The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1891-05-22

q. m. . wofktfaln on the Hudson River
road was blown to atoms, one mile and
a half below Tarrytown, by an explosion
Of dynamite in transportation for blast
ing purposes in track construction.
There were probably thirty.three men,
including Italian laborers and trainmen,
on board. OF these eighteen were in
stantly killed aud fifteen terribly torn
and wounded. Many of the dead were
blown into the river and five bodies still
remain there unrecovered. The train
was blown to atoms, the tracks ripped
from their beds and a great hole many
feet deep dug out Of the earth, totally
blocking traffic on the road for many
hours. The train was in charge of Con-
ductor Connors and the gang of men
was under jerome Disston as boss. The
dynamite was all stored on the first of
the four fiat cars Composing the train.
1t consisted of twenty four cases, and
each case contained fifty pounds, max
ing y grand total of ], 200 pounds of the
terrible explosive.
The force of the explosion was ter
rife. The ground trembled as though
from an earthquake, the walls of sew
eral Tarrytown houses we're shaken
and cracked, and in the Tarrytown
streets the window glass fell in showers
to the sidewalk. In Tarrytown scores
Of clocks stopped, and it is this way
that almost the exact hour of the explo-
sion. ll:2o, is fixed. A spark from Q
passing engine is believed to have caused
molished. and eye-witnesses say the air
was filed with splinters and debris,
while the bodies Of the luckless train
crew were hurled, some of them
Torn Limb from Limb,
in every direction. A terrible sight
presented itself to those who hurried to
the scene Of the awful accident. The
ground rs far as could be seen was COW
up for space of 600 feet, and the rails
were bent into all kinds of shapes. Dead
faces and mutilated bodies looked up at
one from all directions. The engine was
blown out of all selnblance of an en-
gine, and the tender was blown half
way into the river. The fiat cars were
blown into par ticles. Then began the
awful work of bringing in the dead and
wounded. Men We're found dead hun
dred yards away from the track, while
others were found in the excavations
made by the deadly explosive. The
wounded were suffering from
Most Horrible Mutilations,
in many instances arms and legs being
torn of, heads bruised and bodies bleed
ing. The scene reminded old soldiers
of scenes after bloody hattie during
the civil war. The dead and injured
were conveyed to the Tarrytown depot,
where the injuries of the wounded were
looked after by score of physicians
who had been hurrledly summoned
from all direction. The injured were
afterwards taken to different hospitals,
| five of the most severely injured being
taken to the Bellevue hospital in New
York. The dead were also conveyed to
the depot, but later were removed to
Vanderbilt's morgue in Tarrytown. Ten
of those killed were picked mp along the
track, while five were taken from the
river. Three of the injured conveyed
to the depot died shortly after reaching
there. 1t is believed that there are still
two bodies in the river, and this would
bring the total number up to twenty.
From later report received from the
scene of the accident it would seem that
instead of thirty-three men being on the
iIl-fated train, the number was nearer
fifty.
The Scene Of the Accident
is one of the beautiful points on the
banks Of the Hudson. The explosion oc
CURED almost directly in front of the
handsome residence Of Richard Hoe
the printing press manufacturers, while
the mansions of Elliott F. Shephard and
John Rockefeller are close by. A panic
occurred in the high school of Tarry
town among the pupils. The schoo
building was violently shaken and the
scholars and teachers thought that al
earthquake had occurred. The childre1
ran out of their class rooms into the
street, but fortunately none were in
iured in the wild rush.