Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1884-05-15
HElL's HORRORS
Rivaled Near Connellsvills Yes
terday.
TERRIBLE COLLISION ON THE 8. & o.
Two Trains Dash Into Each Other and a
Score of Human Beings are Offered
Sacrifice to Somebody's
Awful Bunder.

CoNNELLsYILLE, Pa, Nav IA west
bound freight collided with the gravel train
on the Baltomore and Ohio Railroad, one
mile east of Connellsville, between 9 and 10
o'clock this morning. A number of laborers
variously estimated at from twelve to twen-
ty, were killed, and many were injured.
The scene of the disaster is on sharp
curve just west of the Speer sand works
The camp train consisted of six cars. 1t
contained about fifty men who had just
been transferred from the Pittsburgh South
ern road and were on their way to Ohio
Pyle Falls to work on the grading for
double track on the east end of this division.
Both trains were going at high rate OF
speed, and came together with terrible
crash The engines remained on the track
and telescoped each other into the smoke
stacks but the heavy tenders jumped into
the air and fell, the freight tender upon its
engine and the gravel train 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
fastened down bv the broken timbers were
roasted to death, the car catching fire from
the overturned stove and burning up before
the stupefed. survivors could comprehend
the awful situation of their shrieking COM
panionS. Three men escaped trom the car,
and one of them says that the fire could
have been extinguished had water been ap-
piled in time The wreck itself was
a ghaStly sight The tender of the
freight engine stood thirty feet
in the air at the side of the iron car that
was burned and could be seen sitting amid
the glowing embers, twisted iron rods and
dead ashes three grinning skeletons, one
sitting bolt upright, apparently peering into
the flames that had Smothcrcd ont his life
aS well aS those of his companions. Carey
and John Hughes We're hIrncI II is
known that John Neville, John Ward, John
Carey and John Hughes were burned. Pat
CaSSadv. who was in the second car was
instantly killed. Another named SHAY, who
was injured, died At noon large force of
shop hands were on the ground eXtingulSh-
inr the flames. and the wreck train was at
work pulling the debris away and rescuing
the charred remains.
Terrible scenes.
The burned trunks of four of the victims
were taken out this afternoon. Across the
breast of one the white unsigned flesh con-
trasts strangely with the blackened sur
roundiags. That spot was where the heavy
timbers caught him and held him in the
grip of fate until the flames left nothing but
a headless- armless, legess trunk. The re-
mains were reverently placed on board,
carried aside and laid down upon the green
grass, spotted with purple forest flowers. A
lean and hungry looking mountain dog
snulied the roasted flesh, and licking his
chops descended upon the remains For
tunately he was discovered and drive
away. The officials decline to say who is
TO blame but popular opinion puts it on one
of the train runners. 1t may have been a
mistaken understanding of orders. The
true cause will not be known for day or
two Meantime thorough investigation
has been ordered.
This evening when the wreck was
cleared away it was discovered that
twelve persons had been injured and four
teen more were missing The bodies OF ten
of these were recovered. The others are
supposed to have been completely y consumed.
OF those recovered only two could be posi-
lively identified. The others were burned
into a Shapeless mass. One OF the injured,
J. T. Osher, died on the way to the hospital,
making fifteen deaths.
The injured were taken to PittSburg and
the dead to Connellsville.