The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1920-09-21
DEATH IN WAKE
OF EXPLOSION
EYE WITNESS DESCRIBES
CRASH FROM CLEAR SKY.
Bodies on Sidewalk Discolored With
Blood When Associated Press
Reporter Arrives.

soclated Press).-"lt was a crash
out of blue sky-an unexpected,
death dealing bolt which in a twink
ling turned into shamhle the bus
lest corner of Americas financial
center and sent scurrying to places
of shelter hundreds of wounded,
dumb stricken, white faced men and
women-feeing from an unknown
danger"
A reporter of the Associated Press,
who was an eye witness OF today's
explosion in New York's financial dis
trrict, thus described the scene. 81
was just turning into Wall street
from Broadway" he said, "when l
first felt, rather than heard, the ex-
p1osion. A conclusion of air similar
to that experienced on the subway
when a train dashes into one of the
under river tubes was felt. Its force
was sufficient to all but throw me off
nv balance. Instantly following the
conclusion, came a sharp resoundlng
crash which shook to their founda-
tions the large buildings facing either
SIDE of Wall street. With the roar
of tie blast, came the rattle Of fall
ine glass, and from the junction of
Wall. Nassau and Broad Streets
block distant, screams of injured men
and women.
Mushroom Shaped Cloud.
81 lodged into convenient door
way to escape falling glass and to
reach a telephone and call the office.
Looking down WaM street later, l
could see arising from the vicinity
of the sub-treasury building and the
j. P. Morgan-ysCo. bank a
mushroom shaped cloud Of yellowish,
green srnoks which mounted to a
height of more than 100 feet, the
smoke being licked by darting
tongues Of fame.
sI reached the scene a few mo-
ments after the explosion took place.
The smoke had practically cleared
from the street, but from the Nor
gan building there was belching forth
through the broken windows clouds
of dust and white vapor. In the
street an overturned automobile was
blazing fercely and nearby, close to
the body of a dead horse, was an
other fire, evidently from pile of
wreckage.
"Almost in front of the steps lead
ing up to the Morgan bank was the
mutilated body of man. Other
bodies, most of them silnet in death,
hay nearby. AS gazed horror strick-
en- at the sight, one of these forms,
half naked, and scared with burns,
started to rise. It struggled, then
toppled and fell lifeless into the gut
ter.
Lifeless Forms Scen.
con the opposite side of the street
were other forms. One of them was
that of young woman, her clothing
torn and burned away. 1t was NOV
ing--not in an effort to rise, but in
the agony of death. I started to-
ward her-but as I did, she. became
still. Glancing down / saw that the
pavement was discolored with blood.
In plain sight, within a radius of 80
to so feet, were nine lifeless forms.
''The body of the dead horse in the
middle of the street showed plain
evidence of having been in close
proximity of the scene of the blast.
It was literally torn to pieces.
s'The windows Of the Morgan
building were blown out and through
the openings could be seen the
smoke blackened interior of what but
a few moments previous had been
one of the handsomest banking rooms
in the city. Opposite the entrance to
the newly completed white exterior
of the sub-treasury annex was bat
tered and torn as if having been sub
jected to a. bombardment of machine
gun fire. The doorway, with its mas
sive steel grill work, was shattered
and the stone surrounding the door
cracked and battered away.
"By this time the crowd was press
ing in, held in check by the hastily
gathering police. At the doorway of
the Margon bank was an uniformed
guard, apparently half dazed, but
sticking to his post and holding back
those who sought to enter the struc-
ture.
The crowd was strangely quiet and