Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-01-08
DEATH ON THE RAIL.

DEAiH UN HE RAIL
Mail Train Thrown from the Track
ON the Buffalo Cory & Pistsburg
Railroad-The Debris TIA kes Fire. and
Many Persons are Rurued~-Nineteen
Dead, Nineteen Badly Injured, and
Eight hissings=FataE Accid entS at
Various Points on other Roads.
On Tues lay afternoon at fifteen
minutes past three O'Clock, as the mail
train on the Buffalo, Cory and Pitts
burg Railroad leaving Cory at 1:20 P.
NJ, neared Prospect, and when within
about eighty rods of the station, the
train was thrown off the track at a tres
tle-w0rk, the passenger and baggage
car and tender falling a distance of
twenty feet, while the engine passed
over unhurt The cars turned com
pietely over and bottom side up. They
fell perpendicularly to the ground be
low, distance of twenty feet. When the
cars struck, the trucks crashed through
the bottoms of them, and as the stoves
OF the passenger coaches We're directly
under the trucks, they we're crushed to
pieces, and Immediately the woodwork
Of the cars took fire. Of forty six PEG.
pie known to have been in the cars,
but one escaped unaided, namely, the
brakeman Of the passenger coach, who
jumped clear Of the cars as they were
falling.
The woodwork Of the passenger car,
thickly coated as it was with varnish,
burned freely, and before any
thing could be done by the
force at hand to prevent it,
the flames enveloped both ends of
the car and crept rapidly toward the
centre. Penned within it at this time,
with no possible chance to extricate
themselves were forty-three adult pas
sengers, the conductor and one child.
OF those, seated in the ends of the car
none escaped, but help arriving, about
twenty-five dead and living were taken
out of the center of it, and the flames
were e1tinguished-or more correctly
speaking, went out for lack of any
thing further to feed upon. The re-
mains Of the other passengers were
then recovered and all brought to this
place.
The roll foots up as follows: Saved
all more or less injured Is, dead Is,
missing s.
| The dead, with four exceptions, were
| burned so as to be unacceptable from
| the features and there are but three
that could possibly be identified from
the shreds OF clothing adhering to the
roasted flesh. Five were headless and
without limbs and the remaining ones
had the flesh all burned off the extrem-
tiles. The eight missing are supposed
to have been completely consumed and
there are pieces of skulls, watches, and
| l.. - - LII g.,
such belief, Four others are known to
have been on the train namely: Cath
creme Kelley, Kitty Ryan and Mr.. and
Mrs. Wilbur 4. Rice, all of Titusville,
Pa. It is thought they will be identi-
| fed tomorrow friends are here for
that purpose.
| The case of the two last named is q
PECULIARLY sad one: Mr. Rice was the
only son of Mr.. James Rice, a leading
citizen of Titusville, and his wife the
only daughter of Austin Jackson, of
Rochester, n. Y. They we're married
on the fifth of this month and were on
the way to Rochester to spend Christ
| mas.
Judging from the clothing, baggage
and Appearance of those coming to
| identify them, number of the dead
belonged to the lower classes. The
bodies are laid out in the freight house
and will be kept several days for identi-
fication.
The following is the list of killed and
wounded:
Mark Haight, of Brockton, n. Y, a
banker, one leg shattered the other
burned off at the thigh, and badly
bruised about the head.
Mr.. Osborn, of Westfeld. The side
OF his head was smashed IN, and one
leg broken off below the knee.
Mr.. Ryan, internal injuries.
E, Fl. Bell, telegraph operator at
Sherman.
Mr.. Carleton, bruises on the body
and head.
Frank Taylor, baggage master of the
train.
Con. Maloney, track master, of Brock.
ton.