The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1857-01-07
The Late Disastrous Powder Ex-
plosion at Rhodes Loss of
Nearly Five Hundred Lives.

Nearly Five Hundred Lives.
The Presse d'Orient publishes a letter
which gives some particulars of the des-
Of a part of the town of Rhodes,
by the explosion of a powder magazine,
which has been before briefly mention.
ed. @ II,
In the afternoon Of the 10th Of No.
vember, Rhodes was visited with a most
violent thunder storm, and several
houses were struck by lightning and
more or less injured. Suddenly a tre-
mendous explosion was heard the
ground shook as from the effect of an
earthquake, aud windows were smashed
jssEgery direction. The explosion was
followed by two others, and a dense
black smoke arose. It was after a time
ascertained that the lightning had fallen
on the church of st. John, and had pen
etrated into the subterranean vaults
underneath, used as a depot for gun
powder, and in which an immense guam
tity of that commodity had recently been
placed.
1t is impossible to depict the horror
of the scene. Not a house was left
standing in the whole quarter of the
city near the church, and that building
itself was completely levelfed with the
ground. The quarter was the richest
and handsomest in the town, and, the
groans of the dying were heard on every
side. Had prompt and immediate as
sistance been given, there is no doubt
k6oE -o-r 1,o. ,chf bora ham oavad.
but every one was thrown into such CON
sternation by the suddenness of the ca
tastrophe, hat but few had presence of
MUD enough left to undertake the pain
full task. Night soon arrived, and from
some strange motives of safety, which
are inexplicable under such circumstan-
ces, the gates and the operations for as
sistance were for a time suspended.
NJ. Campbell, the English Consul
having assembled some workmen, had
the gaits again opened, and proceeded
to the scene of disaster, as well as they
could, cleared away the ruins particular
ly where the groaus of persons still liv-
ing were Abe most distinctly heard.
This work was one of great diff Guilty, for
the rain fell in such torrents that it was
impossible to keep a torch burning.
Atdayli ght next morning more eff
Gent means were organized. Several
dead bodies were got out, and two young
girls of eighteen and "a child of seven,
-weFe afterwards extracted alive. Ties
and three others, who were saved on he
previous night, are all that survive out
Of a population of between 400 or 500
who were in the quarter az the time of
the explosion. Only about one hundred
and fifty of the bodies have yet been
found, as they are all SO deeply buried
under the ruins. Only two Christians
were killed, the quarter being inhabited
by Turks. The family of the Nal Mudu-
ri Perley Efendi, composed of thirteen
persons have all persisted. His mother,
bis wife, and his daughter, were found
100 yards from their house. Some idea
of the force of the explosion may be
formed from the fact that a barge.in the
harbor was sunk by a quantity of stones
falling on hcr and beating a hole through
her bottom, and by a sailor being kill
ed by a stone striking him on the bead,
at a distance of more than half a mile
from the spot.