The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-01-23
A TERRIBLE EXPLOSION.
SEVERAL ACRES STREWN WITH
DlSMEMBERED HUMAN LIMBS.
for the Mangled Bodies Amongs
the Debris--Who are Responsible for the
ploded.

the Debris--Who are Responsible for thu
Awful Calamity--3O Tons of Powder Ex
ploded.
BUTTE, Mont, Jan. 15.-During 6
fire at the Montana Central Railway
yards this evening several cars Of
powder caught fire and exploded with
tremendous force, killing a number Of
firemen and spectators and manning
many others Several men are known
to have been killed outright. There
we're three separate explosions, the
first two breaking nearly every win
dow within a radius of two miles.
Owing to the excitement the extent of
the casualties cannot be ascertained.
The fire attracted a large crowd and
hundreds were standing near when the
first explosion occurred Men and
women were moved down like grass
before a sickle but many are only
stunned by the force of the explosion.
Debris from cars and adjoining build
ings were scattered high in the air for
half mile away, many of the flying
articles striking people in the crowd.
Every ambulance vehicle. and doctor
in town was soon on the scene carry
ing off the dead and wounded. The
ground was strewn like a field of bat
tie with the injured and dead Owing
to the fact that there were still several
cars of powder on the track and the
report that one of the burning ware
houses also contained quantity of
powder, few, after the first explosion.
dared to venture assistance to the in
jured. When they did, they were met
By the second explosion, like raking
fire from an army. The second was
soon followed by the third, and the
heavens were lighted with flame. The
reports were heard and the shock felt
for miles. After the third explosion
the hospital corps and the police began
the work of picking up the dead and
caring for the wounded. Fifteen dead
bodies were piled together, many Of
them being mangled to such an extent
that they were not identified in the ex-
citement. Every house in the vicini-
ty was turned into a hospital The
scene after the explosion was beyond
all description. Men and women
wrung their hands and cried in agony.
It is said that every fireman was either
killed or fatally wounded. It is be-
lieved that the numper of dead will
reach at least seventy-fye.
BUTTE, Mont, Jan. 16.-When the
smoke caused by the successive explo-
sions of giant powder at the hardware
warehouse last night had cleared away
the sight which presented itself to the
survivors was sickening in the extreme.
The ground for a block around the
scene of the accident was strewn with
quivering flesh of the dismembered
men and horses, pinned down by frag-
ments of fire engines and burning
brands from the demolished ware
house. The warehouse was literally
blown to pieces and hole seventy
five feet deep was eXcavatad i1a.thA tho
ground by the force of the explosion.
IT, !. :; feared that some bodies were
VI Gl1C Ap1OolS41 e3iiN eiASS sAASy N>>~'
been cremated.
Owing to the nature of the fire and
its dangerous locality, the entire fire
force were called out to prevent the
spread of the flames to the adjoining
buildings. Three policemen had been
detailed to keep the crowd back and
they We're also killed. Many of the
spectators were instantly killed and
several were hurled back for some dis
lance from the scene of the fire, and
were rendered unconscious by the force
of the shock. Numerous persons lv-
ing in distant parts of the city have
lost the power,of speech from the force
the shock. The list of the dead will
probably reach Is and thedamage done
to property will be more than 81, 900,
900. In all three car loads of powder
exploded
At2 o'clock this morning forty-three
dead bodies had been found and re-
moved to the morgue. Many of them
were shockingly burned and so mutt
lated as to be totally unrecognizable.
4 small boy, whose name is not
known, about ten years Of age, was
found dead in the street block and
a half away from the scene Of the ex'
plosion. One woman was killed IN q
house half a block away by an anvil
thrown through the roof. Human
heads, legs and arms were scattered fol
several blocks from the scene of the
greatest of three explosions. 1t is be-
lieved that the complete list of the
dead cannot be secured for severa.
days.
The frs. explosion was caused by
nitro glrcerine stored in the private
warehouse of the kcnyon-Connel
Commercial Co., which was burned
The second came from car load Of
powder on the railroad track and the
third from the warehouse of the Butte
Hardware Compay, which adioinec
that of the Kenyon-Connell Company
At 10 o'clock this forenoon the
known number Of the dead was forty
seven. This list will undoubtedly b
increased when the debris OF the ex
plosion is removed, as it is almost Ger
tain that bodies lie hidden in the ruin
of the demolished warehouse. Of th'
dead thus far recovered, twenty-si,
have been identified either wholly o.
partially. In some cases the identified
ton has been by articles of clothing o.
iewelry, the bodies being defaced anc
blackened so as to render persona
Identification impossible. 1t is no
impossible that in some case:
mistakes have been made, but
in general, there is little doubt a:
to the identity Of the bodies. Some Q:
the bodies or portions of bodies, vii
never be identified. because Of the
frightful mangling they have under
gone. Headless trunks without ;
vestige of clothing adhering to them
dismembered limbs and pieces of fiesl
are in some cases all that is left. Th'
dead are now distributed among th'
various undertaking establishments
but some time today or tomorrow al
will be collected in one place so tha
i l>n fo,i IIto tod NJ