The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1877-06-16
RAILROAD DISASTER.

A COLLISION ON THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO
PROMINENT MARYLANDERs KILLED
AN I'LL FATED EXCURSION.
A most horrible and heart-rendering &C
cident occurred on the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad ON Tuesday morning, about one
mile east of Point of Rocks, by which four
highly esteemed citizens of Frederick Co.,
were killed outright and several others
were either mortally wounded or crippled
and manned for life. The details of the
accident, as far as they have been ascer-
tanned, are substantially as follows:
At e. 40 on that morning an excursion
train, consisting of twelve cars, freighted
with six hundred men, women and children,
left Frederick for Mount Vernon, via Wash
ington. Frederick junction was reached
eight minutes late, but Captain Cooper,
who was in charge of the train. was or
dered to proceed towards the Point of
Rocks. The engineer, George Buckley,
thought he saw danger ahead, as the Win
chester train was due, but he obeyed Or
ders, opened the throttle and on speed the
train at % miles an hour. The Winchester
train, coming eastward in charge of Capt
Burton and engineer John Stoves, had left
the Point of Rocks some minutes late, and,
although they had received orders to pro-
coed, they did so very cautiously. They
felt that something was wrong, and they
went along so slowly towards the point at
which the fatal collision occurred that Capt.
Burton walked beside the engine the whole
distance. When nearing the curve where
the two trains met Burton imagined he
heard the approach of the coming train,
and no sooner had he communicated his
belief TO the engineer than the excursion
train burst upon them with frightful veloc-
ity and force The engineer and fireman
on the Winchester train jumped down the
embankment from their engine, and the
locomotive met with frightful crash.
The baggage car, with two coaches of the
Winchester tram, was badly smashed and
knocked from the track, while both en-
gines had reared into the air and come
down shapeless mass of broken machinery.
THE EXCURSION TRAIN
was badly wrecked, while the smoking car,
in which every available seat was occupied,
telescoped with the car in the rear, both
being jammed into mass of broken tim
bers, iron stages, lamps, stoves, steam
pipes and mangled human beings by the
awful weight and momentum of the ten
cars in the rear, which crowded so merci-
lessly upon them. In the smoking car
were seated the members of the band and
the committee from theAgricultural Society,
composed of Colonel Charles E. Trail,
Charles Keefer, editor of the Examiner,
and several others, who were on their way
to Washington to extend an invitation to
President Hayes to attend the next fair.
Then began
THE SEARCH FOR FRIENDS
who were in the wreck, and one by one the
dead and wounded were removed and laid
upon the ground. Axes were required to
cut away the broken timbers before some
of the victims could be extracted.
PHYSICIANS SUMMONED.
A telegram was at once sent to Frederick
for physicians and relatives. At nine
O'Clock a special train, in charge of Capt.
Walling, carrying Drs. Smith, johnson,
Charles Smith, Girls, Magill and McSherry,
and many friends and relatives of the
wounded and dying, left for the scene of
the accident. Many sickening sights were
witnessed. Among the.piIes of debris
could be seen men lying about in their
agony. The
NAMES OF THE KILLED
are as follows: Dorsey Walker, thirty five
years old, resident of Mount Carmel,
Frederick county. He leaves family
Richard Dutrow, forty years old, a resident
of Adamstown, Frederick county, who
leaves a family. Charles II. Keefer, editor
and proprietor of the Frederick Examiner,
also Il man of family. Lous Schley, aged
twenty three, an unmarried man. He was
a son of DR.. Fairfax Schley' of Frederick.
Howard Dixon, aged twenty three. His
neck was broken, his skull fractured and
his legs mashed The wounded number
fo,r in oil cnypa Of tbo,, 80 .o,;
ously hurt that they may die.
THE CAUSE OF THE DISASTER
cannot be definitely known until an official
is had. 1t is said, however
that those in charge of the excursion train
were not entitled to the road and are re-
sponsibe for the accident.