The Rock Island daily Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1872-1873, 1873-08-19
THE RAILROAD MURDER AT LEMoNT


der at Lemont, with list of the killed
and wounded. To-day we give more de
tailed account of how it happened:
The night passenger train No. 4 of the
/ Chicago, Alton and st. Louis Railroad
which left Chicago at $40 o clock on Sat
urday evening, was more than usually well
crowded with passengers 1t left the city
depot promptly at the appointed moment
/ but for some reason it had lost time slight
/ ly, and ON reaching Willow Springs. sta
/ ton eighteen miles from town, it was about
ten minutes behind time. Having the full
/ right of way between that point and the
next station, Lemont, it was with IA full
confidence that he had clear track before
! him, that Conductor Russell ordered his
/ engineer to make better time than usual
/ for the next six miles. Under ordinary
circumstances this proceeding would have
/ been perfectly safe, and would have been
50 on this occasion were il not for another
circumstance OF which he was then entirely
ignorant. As the train neared the curve,
engineer John O'Neil of the locomotive
attached to the train, saw through the fog
which prevailed at the time, what he
thought 10 be, and which unhappily proved
to be the flash of locomotive head light.
He instantly reversed his engine, opened
the valves and leaped for life. Scarcely
had he done SO ere u terrible collision took
place with the locomotive and coal train
No %, which was in charge of Conductor
Edward Bean, and had left Lemont but a
few minutes before On the very track which
the passenger train was travelling AT high
rate OF speed. The two trains dashed into
each other with terrible violence. So
much heavier was the locomotive Of the
freight train that the passenger engine, al
ready leaning over the curve, was thrown
into the ditch, and the machine went ON,
tossing the express ear to the top OF the
baggage car. with its pilot, like leaf
throwing them both aside, and driving un-
der the smoking ear, which had been
raised by the collision, till its horrid force
was spent. " hen the smoking car was
struck the passengers, most Of them, were
thrown headl0ng tethe rear end If the car !;
but some who became entauGled in the
seats were hurled with fearful force into
the air, falling bruised and Scaldcd into
the side swamp,, The smoke stack OF the
locomotive was broken at the first collision,
and the rear end OF the Smokiuc-car was
pushed over the boiler and rested on the
tops Of both engines while the escaping
j steam was filling the cars aud literally
steaming number of the passengers who
were peuucd IN there to death Several OF
the freight cars We're overturned aud
2 smashed and lay in every conceivable
manner and condition and near the track
. Strange u say neither the express nor
baggage ear sustained any injury and no
package in either was broken The pX-
prr,, messenger, Nlr. Dwight, escaped
, .n.,u-h a Niu.o", but Nls u,s,t.y scaide,i
The only two men who escaped from the
smoking ear without being ,calded were
named Costello and Dempsey; they were
. sitting ia the most forward seat aud were
, thrown high in the air at the collision \
- companion that sal behind them was thrown
u the rear ut the ear and badly scalded.
For moment NOT one ot all those who had
escaped injury from the collision. who for
the tune being were the only witnesses ot
! the scene. could realize what had happeu-
ed, uT make "a single move toward render
Ing any assistance e. their fellow paSselI-
ger, who were literally roasted alive in the
steam as it escaped trou the exploded
, boilers Indeed it was mot until the
atirighted citizens who had been aroused
from their -UmbeT, in the neirhboring
tarm houSeS-the nearest ct which /,
= nearly mile distunt-came rushing Ia
/. their rescue, and help began toarriye non,
lrmout, that anything could be done for
the rciiet OF those who were enduring such
untold JgoHics Their screams for aid and
, erie, ut agony res.uuded far and wide and
added Ia the almost indeSrribAhle horror
o. OF the occasion. The ear in which the
literal cooking of human beings was going
on, was the third one from the locomotive
It, forward part was crushed IN by the
2 freight engine which had pI1wed its way
! through the flooring nearly to the middle
, Of the car. But the force of the collision
had torn a huge seam in its iron sides. and
. through this rent the steam escaped wiki
: fearful rapdity. Exit from the rear door
was entirely prevented by the peculiar
, position into which the vehicle had been
thrown
At last, aid reached the scene. The
fearful crash of the collision the roar aud
b Missing OF the escaping steam aud the ghtr,
II the Iuc motive fires had been heard and
= seen at L1iuunt aud had caused parties ia
that village tpc1me to the scene I'd tlisas
ter
\ locomotive and a car attached brought
g Dr> ". L. Pierce and j ". Cuomhs. viii
operator at Lemout, and 7. j Hudson. l.
&. Clark, +. NJ. SalIody, tue telegraph sta
Z ton agent quickly to the fatal curve
+, They reached the place in about twenty
minutes after the disaster. and Ner,
gu ky followed by many citizens VIII,
- uasteued to the RELIEF Of Oh" sufferers.
= The sua!ded and MANNED victims were
b removed from the wreck az hastily Il,
possible, aud borne to the passenger ear,
tour m number, which had not beer
? wrecked " the collision, and where the,
: were attended by the physicians. In,
seats IN these cars we're torn up and tn,
cushions were pressed into seryice.aud witt
them cots were fmprovised on which the
wounded aud dying were lain The cgndi
tlJn and appearance Of many of the suffer
y ers were horrible. In the cases Of some
e. the flesh literally fell in huge clots anl
f Jumps from their bodies, - thoroughly
had the cruel steam done its work while
others besides being shocklngIy scalded
were cut manned and bruised, or ma,
s been killed outright The conductor OF
4, the coal tram seeing that a collision WA,
inevitable leaped from the train, and, ob
serving has horrible work. fled t. parts IN
auYWH.
The intelligence 81 the accident reached
. 'h!raGu an ut 1899 clock SATURDAY eve.
ming Jy dispatch from Lemont, and wa.
conveyed 20 Mr.. NlcAlullen, Superintend
cut OF the road, but it was = clock in the
morning before the relief reached the
. wreck; an unnecessary delay, an lndiffer-
3hce on the part of the railroad manager,
To suffering which under the circumstance,
seem luexcusable
g. " hen aid arrived, six were dead, and
the uumbeIoi the wounded was more than
T. tJfty; souie' were groauing others were
-dsping for air and crying tor water, The
track was cleared aud soon after the cara
} van oi death was moving towards Chicago
t pu the journey two men died and eight
+ dead bodies we're borne to the Morgue
h.st OF the wounded were taken to the
County Hospital some to the West Side
} Briggs House, others To the Gault House,
s while several whose injuries we're Of IA slight
nature went IN th,ir b,t,,uy mr. ,-olaat o,1