Those were probably the exact words expressed by Matt Bell, of Hot Springs, Arkansas on Thursday afternoon when he learned that his "cannon ball" was actually a potentially explosive land mine.
On Wednesday, March 30, Matt Bell was supervising his work crew at an excavation site in Danville, Arkansas, about 65 miles from Little Rock, when one of the workers dug up a rusted round object and TOSSED IT a few feet away. Mr. Bell saw the object and realized that it was an artifact, a cannon ball, to be precise. No one else wanted the cannon ball, so Bell, who knew that several battles had been fought around Danville during the Civil War, decided to take the cannon ball home. After the work day, Bell placed the cannon ball in the back seat of his pickup, securing it with a seat belt so that it would not roll around. He then drove back to his home in Hot Springs, took the cannon ball out of his pickup and placed it on a table in his living room.
The next day Bell examined the cannon ball in a little more detail. On this second examination he noticed that there was a protrusion, a "nipple," if you will, that was not present on most cannon balls. At least that is what Bell thought. So he loaded then cannon ball back into his pickup and drove across town to a museum where his friend worked as curator. For reasons not made clear in the news article, Bell left the cannon ball secured in his pickup. When the curator went to look at cannon ball, Bell pointed out the small nipple. This caught the curator's attention immediately.
Back inside the museum the curator produced a photograph of what appeared to be a cannon ball except that it had that same odd nipple on it. The curator explained that what Matt Bell had found was not a cannon ball at all, but a land mine that was used in during the Civil War, mostly by Confederate forces. Oh, THAT explains the small protrusion on the "cannon ball." The interesting thing here is that now Bell knew he was hauling a landmine that could potentially have a broken trigger, but he still took the mine back to his home. Finally good judgment prevailed over the joy of having a unique Civil War relic. Bell called the Hot Springs police.
Long story short, the police came, followed by the Air Force EOD team based in Little Rock. The EOD removed that land mine and destroyed it at a nearby landfill.
Oh, that's the short ending.
The long ending is that when the police found out that Bell had a land mine that held nearly thirty pounds of explosives, and I assume, while waiting for EOD to arrive, the police evacuated the neighborhood around the Bell home, with the help of the Hot Springs Fire Department. Only after all the houses around had been cleared of occupants could the Air Force EOD squad remove that land mine. I wonder if Matt Bell's wife told him NOT to bring home any more cannon balls. Especially I bet she told him not to put the next one on the nice coffee table. The good news is that no one was injured. I have to wonder if the various agencies involved will bill Matt Bell for the costs associated with the evacuation and the demolition.
There is a good lesson here, in all seriousness. If you find an explosive, even an old piece of ordinance, call the police. Do not handle the explosive yourself.
And may God Bless America.
On Wednesday, March 30, Matt Bell was supervising his work crew at an excavation site in Danville, Arkansas, about 65 miles from Little Rock, when one of the workers dug up a rusted round object and TOSSED IT a few feet away. Mr. Bell saw the object and realized that it was an artifact, a cannon ball, to be precise. No one else wanted the cannon ball, so Bell, who knew that several battles had been fought around Danville during the Civil War, decided to take the cannon ball home. After the work day, Bell placed the cannon ball in the back seat of his pickup, securing it with a seat belt so that it would not roll around. He then drove back to his home in Hot Springs, took the cannon ball out of his pickup and placed it on a table in his living room.
The next day Bell examined the cannon ball in a little more detail. On this second examination he noticed that there was a protrusion, a "nipple," if you will, that was not present on most cannon balls. At least that is what Bell thought. So he loaded then cannon ball back into his pickup and drove across town to a museum where his friend worked as curator. For reasons not made clear in the news article, Bell left the cannon ball secured in his pickup. When the curator went to look at cannon ball, Bell pointed out the small nipple. This caught the curator's attention immediately.
Back inside the museum the curator produced a photograph of what appeared to be a cannon ball except that it had that same odd nipple on it. The curator explained that what Matt Bell had found was not a cannon ball at all, but a land mine that was used in during the Civil War, mostly by Confederate forces. Oh, THAT explains the small protrusion on the "cannon ball." The interesting thing here is that now Bell knew he was hauling a landmine that could potentially have a broken trigger, but he still took the mine back to his home. Finally good judgment prevailed over the joy of having a unique Civil War relic. Bell called the Hot Springs police.
Long story short, the police came, followed by the Air Force EOD team based in Little Rock. The EOD removed that land mine and destroyed it at a nearby landfill.
Oh, that's the short ending.
The long ending is that when the police found out that Bell had a land mine that held nearly thirty pounds of explosives, and I assume, while waiting for EOD to arrive, the police evacuated the neighborhood around the Bell home, with the help of the Hot Springs Fire Department. Only after all the houses around had been cleared of occupants could the Air Force EOD squad remove that land mine. I wonder if Matt Bell's wife told him NOT to bring home any more cannon balls. Especially I bet she told him not to put the next one on the nice coffee table. The good news is that no one was injured. I have to wonder if the various agencies involved will bill Matt Bell for the costs associated with the evacuation and the demolition.
There is a good lesson here, in all seriousness. If you find an explosive, even an old piece of ordinance, call the police. Do not handle the explosive yourself.
And may God Bless America.
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