Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-02-08
TRAIN IN FLAMES.

NA1N 2XN nv
A Passenger Coach and Baggage car IN
simultaneously Enveloped In burhihs
Women Burned to Death
and n Number of People Badly Wound-
cd.
BRApFoRD, Pa, Jan. 16.-A stream OF
oil from a tank on the hillside flowed across
the Bradford, Burdell & Kinzua Railroad
track. covering it TOR 100 yards. AS the
morning train from Wellsville came along
the oil caught fire from the engine, and i'll
stantly the train, which consisted of a loco
motive, baggage and passenger car, was en-
yeloped in flames. Three women were
burned to death, and twenty-five persons
were terribly burned about the head, face
and hands, or badly hurt by jumping from
the moving train. So intense was the heat
that windows cracked and fell in. In a few
seconds the cars were blazing tiercely. The
passenger coach was filled with travellers.
There was a frantic rush for the doors, but
the heat was so intense that the panic
stricken people were driven back and forced
to jump through the windows.
A relief train with surgeons and cots was
dispatched to the scene. There a terrible
sight presented itself. The passenger
coach and baggage car were a smoking mass
OF ruins. The engine lay on its back, hav-
ing turned a complete somersault. Many
of the more seriously injured lay OIL the
ground in the snow suffering terrible ag-
onies. Others had managed to get to the
houses of the oilwell workmen. The cries
of the burned were terrible. Several were
literally scorched black. These will die.
The list Of the killed and injured is as fol-
lows:
KILLED-Mrs. L. c. Fair, Kinzua Junction,
burned beyond recognition; Miss Katie Nor
an, Of Aliens, Pa, body burned to a crisp;
Mrs. Tobias Jones, Rev City, burned to Gin
dcrs.
pected to live; Patrick Sexton, engineer, ter
ribly burned on face and hands; Mike Walsh.
fireman, horribly burned about the face and
arms: w. II. Bciknap, of Aiken. injured in
about the head and hands; not expected to
live; Jerry Haggerty. Ceres, n. Y, badly
burned about the face and head: Mrs. Black,
her daughter and her son, of Aiken, burned
about the head and hands; G. w. Van. wife
and son, of Indianapolis, burned about the
face and hands; John Karoer, of Aiken, ter
ribly burned about the face and hands.
Mrs. Thomas Parker, of Bordell, Pa,
threw her ~four-year-old child out Of a Win
dow, and jumped out. Captain Hoe, of
Boston. Mass, was burned about the face
and head, and fourteen or fifteen others
were severely burned.
u. II. Brest, foreman of the Anchor Oil
C%ompany's lease Where the holocaust oc-
CURED, said: II went to Il part Of the lease
where they were putting up a boiler this
morning, and seeing 4 streak of oil in the
snow running down over the railroad track,
| struggled hard to reach the track and
warn the engineer. The snow, however,
was so deep that l made but little head
way, | heard the train coming and immedi-
ately afterward was startled by an explo-
sion. The train was soon a mass of flames.
l could render no assistance TO passengers"
John Burke, Of the Bingham House, Dun
kirk, N. ", with his sister May, occupied
seats near the center of the passenger car
and escaped without injury. Burke de-
scribes his experience as follows: "tThe
train was running fifteen miles an hour.
Suddenly the car became dark. Jets and
tongues Of flame leaped up on all sides and
flashed through the ventilators. The glass
cracked with a snap and the heat
became uncomfortable. l knew at once that
we were passing through an oil fire.
! recognized the Kissing of the burning oil.
Turning to my sister l said: we are pass
ing through an oil fire. Be quiet. 1t will
soon be over. People began to jump
through the windows. On all sides was
heard the crashing of glass and the deafen-
~AS viva W SAAS oSS VI tltlAC 4llC Cbl wa
a regular hell in less than three minutes
after it caught fire. 1t seemed as if we were
all doomed to burn to death. The car was
filled with the cries Of women and children,
and the groans Of the men. Women and
children were picked up and thrown
through the windows. Those who jumped
out Jared better than the few who
dashed through the doors into the
flames which surged to and fro upon the
bed on the road, and all had their hands,
faces and clothing burned. l started down
the aisle. but the heat was so great that it
made my head swim. said: we must
jump through the window l arranged my
sisters cloak about her head, picked her up
bodily, and dashed her head foremost
through the window. l next picked up a
little girl who was crying and threw her out
the same window. Then l made a Jump
Tor life, landing in a snow-drift. My mus
tache and hair were only slightly singed.
My sister rolled down the snow-bank. but
escaped without a scratch"