Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-01-18
THE NEWS IN BRIEF
Appalling Disastcr On ~ Narrow-tsauge
Railroad In pennsyivanin,

FIRE THREE WOMEN BURNED TO DEATH AND
SIXTEEN PERSONS HURT.
The engineer of train No. ., between
wellsville, N. Y, and Bradford Pa, on the
Erie narrow gauge system, while rounding
curve two miles east of Bradford, Pa, Tues
day morning discovered stream of waste
petroleum running on the track. He revers.
ed his engine, but was too late, and the
brakes could not hold the train II dashed
into the oil, which was fresh and giving o II
gas Sparks from the firebox ignited the oil,
and the flames instantaneously enveloped the
train, which dashed down a steep grade 100
feet to the mile, at the rate Of 10 miles an
hour. There were about forty passengers on
board, who became extremely panicky, and
jumped from the doors and windows into the
snow, which was three feet deep. Near the
doors the doomed victims crowded, bOckad
ing the passageway. At a curve, half mile
from where the flames seized the train the
engine and train were deraled. Three WON.
en- were burned to death. Fifteen men and
one boy we're burned aud wounded. The en-
gineer and fireman jumped from the train
The former was badly burned about the face
and hands and will likely die. Tho wounded
were taken to Bradford and lodged in the ho-
tells. The passenger coach was entirely con.
sumed and the baggage car partially destroy
ed The heat was so intense that the win.
huWb NihNh1u hhh ANii III III ~ JihJH AAN
mails and baggage were partly saved. The
baggage master and express messenger jump
ed from the train and escaped with few in
juries. The arms and legs of the victims
were burned of. Many of the wounded are
in a critical condition, and four or five will
probably die. The burning train az 1t dashed
down the mountain side was an appalling
sight. The New York Herald's despatch,
describing this strange and dreadful tragedy,
says that wooden tank of oil on the hillside,
above the track, had sprung leak allowing
the contents to run down the hill, to aud
along the track The snow, forming a high
bank on either side Of the track, confined the
oil and il ran down the grade several hun.
bred yards between the rails. DIR. Brest, the
superintendent of the oil base, saw the prob
able danger and tried to reach the track to
signal the train, but could not get through
the deep snow rapidly enough TO reach the
spot in time. The train consisted of an On
CINE, baggage car and cone coach, the latter
full of passengers, the number of whom is
not exactly known, but is supposed to be 30
or 80. The instant the flames sprang up
around the car everybody was in "A panic and
before the train had gone 100 yards over the
blazing oil the heat was so intense that the
windows cracked and fell in in less time than
it takes to tell it. The car was a seethng
cauldron, from which the anguished occu
pants experienced some difficulty in escaping
Driven back for the moment from the DOORS
they leaped or were thrown from the win.
dows into the deep snow beside the track, the
GOODNESS of which temporarily assnaged the
agony OF the blistered burned and bruised
human beings who rolled in it from the rush
ing, roaring, flaming train. Three women
remained in the blazing coach, too much par
ayzed with fear or otherwise unable to get
out. The scene when the relief train reached
the curve where the accident terminated was
narrowing one. The passenger coach aud
the baggage car were a mass OF smoking ru.
ms the engine lay on its back, having turn.
ed complete somersault while around the
spot and back along the track stood or lay
the injured and helpless Of the passengers
These we're rapidly picked up and cared for
by the many, while the few recovered the re.
mains of the dead from the ashes Of the car
The injured are nearly all burned the snow
which was more than three feet in depth
preventing any from suffering by concussiou
on striking the ground.
A statue of the late Senator Morton was
unveiled at Indianapolis Tuesday. Addresses
were made by ex-senator Mcdonald aud ex.
Secretary of the Navy Thompson. The city
was thronged with visitors.
In the United States court at Portland,
Me, Tuesday, Frances NJ. Rumery, postmis-
tress at Dayton, was convicted OF making
false return of stamps cancelled aud was sen.
fenced to prison and to pay a fine of $50
The presbyteIy of the Catholic church
at Bayou du Large Terre Bonnie parish, La,
was burned on Sunday morning Rev FIR
Constarot persisted in the flames.
Scarcely day passes now without news
of some serious coasting accident. One of
the worst happened at Melrose, Mass, near
Spot pond. A doublo-ripper ran into a sled
and cut one boys leg of so that he died in
half an hour and three others got broken legs
and severe internal injuries. Nathan Gest OF
Rock Island, Ill, a Williams college senior,
was so badly hurt while coasting at Williams.
town, Mass, Wednesday, that he died in
few minutes He was steering and ran the
sled into the side of bridge. Arthur H. Mer-
Ger of Galveston, Texas, a freshman, was
hurt in the back.
Fannie G. Walker, a Somerville, Mass.
school girl of IA, was held for trial Wednes.
/ day for setting FIRE to the Foster grammar
school building in that city. She has mania
for setting fires.
In Victoria county, New Brunswick, the
thermometer registered 81 below zero Tues
day morning
MIR. Shaw, for whom Shaw's Ridge, a
station near Rochester, N. H., was named,
has lost five daughters in two weeks by black
diphtheria and his wife is down with il. The
rest of the family are the father and one son,
and the neighbors are afraid to go near the
/ disease.
Mrs. Weaver, the afianced wife of E D.
Beir, went to church in Alexandria, Ky,
Sunday with Nicholas Behl This enraged
Beir SO that he went to his sweetheart's and
demanded of her the return of his presents
Being refused he pointed pistol at her head
and snapped it twice without shooting He
was put ont of the house, whereupon he
went to the back yard and shot himself dead
Boston has had recently a very large
number of knock down robberies at night
between the Common and Dover street. The
papers charge that the police Of the precinct
have not reported a quarter of these cases in
order to shield themselves from blame, and
that gang of professional garroters infest
that part of the city, so that residents do not
dare venture upon the streets late in the even
ing. There is much indignation among the
citizens.
On Monday, at Greenland, n H., vii.
liam Beck, aged GO, was engaged in cutting
timber, when a heavy limb struck him on the
head, killing him instantly. He leaves q
widow and two children.
The orange groves in the section around
Mobile, Ala. were badly damaged by the late
cold snap. Around Mobile the trees are of
young growth and all have been killed
Truck farmers have lost everything The
total damage amounts to nearly 81, 900, 600
The sugar cane in southern Georgia has been
killed by the freezing weather The crop of
syrup this year and next will be short Flor
ida orange groves are reported to have suf.
fered.
MIR. Abram French, senior partner of
the weu-known Boston orockery house on
Franklin street, died suddenly Sunday even
ing at his home in Jamaica Plain.
The Boston foreign exhibition closed its
four-months' career last Saturday night with
a reputed deficit of 5000
DR.. Henry A. Dubois, a noted New Ha.
ven, Conn, physician, died recently of par
alyss, aged 49, He was lineal descendant
of jacques Dubois, the French Huguenot
who took refuge in Holland and in 1875 came
with the Dutch settlers to Kingston, N. Y.
The 10th anniversary of the ordination
of Cardinal McCloskey was celebrated at st.
Patricks cathedral on Fifth avenue, New
York, on Sunday, with all the pomp and
magnihcence peculiar to the festivals OF the
Roman Catholic church. The building was
thronged with people. The celebration in.
cluded the magnificent ceremonial of a pom
ti6oal hiph MAS XUharain savaraI biubo ms a ~