People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1893-11-10

throughout Spain. The story of the
great disaster in brief is as follows:
The Cabo Machichaco a Spanish
steamship belonging TO Bilboa, caught
fire at about o'clock Friday after
noon while the steamer was along the
quay discharging part of her cargo,
which comprised nearly 1000 tons of
merchandise, though the main part of
this cargo was iron ore and a number
of sacks of flour, barrels of wine, many
cases of petroleum and over 500 cases
of dynamite, of which only twenty
cases were declared on the steamers
manifest. The remaining $50 cases
of dynamite were contraband and, to
the shame of The shippers of this con-
traband dynamite, it has caused i'm
mense loss of life and vast damage to
property.
Leading municipal authorities head
ed the tremen and guards in the
effort to save the steamer. The
provincial governor, who was one of
the first to reach the spot, displayed the
greatest activity in directing the oper-
ations, and upon learning that the
ships manifest showed that there
were twenty cases of dynamite on
board, the firemen were directed to
assist the crew in bringing this guam
tity of explosive material ashore.
This was done in safety. 1t was be-
lieved no more dynamite remained on
board and tug which had been sum-
moned to the spot was ordered to tow
the burning vessel out into the bay in
order that the flames might not COM
municate to the wharf and to adjoin-
ing property, which was of a decided
ly combustible nature.
At about 4:30 p m. a defamation on
board showed, as it afterwards turned
out, that the boilers had burst, and
soon after there was another terrible
defamation heard. The steamer seemed
to open in half, sending a blaze of fire
Skyward, over which crown Of smoke
rested for several minutes. The re-
port was of such awful intensity that
it shook the earth for miles around,
caused houses to totter, smashed every
window pane within the radius of
rifle shot, filled the air with a mass of
flying iron, burning wood, blackened
timbers and scorched beams, which
soon after fell, a death dealing hail,
upon the neighboring houses, scatter
ing death and destruction wherever it
crushed downward.
The scene following the blowing up
of the steamer is almost indescribable,
and the effect of the explosion of
those $50 cases will hardly be be-
lieved.
The power of the explosion shot
tons of iron into the air, where it min
gled with the burning fragments of
the steamship, tug and wooden quay,
as well as the mangled bodies of hun
dreds of unfortunate people who were
hurled upward at the same time, and
the falling of this horrible mass can
be better imagined than described.
On adjoining buildings, lettering with
wreckage, fell a shower of iron, follow
ed by huge pieces OF wood and the re-
mains of human bodies, and above all
dropped flaming splinters which set
fire to hundreds of buildings, causing
a scene of panic similar, one would
imagine, TO the one which would have
succeeded the bursting forth of a vol
cano at the waters edge
The force Of the exploding dyna-
mite caused such conclusion that in
addition to shaking hundreds of build
ings off their foundations, it actually
sank a small craft in the harbor, in
addition to setting fire to a large num-
Der of other vessels and starting fires
upon several of the larger ships, in
GLIDING the Alfonso MI, which vessel
caught fire and burned so fercely that
forty of her crew lost their lives on
board of her.
The quay promenade close to the
scene OF the explosion presented the
most sickening sight ever witnessed
Mangled and blackened corpses were
scattered here and there or were in
heaps in many cases upon the wounded
and dying, whose fearful shrielSs of
agony filled the air and struck terror
into the hearts of those who, after
time, summoned sufficient courage TO
venture near the carnage ground.
Over 100 people are said to have
been precipitated into the sea by the
explosion and there, beneath this hail
of iron and wood, they met death with
the crews of the unfortunate steamer
and tugboat which was about to tow
her into the bay.
The whole country is indignant at
the criminal conduct of the crew of
the steamer as well as the criminality
Of those who shipped the contraband
4s0 cases Of dynamite, and the general
opinion is the government must take
immediate steps to punish the people
who shipped the dynamite.
The explosion Of the dynamite lifted
the sea up into the air like water
spout, mingling enormous quantities
of mud and stones with the wreckage
and hurting them for great distance
on every side.
The number of people who have lost
their senses through the explosion is
very great, and it is openly asserted
hundreds of people have completely
lost their minds and will have to be
confined in asylums for the remainder
of their lives.
| Stricken With Paralysis.