St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-05-15
RAILWAY DISASTER.
A Train of WOrkmen in Collision
With a Freight Train.
A Number of Men Killed and Many
Severely Wounded.
A Car Takes Fire When Several We're Roasted
to Death Narrowing Details.

PITTsBURG, May IA west bound freight
collided with the gravel train on the Baltimore
IL Ohio railroad, one mile east of Connellsvile,
between and 10 this morning. number of
la5orers, variously estimated at from twelve to
twenty were killed, and many were injured.
The scene of the disaster is on sharp curve,
just west of the Speer Sand works. The freight
train was heavily laden with ore.
The camp train consisted of six cars.
1t contained about fifty men from
the Ptttsburg Southern railroad on the way to
Ohio Pyle Falls to work the grading for q
double track on the east end of this division.
Both trains were going at a high rate of speed,
and came together with terrible crash. The
engines remained on the track and telescoped
eachother into the smokestack, but the heavy
tenders jumped into the air and fell, the freight
tender upon its engine and the gravel tender
back upon the first car in the rear of it.
Here was the scene of death. Six men were
killed outright in this car and four others fast
ened down by the broken timbers
and were roasted to death, the
the car catching fire from the overturned stove,
and burning up before the stupefed survivors
could comprehend the awful situation of their
shrieking companions. Three men escaped from
the rear and one of them assured your cores
pondent that the fire could have been extingush-
ed had water been applied in time.
The wreck CHASTITY sight. The tender
of the freight train stood thirty feet in car and
inside of the car that was burned, and there
could be seen inside the glowing embers, the
twisted rods and the grinning skeletons. One
was sitting bolt upright, apparently peering into
the flames that had smothered out his life, as
well as those of his companions. 1t is impossible
at this writing to get list of the killed and
wounded, but it is known that
John Neville, Jno. Ward, Jno. Carr and Jno.
Hughes were burned.
Pat Cassaday who was on the second car was
instantly killed.
Another, named Shaw, who was injured, has
just died.
At noon large force of shop hands were on
the ground extinguishng the flames, and the
wreck train was at work pulling the debris and
rescuing the charred remains. The burned
trunks of four of the victims have been taken
out. Across the breast of one, the white, un-
singed flesh contrasts strangely with the black
ened surroundings. That spot was where the
heavy timber caught him and held him in, the
grip of the fates until the flames left nothing but
a headless, armless, legless trunk The re.
mains were reverently placed on a board,
carried aside and laid down upon the green grass
spotted with purple forest flowers. 4 lean and
flesh and, licking his chops, descended upon
the remains. Fortunately he was discovered
and driven away. 1t is expected that the
wreck will be cleaned up this evening. The of
icials refuse to say who is to blame, but the
popular opinion puts it on one of the train run
| ners. 1t may have been a mistaken misunder
standing of orders The true cause will not be
known for day or two, meantime thorough
| investigation has been ordered
THE DEAD AND WOUNDED
| PITTsBURG, May -4.-When the wreck at Con
nellsville was cleared away it was discovered
that twelve persons had been injured and four
teen more missing. The bodies of ten of thost
were recovered, and the others are supposed t,
have been completely consumed. OF those re
covered,y only two, Cassiday and Dermott, coult
be positively Identified the others were burneC
shapeless. One of the injured, j. T. Oshea
died on the way to the hospital, making fiftee1
deaths as follows:
Patrick Cassiday, aged forty, residence Cum
berand, Md.
Scott Dermott, aged twenty-one, Ursina, Pa.
Dennis Ward, aged forty, residence unknown
Sheaby Newman resi- dence unknown.
Owen Conley, aged thirty, of Pittsburg
John Perry, aged thirty, Johnstown, Pa.
Thomas Whittle, aged twenty-five, residenc
un known.
known.
Joseph Desmond, aged 81, residence unknown
| John Hughes, aged "A, Cumberland, Md.
John Conley, aged 40. New York,
Timothy Shay, aged 40, Staunton.
j. T. O'Shea, aged 81, Cumberland Nd. Th
latter was fireman of the freight train, the other
| were lahorers.
The wounded are as follows:
James Smith, laborer, scalp wound.
Samuel Clay, engineer camp train, right arm
| broken.
VIM. McNulty, laborer, Philadelphia, righ
| ankle fractured.
Samuel Albright, laborer Ursina, Pa, le
| broken.
W. j. Burns, clerk, right arm broken.
Thos. McCabe, laborer, both arms broken
Four Swedes, names unknown, are also in
| jured, not dangerously.
The injured were sent to the West Pennsyl
vania hospital at Pittsburg and the dead brough
to Connellsville for burial.