The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1920-09-23
EYE WITNESS DESCRIBES CRASH
FROM CLEAR SKY.
Many Lifeless Forms.
Bodies on Sidewalk DiscOlOred With
Blood When Associated Press
Reporter Arrives.

twinkling turned into shamble the
busiest corner of Americas financial
center and sent scurrying to places
of shelter hundreds of wounded,
dumb stricken, white faced men and
women-fleeing from an unknown
danger"
A reported for the Associated
Press, who was an eye witness of to-
days explosion in New York's finan-
cial district, thus described the scene.
81 was just turning into wall street
from Broadway" he said, when I
first felt, rather than heard, the ex-
plosion. A conclusion of air similar
to that experienced On the subway
when a train dashes into one of the
under river tubes was felt. It's force
was sufficient to all but throw me off
my balance. Instantly following the
conclusion, came sharp resounding
crash which shook to their fOunda-
tions the larger buildings facing eth
er side of Wall street. With the roar
of the blast came the rattle of falling
glass, and from the Junction of Wall,
Nassau, and Broad streets-a block
distant, screams of injured men and
women.
Mushroom Shaned Crowd
''I lodged into convenient door
way to escape falling glass and to
reach a telephone and call the office.
Looking down Wall street later, I
could see arising from the vicinity
of the subtreasury building and the
J. P. Morgan and company bank a
mushroom shaped cloud of yellowish,
green smoke which mounted to a
height of more than 100 feet, the
smoke being licked by dartiRg
tongues of flame.
II reached the scene few mo-
ments after the explosion took place.
The smoke had practically cleared
from the street, but from the Morgan
building there was belching forth
through the broken windows clouds
of dust and white vapor. In the
street an overturned automobile was
blazing flercely, and nearby, close to
the body of g dead horse, was another
fire, evidently from a pile of wreck
age.
almost in front of,the steps lead
ing up to the Morgan bank was the
mutilated body of a man. Other
bodies, most of them silent in death,
lay 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 Seen.
ION 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 did, she became
still. Glancing down I saw that the
pavement was discolored with blood.
In plain sight, within radius of 80
to so feet, were nine lifeless forms.
@'The body Of the dead horse in the
middle Of the street showed plain evil
dence of having been in close prox-
unity to the scene of the blast. It was
literally torn to pieces.
"The windows of the Morgan build
ing 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 subtreasury annex was battered
and torn as if having been subjected
to bombardment Of machine gun
fire. The doorway, with it's massive
steel grill work, was battered 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 Morgan bank was an uniformed
guard, apparently half dazed, but
sticking to his rost and holding back
those who sought to enter the struc-
ture.
'"The crowd was strangely quiet and
over it seemed to hang feeling OF
awe and horror At the commands OF
the police, it moved and fell back 81