Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-01-06
Details Of the Dynamite Exp losion at
BremerhaVen.

The following particulars respecting the
dynamite explosion at Bremerhayen are
| from the Weiser Zeituag:
1t appears that just before the Mosel was
| about to sail a cart containing four cases
| aud barrel was being unloaded for ship
ment Suddenly q terrible explosion &C
| cured The effect was horrible. The QUAY
was then thronged with people-partly be-
longing to the steamer, partly spectators,
and partly passengers who had remained
there to take q last farewell of their friends
I An eyewitness who stood under the gang
wav of the Mosel on hearing the terrific re-
| port, saw a number of black Jumps flying
about in the air, whilst very few of the per-
sons on land remained visible. Apprehend-
ing boiler-explosien he threw himself fiat
on deck when he received volley of sand,
broken glass. fragments of flesh, bones, etc
The devastation on board the Mosel
| was terrific. No skyhght was left;
| the cabins aft, starboard and port were
either crushed in or bulged out by
the side plates of the ship were burst; the
| ports with their glasses and rlvets forced
| inward and the whole ship was besmeared
with blood and stuck over with pieces OF
! flesh and other human debris In the hold
! and all parts of the ship were found arms,
| legs and other portions of the human frame;
| thus the lower hold received some limbs
| through the open hatchways. The sides Of
the hatchways were burst by the pressure,
| and the front of the navigation cabin on
| deck stove in. The whole ship Uttered
with glass shreds, which even filled the dishes
from the steam kitchen as they were being
served to the tween deck or Storage pas
sengers. The tug got off comparatively un-
hurt, being much more below the quay
line than the Mosel; still, the whole of its
deck was destroyed. The crew came off with
mere fright, only the engineers and
stokers having been hurt slightly. On
land, where the packages had been
unloaded, hole had been produced
six or seven feet deep. The whole
| place was strewn with limbs, shreds
| of dress, etc. In large reeking pools of
! blood you might see here an arm, there q
| calf, intestines, mutilated busts, etc.
| Amongst the most horrible details of this
| calamity is the fate of the Elmer family,
who were seeing off one of their sons TO Cal
lfornla. The father, mother, son and son-ln
law are dead, all four; the daughter-in-law
has had her arm, and her child its hand,
blown of. 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
had his four feet blown off near the
hoofs, The authorship of the terrible
catastrophe is now traced to W.
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 her.
The motive of this diabolical wic1edness APP
pears to have been the hope cfI gaining a
large sum by means OF exaggerated and tcti-
tiOuS assurances, and the sum thus obtained
was to have been shared with others. He is
perfectly conscious and answers all ques-
tons 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 horrd work,
although a report had spread in Bremen
haven that number of machines had
been put on board the Mosel This
barrel was made for Thomas by the
master cooper Delvendhal. 1t was made
of strong material and was divided by
means of a partition in the middle, through
which there was hole. In one division it
is assumed that he had placed the igniting
apparatus, and the other was filled with
dynamite. He accompanied the barrel when
it was taken to the depot of the North Ger
man Lloyd Company, and told the porters it
should be handled with care 1t is supposed
that his plan was to effect the ignition by
means of a clock-work apparatus, which in
al 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 10 authentic information the list
of dead and wounded amounts to $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.