St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-11-06

the burning steamer. The steam launch
with the crew of the Alfonso XII. on
board, arrived alongside the Cabo
MachichacO just moment before the
latter vessel blew up, and, consequent
~ they were blown to atoms with the
crew of the dynamite steamer. Con-
tinuing, he says:
The explosion was like an earth
quake. A shower of burning frag-
ments fell upon the houses, which were
already .tOttering, crushing in the roofs,
while heavy pieces of iron were hurled
through the walls Of houses with all the
violence of cannon shots. Houses were
Immediately ignigted by the blazing
timbers which fell upon them. and the
people who were not killed rushed in
terror into the streets, where number
OF them met death or were severely
crushed or wounded, by falling houses.
OtheIe
RAN IN TERROR
from the scene, and hundreds went
mad with fear, and, abandoning the
city. ran into the fields, shrieking hys-
terically and tearing their hair with
fury. A number of the most frenzied
people ran from Santander into the
nelghboring villages, spreading in in
cipient words the news of the
disaster, refusing to return to
the Inflated city, even when as
sured that all danger was over.
Others, after recovering from the shock,
fastened to the scene of the disaster, in
order to search for missing relatives,
whom they believed to have met death
through the explosion. Upon arriving
at the scene of the wreck and carnage,
they found the place covered with dead
anu wounded, many of the victims being
SO horribly burned and mutilated that
their recognition by relatives was ut.
terly impossible. The ground near the
quay and promenade was strewn with
pieces of bodies. heads and limbs, while
all around were houses in flames, the
air being thick with smoke aud pieces
OF burning material. The bodies of men,
women aud children of all classes were
found in horrible medley, blackened,
burned and torn in the most heartrend-
ing manner. Words cannot describe
the awful scene amid those burned ruins
and on that
DEATH-sTREwN GROUND,
rendered more hideOus by the shrieks
of pain coming from the many wounded
people lying crushed beneath blackened
timber, weighted down by dead bodies
or masses OF human frames, torn to
shredS by the awful explosion. The
scene became more terrible still when
the relatives of the dead, wounded and
missing came staggering with horror 10
the spot i'll order to search for the re-
mains 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
killed and wounded one or more
TnE TlI of thpir far IL ton
death was horrible to listen to, and loud
and fierce were the curses hurled at the
authors of this Sickening calamity.
Many of the SearcherS only recognized
parts OF the clothing Of those who were
Killed, and one unfortunate man was
identified by his watch, which had
stopped at the moment OF the explosion.
There were many miraculous escapes
from death. For instance, one man was
thrown great distance by the eX-
plosion, and yet he was only slightly in
Jured by the shock sustained through
the fall. Another man waa thrown into
the sea by the force OF the explosion.
and. though the disaster occurred at
about 4:30 p. m. this man was
RESCUED FROM THE WATER
at 10 O'Clock the same night, benumbed
and stupetied, but alive. On Saturday
morning following the awful night OF
fire and death, number of people who
had been shocked into state of i'm
becliity or madness were found hiding
beneath 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 ruins
for tile bodies of their loved ones. For
long time to come the city of Santan-
der will need assistance from other
cities in order to succor the homeless
and wounded, to bury the dead and to
repair as far as possible the damage
done by tho awful upheaval. Nothing
Quench the flames was done for a
long time after the disaster, as
the people were too panic-stricken to
do anything but run about in terror.
Thousands abandoned their homes
after the explosion; all the stores were
closed and all the energies of the people
seemed to be at q StandStill for long
time after the disaster. and many of
them are still SO Frustrated that their
death is anticipated as the result of the
fright sustained. The number of peo-
pie who have lost their senses through
the explosion is very great, and it is
openly asserted that hundreds OF people
have completely gone
OUT OF THEIR MINDS,
and will have to be confined i'll asylums
for the remainder of their lives. Mande
NuneZ street is completely destroyed,
and number of adjoining sections of
the city have suffered terribly and are
in ruins. A father who was carrying
his crippled daughter upon his shout
ders was injured by fragments
which fell from totterihg wall.
and when he neared his home he
found it was mass of flames. Laying
the injured child down in the street,
the unfortunate father cared for her
unil she died there beneath the shallow
of their home, which was soon black
ened ruin The dwelling of an Eng
lish family named Sheldon was badly
wrecked and the family had a marvel
Gus 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 for bodies progressed. Many
of those who were thOrown into the
water by the explosion were carried
away by the tide and drowned amid the
despairing lament of the few who had
managed to struggle out of that hOrrri-
BILE swirl of blackened corpses and
partly or entirely dismembered bodies.
No correct estimate can yet be formed
of the loss of life, some officials claiming
that thousands lost their lives, while
others hold that the loss of life will not