The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1896-02-27
WORST ON RECORD.
Details Of the Dynamite Explosion
In the TransvaA. III
The List of Dead It 10 Believed. WA
Reach More Than 100, While 200 or
5+ 500 Were Injured-PrOperty ~. Etl
. LOss Enormous. -.v &

2
johannesburg. Feb. 21.-Details are
reaching this city Of what is probably
the most disastrous dynamite Sexplo-
sion ON record in any part Of the world.
Thousands Of people have been rem
dered homeless by the terrible calam-
ity over 100 persons are believed to 4
have been killed, some 200 or 300 men.
women and children have been severely
wounded, and many others have been
more or less injured. ...a...,... ...., =,
'@' y scene Of tho CslAmity.
Viedendorp, the scene OF tho calam-
ity, is q suburb of Johannesburg. LII
it are ,huddled members olrthe poorer
classes Of whites-Malays,. Kaflars and
Chinamen-who subsist for .:.e most
part by doing odd jobs about the place.
which is a railway transfer station Tor
the mining districts Of theIsection.
The Explosion. ,, a.. a.
Among the freight cars standing OH
the tracks at Viedendorp were eight
trucks loaded with dynamite. As seven
ing was approaching there was an ex-
p]osion near the freight depot, 80 awful
in the internally 81 its force that tho
ground ior miles around was oonvulsed
as il by an earthquake, houses rocked
and fell, masses Ut iron. earth, stone,
wood and human remains were hurled
skyward, The, Windows Of aln1ost every
house in Johannesburg were broken,
and people were blown through thu
air like straws before gust Of wind.
The explosion had torn hole 200
feet long and 80 feet wide over the
spot where the eight trucks of dyna-
mite stood but few minutes before.
The whole of that quarter Of Johan-
nesburg was literally blown to pieces.
Ground strewn with Corpses.
On the, ground were blackenefl
shapes OF human remains, limbs, heads
and trunks, scorched and torn. The
victims were mostly Aialays, Kaftirs
and Cinnamon, the whites being In
minority at Viedendorp, but, in spite
OF this, quite a number OF white peo
pie, including six girls, are among the
many victims Of thissteDribleaSalam
Caring for tho Wounded.
Every physician in or about Jo-
hannesburg is assisting in the care of
the wounded. In addition to the
wounded, thousands OF people, rem
dered homeless by the explosion. are
being cared for by the charitable, and
will receive assistance until they can
begin life anew.
Terrible Scenes.
The headquarters OF the Wanderers
club is being used as q mortusrytcham-
Der. In the gayly decorated clubroom
are horrible lines of memLerless :, black
ened trunks of human bodies. rows
of charred arms and lcgs, crushed and
burned heads, hands, feet, pieces ! OF
flesh, etc, tied up In bags, the whole,
presenting sight as blood curdling
us. was ever witnessed. "'' -'
|. Cause of tho Disstaer.
How the explosion occurred is not
known. But belief prevails that a
thieving Kaffir found his way to the
trucks, and, in trying TO break open
one Of the cases of the explosive, being
in ignorance of what it. contained, he
brought about the disaster which has
caused SO great Il loss of life, a I'D which.
has rendered so many people homeless
and penniless =
Relief Fund Started.
A popular subscription has been
opened for the relief OF the wounded
and homeless. Already over $300,Oo0
have been raised, and this amount will
reach $5oO,Oo0 in short time. Presi-
dent kruger has telegraphed his SYM
pathy with the people OF Johan nesburg
in this emergency. and he is being kept
posted on all the details of the great
calamity. "a W. = a. ~&'i,l@s ta"S' y = =
gr 3, It - S.
WIl5k1 -0PEN-~NEXIN FALL.