Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-02-24
4 HUNDRED KILLED.
Johannesburg, South African
Republic.

johannesburg, South African
Republic.
Copyright, 1896, by the Associated Press.)
Johannesburg, South African Republic,
Feb. 2O.-Details are reaching this city
today of what is probably the most dis
astrous dynamite explosion on record in
any part of the world. Thousands of
people have been rendered homeless by
the terrible calamity, about 100 persons
are believed to have been killed, some
200 or 300 men, women and children
have been severely wounded and many
others have been more or less injured.
The Scene of the Calamity.
Vicdendorp, the scene of the calamity,
is a suburb Of Johannesburg. In it are
huddled members of the poorer class Of
whites of the Rand Malays, Kaffirs and
by doing odd jobs about the place, which
is a railway transfer station for the
mining districts of the section.
Among the freight cars standing on
the Shunt mines at Viedendorp yester-
day were eight trucks loaded with dyna-
mite. The deadly stuff was hidden I'M
der canvas coverings to protect it from
the rain and sun. AS evening was ap-
preaching there was an explosion near
the freight depot so awful in the in
tensity of it's force that ground for miles
around was convulsed as if by an earth
quake. Houses rocked and fell, masses
of iron, earth, stone, wood and human
remains were hurled skywards, the win
dOWS of almost every house in johann
nesburg were broken and people were
blown through the air like straWS be-
fore a gust of wind
The explosion had torn hole 200
feet long and 80 feet wide over the spot
where the eight trucks Of dynamite stood
but a few minutes before The whole
of that quarter of Johannesburg was lit
orally blown to pieces. The effects of the
explosion could be seen over radius of
more than a mile. and almost every thing
within a half mile where the trucks had
been shunted for the night was RACED to
the ground and crushed by the dynamite
beyond redemption. Ironwork was
twisted and torn. stone destroyed and
brickwork pulveriZed.
Remnants of Human Beings.
On the ground were blackened shapes
of human remains-limbs heads, trunks
-scorched and torn. The victims were
mostly Malays. Kaffirs and Cinnamon,
the whites being in minority at Vieden-
dorp, but in spite of this, quite num-
Der of white people, including six girls,
are among the many victims Of this hor-
rible calamity In fifteen minutes after
the explosion occurred the bodies of forty
dead persons, all horribly mutiliated,
were picked up and carried away from the
scene, while the searching of the ruins
continued without intermission. Over
200 of the most severely injured persons
were also carried away and hundreds of
other wounded persons were taken to
places where they might be cared for.
In addition to the wounded, thousands
of people rendered homeless by the ex-
plosion are being cared for by the chart
III CT
they can begin life anew. Pieces of
iron, stone and bricks are scattered all
over Johannesburg. Every building has
felt the great shock more or less. Every
physician in or about Johannesburg is
assisting in the care of the wounded.
The Headquarters of the Wanderers
club is being used as mortuary cham
ber In the gaily-decorated clubroom
ale horrible lines of memberless, black.
ened trunks of human bodies, rows OF
charred arms and legs, crushed and
burned heads, hands, feet, pieces OF flesh,
senting sight as blood-curdling as was
ever witnessed. Around the club and
the scene of the explosion the most har-
rowing scenes are witnessed by fathers
looking for their children, wives staring
blankly at what seems to be the remains
of husbands-the living. many Of them
badly hurt themselves, hunting for traces
of their dead
Probably the best idea of the force of
the explosion can be gathered from the
fact that the iron axles of the trucks
upon which the dynamite was loaded
were driven twenty feet in the h&Id
ground. How the explosion occurred is
not known but belief prevails that a
thieving Kaffr found his way to the
trucks, and in trying to break open one
of the cases of the explosives, being IN
ignorance of what it contained, he
brought about the disaster which has
caused so great a loss of life and which
has rendered SO many people homeless
and penniless. >,
The exact extent of the disaster will
never be known According to the
estimates, however, about 100 persons
have been killed and about 200 people
wounded severely. In addition 1t is es-
less severely injured. Several OF the
wounded have since died of their In
juries.
All the hospitals are filled with suffer
ers from the explosion and many prl-
vate houses have been turned into
refugees for the wounded and homeless
Houses Built of Corrugated Iron.
Most of the houses in Viedendorp were
built of corrugated iron, used extensively
in South African suburbs, and OF this
material. anywhere near the spot where
the explosion took place hardly a vestige
remains. A popular subscription has
been opened for the relief of the wound
ed and homeless. Already over $780,
600 has been raised and this amount
will reach 100000 before night.
In addition, steps have already been
taken to clear away the debris from the
grounds, a portion of the money sub
scribed will be invested in building ma
terials and the work of reconstructing
Viedendorp will be commenced as soon
as the remains of the dead are inferred,
which will probably be tomorrow.
The Beers and the Uitlanders are
working tremendously in the succoring
Of the wounded and homeless. The dis.
aster seems to have done a great deal
towards healing the soreness which re-
NAMED from the Jameson raid and may
do much to cement a new and better
feeling between the foreign population
and the Beers. President Kruger has
telegraphed his sympathy with the peo-:
pie of Johannesburg in this emergency
and he is being kept posted on all the
details of the great calamity.
10 Kill All SeaIs.
Washington. D. c.. Feb. 19.-The