Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1873-08-21
SCALDED IN A CAR!
Terrible Disaster near Le-
mont, Ill.-Collision be-
tween Coal and Pas
senger Trains Sat-
urday Night.
Eleven Persons hilled and Thirty five IDI ured
Many Of Them Fatally - lhe Freight
Engine Runs under the Smoking car
and scalds the Occupants.

CHICAGO, Aug. IA terrible accident occurred at
hatpast ten O'Clock last night, Lemont, on the
Chicago and Alton Railroad, an incoming freight
train colliding with the soHth.bound express pas-
senger-t rain, almost entirely wrsckiDg the latter
killing six persons outright and fearfully iuuring
some thrty-seven others, many Of whom, 1t 10 said,
wall die. The cars caught fire. and a number Of the
injured were badly burned, while others scald-
ed by hot water from the locomotive boiler.
The following account Of the accident is from
STATEMENTS OF OFFICERS OF THK ROAD.
The regular passenger train for St. Louis left here
at p IN and consisted of a baggage, express car,
three day coaches, the head second class or
smoking-car, and two sleeping At 1880 p. N.
when three miles north of Lemont, and ~ miles
south OF this city at the road suddenly ap-
peared coal train OF So cars running at about the
rate of twenty miles hour. The passenge err train
running the rate Of thirty miles an hour, and
neither Of the engineers the other engine until
/: was too late to reverse, a fact partly accounted
for by curve in the road and partly by dense fog
The two come together with fearful force Being
On a curve, however each engene left the track and
passed each other that attached to the coal-train
striking the baggage.car few feet from the end and
showing It of the track, breaking the coupling be-
struck square in the end and with such force
throw the forward end into the air. that the
engine under it, tearing the floor simply out
and hurting the sny sixty unfortunates who
were in the car in q struggling mass to the lower
end, whence there chance of escap 9, aud now
ensued
SCENE HORROR
which cannot be adequately described The smoke
stack and dome of knocked off nv col.
lision. and the broken timbsrs Of the smOking-car
penetrated the boiler letting loose dense volume Of
hot steam, which poured into the car, binding and
scaldng the helpless inmates, who, with heartren
dring shrieks, struggled vainly to extricate them
selves. Meantime, Conductor RUSSELL Of the passen-
ger train, who was unhurt and number of .psssen
gers from the coaches, forward and endesy
Ored to assist the poor victims. but there little
left to do beyond taking from the wreck the dying
and wounded, many OF whom were fearfny scalded
Several died soon after they taken out and foul
have since lied. Everything possible was done fol
the sufferers, and at six o'clock this morning tn,
tr ain returned to the city bringing the unnjursd
coaches Of the wrecked train, and all the dead anC
wounded. except the two fremen, who were left a
Lemont for burial. The cause Of the accident was
CRIMINAL REcKLEssNKss.
of the conductor and engineer of the ooal-train
whose duty II was to wait at Lemont until the pass
engsr train had passed. unless they had received posi-
tive orders to proceed This the officers of the road
say was not the CASE and that the coal train shoulC
have stayed at Lamont. The conductor of the cos
train is named Bean, and had been running the trair
for year and considered a Hrst-class man. H
has not been since the disaster and is though
to have escaped and fed. the last seen Of him h
in the csboose Of his train which uniDJured
No blame attaches to the officers Of the passenger
train which is said to have been time and had thu
right OF the track.