The Red Cloud chief., 1896-02-28
DEAD NUMBER AN 100
A DYNAMITE EXPLOSION
MOST APPALLING.
Three Hundred Were Wounded and Thou.
sands Rendered Harmicss-Tore a Ho,e
roo Fect Long and no Feet Wide Under
. Freight Car.

wiz ttNoHb INDUSTRIOUS uNItlflllt
explosions on record in any part o.
the world. Thousands Of people have
been rendered homeless, about lOt
persons are believed To have beer
Killed. several hundred men, women
and children have been seriously
wounded and many others have been
more or less injured.
Viendcndorp, the scene Of the ex.
plosiop, is II suburb Of Johannesburg.
Its inhabitants number the poorer
classes Of whites of the Rand, Malays,
kaffirs and Cinnamon, who subsist for
the most part. by doing odd jobs about
the place, which is "a railway transfer
station for the mining districts OF the
section.
Among the freight cara standing on
b Shunt mines ut V%iendendorp
yesterday were eight trucks loaded
with dynamite. The deadly stuff was
hidden under canyas coverings To pro.
tect 10 from the sun.
As ,'cning was approaching there
was an explosion near the freight de-.
pot so intense that the ground for
miles around was %convulsrd as il by
an earthquake. Houses rocked and
Tell, masses of iron, earth. stone. wood
ana human bodies were hurled sky
ward, and the windows of almost
every house in Johannesburg were
broken. The explosion tore "a hole
zoo feet long n eighty feet wide
where the eight trucks Of dynamite
stood q few minutes before. The
whole OF that quarter of Johannes
burg was literally blown To pieces.
The effects of the explosion could he
seen over q radius of more than n
mile, and almost everything within a
half nile f where the trucks had been
shunted for the night was RACED TO the
ground. Iron work was twisted and
torn, stones destroyed and brick work
pulvcrized. On the ground were black.
encd shapes of human bodies, limbs,
heads, trunks, scorchcd and torn.
The victims were mostly Malavs,
kafIirs and Cinnamon. the whites be.
ing in a minority at Nicndendurp, nut
IN spite of this, quite IA number of
white people. including six girls, are
among the victims of the calamity.
In fifteen minutes after the ey.
piosion occurred the bodies of forty
dead persons, all terribly mutilatcd,
were carried away from the scene.
while the searching of the ruins con.
tinued without intcrmission. Several
hundred wounded persons were taken
to places where they might be cared
for.
In addition to the wounded, thou-
sands of people were rendered home
less, and they must rely on the char.
liable for aid.
Pieces Of iron, stone and brick are
scattered all over Johannesburg. Ev-
cry building felt the great shock
mosc or less.
The headquarters of the Wandcrs
club is being used rs u morgue. In
the gaily decorated club room are nor.
rlblc lines OF mcmbcrlcsS, %blackenpl
trunks OF human bodies, rows of
charred arms and legs, crushed and
burned heads, hands. feet, picces of
flesh, etc. tied up in bags, the whole
presenting n sicltcning sight. Around
the club and scene of the explosion the
most narrowing scenes are witnessed
by fathers looking for their children.
wives staring blankly at what seemed
to be the bodies OF husbands, the liv.
ing, many of them badly hurt them. |
selves, hunting for traces of the miss
ing.
The force of the explosion drove the |
Iron axles of the trucks upon which
the dynamite rested twenty feet into |
the hard ground.
o the explosion occurred is not
known, but II is believed that a THEY.
ing kaf'ir found his way to the shunt.
ed trucks and in trying to break open
one OF tho cases Of the explosive. being
In ignorance OF what it contained, |
caused the disaster.
Aacor5ipr O., thn 1,,o
about 100 persons have been killed and |
nbont 100 wounded badly. Several
OF tho wounded have since died OF
their injuries.
All of the hospitals are filed with |,
sufferers, and many private houses
v been opened to the wounded and
homeless.
O of the houses in Viedendorp
were built OF corrugated iron, rs is
usual in South Africa suburbs, and Of
this material, near where the cyplo- |
sion took place, hardly u vestige re-
mains.
A popular subscription has been
opened for the relief Of the wounded
homeless. Already $500, 900 have been
raised aud this amount will reach !,
million dollars before night. In addi.
ton steps have already been taken To
clear away the debris, A part of the
money subscribed will be invested in
building materials and the work of 20.
constructing N~iendendorp will begin as |
soon as the bodies of the dead are in.
TERED, which will probably be 10.
morrow. The funeral will be attend. |
cd by almost the whole population OF
Johannesburg.
The Borcs and the Uitlandcrs are
working tremendously in the succor-
ing of the wounded aud homeless.
The disaster seems to have done a
great deal towards healing the bitter
feeling caused by the Jameson raid.
President Kruger has tclcgraphcd
his sympathy with the people of
johannesburg and no Is being kept in
formed on all details.
K. T. Booz of Cunning was run over
~ a tea n and wagon and so badly in
inred that he NAV not recover.