The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-09-25
BLOWS Up FAMILY.
Man Gathered Family in One Room
and Threw Explosive.

Bloomington, lnd., Sept. 19.-Mack
Hurst, a stone mason, dynamlted his
house here early today, killing him
self and one daughter and fatally in
juring two other daughters, in addl-
ton to demolishing the house. Mrs.
Hurst, in a remarkable manner, es-
capped injury. Hurst is believed to
have been insane.
The dead are: Mack Hurst, oO
years old; Maud Hurst, 16 years old.
Fatally hurt: Fannie Hurst, 13
years old, one leg blown off and body
mangled, almost unrecognizable.
Elizabeth Hurst, six years old,
body mangied.
But little is known of the tragedy
beyond the results. Mrs. Hurst, who
escaped injury, how, she says, she
does rot know, says that the man
awoke the family at o'clock this
morning and told them all to gather
in his bedroom.
After they had all entered he clos
ed and locked the door and spoke
Cnlv these five words: We will all
die together
Then he picked up a stick of dyna-
mite which was lying on the floor
near him and threw it under the bed.
There was a deafening noise and
Mrs. Hurst remembered nothing
more until she came to consciousness
at the home of a neighbor nearly an
hour later.
The noise of the explosion awoke
the whole city. Police and firemen
FASTENED to the scene and at once be-
gan to search of the ruins. The bod
les of Hurst and his dead daughter
we're found in mass of debris at the
rear of the home.
The two other daughters were in
another part of the ruines. Both were
unconscious and it was some time be-
fore they were revived. Neither was
able to tell anything of the occur
renee.
TIL shock of the explosion wrecked
the house and was felt in the whole
immediate neighborhood. Evehy pane
of glass for block around was bro
ken and other minor damage done
homes in the immediate vicinity.
Hurst, who was a stone mason, but
who had not been working for some
time, had been acting strangely of
late and an inquisitorial body had de-
clared him insane.
1t was not thought, however, that
his insanity was of violent kind
and no preparations for his custody
had been made. 1t is supposed that
he suddenly became worse and while
in a frenzy committed the act.
Hurst had been separated from his
wife for six weeks and yesterday she
refused to take him back. 1t is be-
lieved that he then, in fit of in
sanity, determined to wipe out the
entire family consisting of his wife
and eight children.
The dead girl met the fate intend
ed for her mother, and the fact that
they had changed beds for the night
cost the daughter her life. Hurst,
after stealthily, in the darkness,
planting a stick of dynamite under
each of the three beds in the house,
tied two sticks to his own body, crawl
ed into bed which he had formerly
occupied with his wife, but which
last night contained the three daugh-
ters, Maud, Fannie and Elizabeth.
Fannie spoke to her father.
Lay STILL" Hurst replied. I'VE
will all die together
Before the girl could make move
the explosion destroyed the house
and aroused the whole town. The po-
lice and fire departments rushed to
the scene. sent the two injured girls
to the hospital and cleared away the
debris. Four sticks of dynamite un-
exploded, were found in the ruins
and the fact that only one and that
attached to Hurst's body, had eXplod-
ed, accounted for the escape of the
other members of the family.