Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-04-29

That this theory afforded the most
likely explanation Of what subsequently
took place was generally agreed, al
though one well known authority on ex-
plosives expressed himself as Of opinion
| that no internal machine capable of
causing what had happened could be
concealed in SO small compass as TINT
suggested. But it was pointed ont in
reply that from arrests and discoveries
which had been made in America and
ON the continent it was evident that
the manufacture Of internal machines
and investigations into the qualities of
explosives were being scientifically and
Systematically carried on.
Though no connection had as yet been
traced between the persons who had
been arrested and the perpetrators of the
recent outrages, the probabilities were
that such connection existed, and il was
asked whether it might not be possible
| that some one who was thus engaged in
experimenting with explosives had dis
covered a new explosive, or new COM
bination of explosives, which was differ
ent from and more deadly than any
thing known to the authorities.
Into the probability or improbability
of this and other theories which were
put forward it would be idle here to en-
ter. All that is known is that the train
had only just entered the tunnel imme-
diately to the west of Blackfriars sta
tion when there occurred the most awful
explosion of the sort within the memory
of man. The passengers, as well as the
guard, driver and stoker, not only Of
the train in which the explosion took
place, but also Of train which was
proceeding in the opposite direction and
happened to be passing at the time,
were killed to man, with the excep-
tion Of one Of Smiths bookstall boys,
whose escape seemed almost miraculous.
Every soul in the station-ticket collect
ors, porters, station master and the un-
fortunate people who were waiting on
the platform-shared the same fate.
Nor was this all, for at the moment
when the outrage occurred the train was
passing under one of the busiest cross
ings in London-that where New
Bridge street, Blackfriars bridge, Queen
Victoria street and the Thames embank-
ment converge-and so terrific was the
explosion that the space between these
converging thoroughfares was blown
away as mans hand is blown away
by the bursting of gun.
The buildings in the immediate
neighborhood, including parts of st.
Paul's station on the London, Chatham
and Dover railway, the offices over
Blackfriars station and De Keyser's ho-
tel OH the opposite side of the way, were
wrecked, and the long arm of Black
friars bridge lay idly across the river,
like limb which has been rudely hack
ed from body.
But it is not my intention to attempt
any realistic description of the scene or
of the awful sights which were witness
ed when, after the first paralyzing mo-
ment of panic was over, the search for
the injured, the dying and the dead was
commenced. The number of lives lost,
including those who perished in Black
friars station, in the two trains. in the
street and in the surrounding build
ings, was enormous. Several columns of
the papers next morning were filed
with lists of the missing and the dead.
One name on the list had a terrible sig
nificance. 1t was the name of the man
to achieve whose murder the lives Of SO
many innocent men and women had
been ruthlessly sacrificed, the name Of
man whose remains were never found,
but whose funeral pyre was built Of the
broken bodies of hundreds Of his fellow
creatures, the name Of the chief secre-
tary for Ireland.