Omaha daily bee., 1893-11-06

spot, In order to search for the remains OF
those they loved. The relatives OF those who
escaped knelt by the side OF their wounded
friends, and lifting up their hands TO
heaven. thanked God for their escape from
an awful death.
"Again, the cries of those who found
among the ruins, or among the heaps OF dead
or wounded, one or more members OF their
families blackened in death, were horrible
to listen TO, and loud and fierce were the
curses hurled at the authors of this sicken-
ing calamity.
MANY of tho searcher. only recognized
parts of the clothing of those who were
killed, and one unfortunate man was identi-
fled by his watch. which had stopped at the
moment of the explosion.
Many Miraculous Escapes.
"There we're many miraculous escapes.
For instance, one man was thrown n great
distance bv the explosion. and yet he was
only slightly injured by the shock sustained
through the fall. Another man was thrown
into the sea by the explosion, and. though
the disaster occurred at about go p. M,
this man was rescued from the water at 10
o'clock the same night. benumbed and stupe-
fed, but alive.
"On Saturday morning following the awful
night OF fire and death, a number of people
who had baeu shocked into n state Of i'm
becility or madness were found hiding be-
meath the ruins.
'Crowds OF orphans yesterday gathered
at the town hall bewailing their lost mothers
or fathers and asking for assistance in the
search they had been making among the
remains for the bodies of their loved ones.
For a long time TO come, the city of SAINT
Andre will need assistance from other cities
in order to succor the homeless aud wounded,
to bury the dead and TO repair as far as
possible, the damage done by the awful up
heaval.
Abandoned Their Homes.
"Nothing in the shape of attempting to
quench the flames was done for a long time
after the disaster, as the people were too
thing, but ran about in terror.
Thousands abandoned their homes after
the explosion, all the stores were
closed and all tho energies OF the people
seemed at a standstill after the DISASTER, ana
many of them are still so Frustrated that
their death is anticipated as the result OF
the fright sustained. The number of people
who have lost their senses through the eX-
plosion Is very great, and 1t is openly as
! serted that hundreds Of people have com
\ pletely lost their minds and will have to be
confined in asylums forthe remainder OF their
| lives.
"Mandcz Numez street is completely de-
stroycd and q number of adjoining sections
of the city have suffered terribly and are in
ruins.
One Pathetic Case.
"a father who was carrying his crippled
daughter upon his shoulders was injured by
fragments which fell from a lettering wall,
and when he neared his home he found 1t
was a mass of flames. Laying the injured
child down in the street, the unfortunate
father cared for her Until she died there be-
meath the shadow of their home, which was
soon Il blackened ruin.
"1hc dwelling OF an English family named
Sheldon was badly wrecked, and the family
has a marvellous escape from death. Rich
and poor alike mingled in the search at the
hecatomb about Maliano quay, and agonizing
were the sights witnessed as the search fol
bodies progressed.
"Many of those who were thrown into the
water by the explosion were carried away
by the tide and drowned amid the despairina
lament of the few who had managed to strug
gle out of that horrible swirl of blackenel
corpses and partly or entirely dismembered
bodies.
N correct estimate can yet be made O.
the loss of life, some officials claiming tina
thousands were lost, while others hold th'
loss will not be over 500, and perhaps less.