in the week, exchange copies of The Osceola Sentinel reached both Chariton and Des Moines. While the Patriot editor seems to have averted his eyes, the Register editor looked embarrassment squarely in the eye and printed the following corrected version of the story in his edition of July 11:
"It seems that our report of the Osceola accident, which was obtained from a gentleman who said he was present and saw what he reported, was greatly exaggerated. The Sentinel has a full account of it. We quote:
"About six o'clock in the evening the report spread through the crowd that the powder magazine had exploded and several persons were injured. Our reporter being on the grounds hastened to the scene of confusion, and found that indeed one of the most distressing accidents had occurred that it was ever the lot of a journalist to record. Two men were burned almost to death, and two boys were also terribly burned. the two men were removed from the grounds and medical aid called for, when it was found that the face, head, hands and arms of each were in a dreadful condition. One of the men was removed to the corner drug store, and the other to Howard's Hotel. The burns were so deep that the flesh peeled off in large quantities from the hands and arms when the clothes were removed, exposing a sickening sight indeed. the names of the men were B.B. Armstrong and Laff Brown, his hired hand. The boys were mostly burned about the hands, the wounds were very painful, but not very serious. At this writing all parties are doing well, although Brown suffers exceedingly.
"The cause of the accident is laid at the door of some boy who threw a fire cracker into the magazine a moment after it had been opened to get a cartridge for loading the cannon."
In Chariton, no more was heard of the Osceola disaster until late in the month when The Patriot reported that "Armstrong and Brown, the men injured at Osceola on July 4" were recovering nicely. The reports of dead women and children vanished without a trace.
And so ended the great Osceola Independence Day disaster of 1874.
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But wait a minute! Later in the week, exchange copies of The Osceola Sentinel reached both Chariton and Des Moines. While the Patriot editor seems to have averted his eyes, the Register editor looked embarrassment squarely in the eye and printed the following corrected version of the story in his edition of July 11:
THE ACCIDENT AT OSCEOLA ON THE 4TH
"About six o'clock in the evening the report spread through the crowd that the powder magazine had exploded and several persons were injured. Our reporter being on the grounds hastened to the scene of confusion, and found that indeed one of the most distressing accidents had occurred that it was ever the lot of a journalist to record. Two men were burned almost to death, and two boys were also terribly burned. the two men were removed from the grounds and medical aid called for, when it was found that the face, head, hands and arms of each were in a dreadful condition. One of the men was removed to the corner drug store, and the other to Howard's Hotel. The burns were so deep that the flesh peeled off in large quantities from the hands and arms when the clothes were removed, exposing a sickening sight indeed. the names of the men were B.B. Armstrong and Laff Brown, his hired hand. The boys were mostly burned about the hands, the wounds were very painful, but not very serious. At this writing all parties are doing well, although Brown suffers exceedingly.
"The cause of the accident is laid at the door of some boy who threw a fire cracker into the magazine a moment after it had been opened to get a cartridge for loading the cannon."
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In Chariton, no more was heard of the Osceola disaster until late in the month when The Patriot reported that "Armstrong and Brown, the men injured at Osceola on July 4" were recovering nicely. The reports of dead women and children vanished without a trace.
And so ended the great Osceola Independence Day disaster of 1874.
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