Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-08-21
Riot in Kansas
"A Reverend Seducer exp osed
he.flees the countr..
iLLiNois.


Passenger train No. 4, that left here
at 9 O'Clock, fell behind time, and ar
rived in Summit about fifteen minutes
late. The conductor, Mr.. Henry Z.
Russell, telegraphed the condition Of
affairs to the Station Agent at Lamonte
and supposing that the northern bound
train would be warned, went ahead.
A coal train coming north arrived at
Summit very soon after the reception
of the telegram, and was ordered to
wait. Disregarding the instructions,
probably in the belief that he could
make water station near Sag Bridge
before No. would come along, the
conductor pullee out.
The trains struck about a mile south
of the bridge at the hour above named.
The boilers of the engines exploded
almost instantly, enveloping the bag
gage and smoking cars with steam and
killing aud injnring nearly fifty per-
sons.
Henry Armstrong makes the fol-
lowing statement: II went over on
the sleeper Louisiana" on the train.
We left Chicago last night. The train
was q little late. She was made up of
one sleeping coach, two regular coach
es, one smoker, one express aud one
baggage car. There were three brake
men. The passenger coaches, the Sleep
err and the smoking car were crarnmed
full. Everything went smoothly I'M
iii we got to Willow Springs. The
Missouri" was put on there, and the
train started down the curve. 1t was
running about fifteen miles an hour.
When the extra sleeper was put on, l
went into her, and was making up
some of the berths when the collision
took place.
"a large number OF passengers came
into the sleeper from the smoking car.
I was thrown from my feet, as they
all were. 1t was very dark and quite
toggy, and one could not see any
lights. You couldn't see fifty yards
ahead. / don't know whether there
was whistle of down brakes or not.
Some men on the train say there was,
while there are others who say there
was not. tried to get out in the gen.
eral confusion, but got into the water
and went back. No one In the Sleep
ar was njured. The fore part of the
smoking car was smasncd and throw q
from r. the track; The two bind Trucks Trucks
on our train was thrown off and smash
ed to pieces.
We got the fireman oat from under
the heap of ruins. He was quite dead
and under the coal. The baggage car
was thrown right up over the tender
of the engine amidst a mass of trucks
and wheels. OF the wounded, some
had bones broken, but most OF them
wel.s scalded with the steam, II was
yer, dark, and the mass of the passen-
gers we're lying right out on the prair-
lie over the bank, and mourning. They
were taken into the sleeper "Lcuisi-
ana" and one of the coaches and Dro't
to Chicago. The agent at Lamonte
brought medical assistance on a Loco
motive, and a telegram was dispa ached
from Willow Springs to Chicago,
which brought down Superintendent
McMuilen and party of Chicago doe
tors"
Ill. A. Hamlin, the express messen-
ger, of Dwight, Ills. was very badly
scalded. He says that he was in the
express car when the crash occurred,
and that he crawled out of the upper
window of the car. The other express
man says that there was fully 10000
In the safe of the car. He retained the
keys until given into the hands of the
express authorities and took every pos
sible means to guard bis trust.
The following list OF killed is from
official sources: John Metzler, brake.
man on coal train; two firemen and
one brakeman :. N. /. Bliss, Spring
field; Capt. VIM. Little; Thomas
Morton, Of Chica GO; Mr.. Brass OF
Chicago; and Thos. Faulty, porter OF
the Anderson hotel, Chicago. Two
bodies remain at the Morgue not yet
identified. The wounded are as fol-
lows: j. E. Cunningham, baggage
man; Frank Bridges fireman; James
O'Neil, engineer of passenger train ;
one newsboy; the engineer of the coal
train; Thos. Strong, Muskegon; Nc
Cartel, Chicago, badly bruised; VIM
Gutchell, Ducks Island, Maine, bad
ly scaided; Thos. Crowley, scalded !;
VIM. Curran, Ducks Island. Maine,
badly scalded John W. Smith, ward
en- Of Illinois Peni,entiary, badly
scalded, j. Lamotte, Phil'a, scalded ;
John Sheries, Glasgow, ruptured ;
Alexander Hackett, Ducks Island,
Maine, scalded; a. Berdon and Anton
Inkleman, St. Louis. BADLY scalded all
over; John Whaler, Akron, Ohio, back
and hands scalded Geo. Reatel, Chi
cago, arms and head badly scalded !; A.
c. Nicklan, Chicago, hands and head
badly scalded and aerionsly bruised
about the head; Jacob Klese, badly
ecaided; Jacob Cardovant, Oshkosh,
badly scalded German unknown in
q dying condition; isaac Mills, New
York, hand and ear slightly scaded /;
Martin Carleton, Bloomington, scald
ed ; M. M. Richardson, Chicago, scald-
ed !; Albert Adams, Bloomington, seal.
led Henry Small. Akron, o., soalded
L. A. Hamlin, Dwight Ills, scalded ;
John O'Keefe, Akron, O., scaldcd
James T. Doyle, steel workman. John
Spears, Chicago ; B. Antoine, St. Louis,
head and arms; M. ST. John, Chicago,
The train did not catch fire as was
reported, and all the passengers killed
| or injured were in the second class car
\ which was used as 8 smoking car.
IL
Except the train employees tbs
deaths were all caused by steam.--
None of the regular PASSENGER coaches
| or sleepers were thrown from tbs
track, or in any way injured.
The officers of the road state thai
when twenty-five miles out, at curve
in the road, the passenger train wa,
confronted by a coal train of 81 cars
running at the ratio Of about twent,
miles an hour. Neither engineer saw
the danger until too late to reyers,
their engines the morning being yer,
foggy, and the trains collided with
fearful noise. Being on curve, how
ever, each engine left the track en-,
passed the other. That attached 10 tn
coal train striking the baggage car
few feet from the end and showing j
off the track. breaking the coupiin,
between 1t and the smoking car, hic
the engine struck squarely in tae en-,
| with snch force Is to throw the for
ward end into the air 50 that the e,lgin
ran under 1t, tearing the 0ooring com
'pletely ont, harling tbs unfortanst