Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1880-10-18
THE plr1ssuaG HORROR.
Graphic Description of Men, Women and
children lsutcllere,l, Scaltled, Crushed, and
Mangletl Into Eternity.


The horrible scenes enacted in Pitts
Dufg sunday morning can never be de-
singular coincidence the catastrophe oc-
Cured on the same spot where the Penn
sylvania militia fired on the mob in the
railroad riots. The rear section of the
excursion train plunged into the forward
section ut the terrific force impaired TO n
heavy train running at the rate of twenty
miles an hour. When the special cores
pondent of the Cincinnati Enquirer
reached the scene he reported that the
engine was wedgcd into the rear car of
the first train for Il distance OF sixteen
feet, the end and sides of the car being
spread out into fan shape. The floor
ing OF the car was torn into splinters, and
the axle of the rear truck brokeu, while
the truck was standing in transom 20.
sition to the track, projecting ut the
right side. The smokestack of the en-
gine was knocked off, the blades of the
pilot splintered into fine sticks, and the
brace of the bumper was broken. The
bar which extends from the bumper to
the center of the smoke-box, which was
composed of wrought iron, one and three
quarters of an inch in thickness, was
snapped IN twain as though it had been
q fragile weed. The bumper was
snapped clear in two pieces. The front
cover OF the smoke-box was filled with
spars and splinters, which had evidently
composed part of the platform, and which
had been jammed in with tremendous
force. The boiler check, through which
the water passes into the boiler, and
whloh is composed of iron five-eigths of
an inch in thick, standing from tie for
ward end of the boiler back, was torn
from the boiler and broken transversely.
1t was the breaking of this pipe which
let the steam out of the boiler and caused
the scaaidln!g OF so many of the victims.
On both sides the lining and JACKET ol
the boiler are torn up. The casting is
torn off both of the steam chests. and
from one of these the steam also found
vent. On the right side the pump is torn
from the socket, and bent in underneath
one of the driving-wheels. It is COM
posed of iron an inch in thickness. The
platforms on the side of the locomotive
were split in twain. The pilot house was
badly demolished, and the forward end
OF the tender was crushed in. The loco
motive projected in the rear car of the
Ll-tated train fully sixteen feet. In this
car the platform was broken into splin-
ters. The end of the car was utterly de-
molished and the flooring ground into
tooth-picks. The closet and stove, at the
end OF the car. Were smashed, and six of
the rear seats were crushed into shreds,
At the fourth window, on the right hand
side from the end, was a big splatter of
blood, which trickled down the glass
pane in CORY streams. On the floor amid
the debris was pool of blood, mingled
with fragments of flesh. At this window
mangled horribly, were found the re-
mains of young man. The windows,
broken and the ledge smeared with blood,
as though the CORY remains had been
crushed against the car side when the en-
glne made it's death-dealing plunge. At
the next window there was some bloody
splotches on the ledge and seat, and it
head torn from his body. The appear
ance and location of the crimson stains
show that the unfortunate man had evil
IDENTIFY made an effort to get out of the
window when striken down by the iron
engine Of death. On the opposite side
OF the seat another pool of blood was
encountered, staining the debris and
panels OF the car with lurid crimson
color. 1t was here that young Edward
Butler, the acting baggage master Of the
train, met his death. On the sides and
ceiling of the car the paint was raised in
great bhsters by the steam. At the for
ward end of the car the platform and
prajecting roof were smashed into kind.
ling wood. This end of the car was
spread open into fan shape for precisely
the same distance as the rear end. The
first three rows of the seats at this end
OF the Car were also utterly demolished.
The platform of the next car, which was
No. 497. was also crushed. The door and
rear windows were broken and crushed
in, and thus the two cars were wedged
together between them. One of the VIC
Tins was crushed to death. Those who
were in the forward cars did not realize
the dreadful extent Of the accident until
several minutes after the shock of the
collision, when the engine plunged into
the end of the train plowing its
way through its human freight,
like q plow in soft soil. Many
women in the forward car shrieked and
became hysterical, but when the dull,
ominuous thud of the collision had died
away, mothers pressed their children
closer in their arms, brothers looked into
sisters eyes and sweethearts into lovers
faces with an expression OF Joy that they
had escaped q terrible calamity, and their
expressions of thankfulness were loud,
fervent and Joyous. Some of the young
er ones laughed and jested. At that mo-
ment the rear door Of the car was burst
open and Q breakman, with pale face
and an excited, anguished manper ran
through the cars, shouting: keep your
seats, for Gods sake! There is death
behind!" And as he passed through the
cars he locked the doors. The scene that
took place then in the forward cars beg
gars description. Mothers who had sons
and daughters in the rear car shouted
their names in agony, and frantically
tried to force their way back to that
blood-stained, fatal spot. To add to
the horror of the scene at this moment
the silence which for moment has sue.
ceeded the collision was now broken by
the shrill sound of escaping steam, inter.
mingled with the screams and groans Of
agony of the unfortunate ones in the rear
car, who were being butchered and man
gled and boiled and crushed to death.
The railroad employees in the neigh
borhood for some moments seemed root.
ed to the spot with inexpressible horror
In moment they were moving about
and, by the aid of flashing lanterns the
work of removing the manned, dead anG
dying from the cars began. With ever,
moment the force of wolkmen increased
but. owing to the position of the cars
the work of removing the unfortunat.
ones was necessarily slow. The scene IN
side the rear car,where the first workmer
went after the bodies, was most horrible
Wounded men and women were pinned
on the floor and seats, and coilcd anG
twisted in every shape, writhing with in