Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-01-13
The Dynamite Explosion at Brer.,
haven.

The following particulars respeet,nr "a
dynamite explosion 1t Bremerkayrn ~
from the Wetser Zesfsng: arg
1t appears that just before the Nos., -.
about to sail . cart containing four $50
and barrel wss being unloaded for sir.
ment Suddenly q terrible explosion ~
Cured. The effect was horrible. The -
was then thronged with people-partiy ~
longing to the steamer, partly spectsto,.
and partly passengers who had remsin.S
there TO take a last farewell Of their frienSs
An eyewitness who stood under the Gar.
way Of the Moscl, on hearing the terrific :
port, saw q number Of black Jumps evin.
about In the air. whilst very few Of the Y,ss
sons ON land remained visible. Apprehsns
ing boiler-explosion he threw himself A.,
on deck, when he received yolley OF sanS
broken glass, fragments of flesh, bones. ,,e
The devastation on board tae Aosel
was terrific. No skylight was left
the cabins aft, starboard and por. vers,
either crushed In or bulged out ~
the pressure or altogether smashed.
the side plates Of the ship were burst: ,hs
ports with their glasses and rivetg forced
inward, and the whole ship was besmeores
with blood and stuck over with pieces az
flesh and other human debris. In the hels
and all parts Of the ship were found arms
legs and other portions of the human frame.
thus the lower hold received some Inns
through the open hatchways. The sides 3,
the hatchways were burst by the pressuns
and the front of the navigation cabin o.
deck stove in. The whole ship was littera
with glass shrcds, which even filed the disha
from the steam kitchen as they were beir,
served TO the tween deck or steerage pas
sengers The tug got Off comparatively IN
hurt, being SO much more below the qusy
line than the Mosel; still, the whole OF Il
deck was destroyed. The crew came of win
a mere fright, only the engineers ana
stokers having been hurt slightly. On
land, where the packages had been
unloadcd, hole had been produced
place was strewn with limbs, shreds
of dress, etc. In large rocking pools Of
blood you might see here an arm, there
calf intestincs, mutilated busts, etc
Amongst the most horrible details Of ihis
calamity Is the fate of the Elmer family,
who were seeing off one of their sons 70 Cal.
ifornia The father, mother, son and sonin-
law are dead, all four; the daughterin-law
has had her arm, and her child its hand,
blown Off The case which exploded had
been in the care of the carrier Westermann,
of Bremerhaven, and was accompanied on
its way to the steamer by Mr.. Tumforde,
of whom it is said all trace has been lost
The cart has been shattered into thousands
OF splinters, and the poor horse has
hoofs. The authorship Of the terrible
catastrophe is now traced to W.
K Thomas, passenger of the Mo.
sci. Thomas has acknowledged that he was
the owner Of the barrel which exploded, and
that he intended to take this barrel on board
the vessel for the purpose Of sinking Der.
The motive of this diabolical wickedness sp.
pears TO have been the hope Of gaining q
large sum by means of exaggerated and fcti.
tious assurances, and the sum thus obtained
was to have been shared with Others. lie Is
perfectly conscious and answers all ques.
tions put to him. He is In the same room
with many Of his victims. According to in.
formation at present In possession OF the
police, Thomas had prepared only one bar.
rel for the carrying out of his horrid work,
although a report had spread in Bremen.
haven that a number of machines had
been put on board the Mosel This
barrel was made for Thomas by the
master cooper Delyendhal. 1t was made
of strong material, and was divided by
means Of partition In the middle, through
which there was hole. In one division il
Is assumed that he had placed the igniting
apparatus, and the other was filled with
dynamite He accompanied the barrel when
| IL was taken to the depot OF the North Ger
man Lloyd Company, and told the porterst
| should be handled with care. 1t Is supposed
| that his plan was to effect the ignition By
means of clock-work apparatus, which 10
| all probability was to be set in motion when
he arrived at Southampton, TO which place
only he had booked. 1t appears that he IN
tended TO sail with the Inflated Deutschland,
but the apparatus for effecting the ignition
was not completed in time. The number Of
the victim Is constantly being increased.
According to authentic information the list
Of dead and wounded amounts 10 $50 per-
sons
The scene at the hospital dead-house was
of the most narrowing character. The mu-
tilated remains filled a large basket which
four strong men could hardly carry. There
were also a number of heads, which from
time to time were inspected by people look
ing for friends or relatives. About thirty
wounded persons were in the hospital; many
others were In private houses. Nearly every
family In the little town has suffered Sc
verely.