The true northerner., 1886-11-04
DEATH At THE SWITCH.
Frightfhl Wreck Of an Express
Train on the St Paul
Road.
The Occupants Of a Car Hemmed
In and Burned to
Death.
Twenty-six People Cremated-Eleven
Bodies ecOyered-Heartrend-
ing Scenes.
milwaukee teIegam.l


The most appalling railroad disaster that hes
ever occurred in Wisconsin resulted from the
collision shortly after midnight Of passenger
train on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St Paul
Railroad and a freight train at Rio a small
station fifteen miles this side OF Portage and
seventy-hYe miles from Milwaukee. BY the
collision il Is believed that twenty-six were
either crushed or burned TO death. while num-
Der of others were injured. Eleven charred
corpses have been taken from the wreck al
ready.
The passenger train was a lightning express
from Chicago for ST. Paul, with baggage and
mail cars, one day coach and three sleepers.
At Rio two freight trains were side-tracked TO
allow the express TO pass. One Of them had
just drawn onto the siding when the ex-
press came laundering down upon il. Either
through negligence or because there
not time to close il, the switch was
left open and the passenger train rushing
at the rate Of forty-fve miles an hour.
dashed into it and at once left the rails. The
sidings are in cut where the road curves
that the swiJch-light cannot be seen from the
east until train is within few rods the
engineer OF the limited could not see the switch
light was turned wrong until too late to stop.
The engine left the track short distance.
pling over. The baggage and express cars and
the day coach followed The sleepers did not
leave the track
The persons in the coach were imprisoned by
the telescoping of the car. Fire broke out in
the wreck and rapidly spread through the debris.
OF all those thus caught in the awful trap all
but two children perished-those who were not
killed at once by the collision dying more hor-
ribie death by fire. The wretched people,
shrieking for aid, made desperate efforts to
cape the torture of the flames, but in vain Mrs.
G. X. Scherer Of Winona, handed her children
to a brakeman through window and then fell
II victim TO the hery destroyer. The names Of
the dead so far as known are.
Mrs. G. K Schsrer, OF Winona, MINI
Mrs koS'na Johns, Of Wnona. Mimi, Mrs.
Scherer's mother-in-law.
Louis Brinker, of Columbus, Wis.
Emil Woltersdorf OF Columbus, Wis.
- Dibble, q travelling man.
Mrs. L. Lowry, of Milwaukee.
Wallace Stuart. of Columbus. Wis, aged %;
on his way TO Idaho.
In the pocket Of one dead man taken from the
wreck was an envelope addressed, u. Tourin
Lincoln, No. Forty-ninth street, Chicago, ILL.,"
One OF the victims is believed to be Mrs. George
A. Aarr, OF Chicago. Her identity is, however
uncertain. Two other bodies are those of Sis
ters Of Charity, ono Of whom is believed to be
Mother Alexia, superior OF a convent at Winona,
Mimi, who had been in Milwaukee establishing
a convent.
The injured are:
Conductor Lucius searle, Of Milwaukee,
badly hurt about chest, but probably not ia
tally.
Wade Clark Of oconomowoc. baggageman.
Charles L. Smith, SIG Wabash avenue, Chi
cago. broken arm and wrist, face cut badly by
broken spectacles.
James Phillips, brakeman. cut badly about
the head
Thomas Little, of Portage. engineer cut about
the face
No passengers in any of the sleepers were
killed. Mrs. Scherer, whose children were res
cued by brakeman from the burning car, was
pinned down by seat and could not follow her
little ones through the open window. She
already enveloped by flames. The hands OF the
man who rescued the children badly
burned.
Conductor Searle of the passenger train saws
that the occupants of the car where the fright
full incineration occurred included a woman
with n little girl of about years, another dark
haired woman with a babe less than a year old,
blonde woman of 80, who seemed TO be a COM
panion Of the former. both bound for st. Paul.
and two Sisters of Charity travelling on.a pass.
He can recall no description OF any others, but
SAYS there were not to exceed fifteen altogether.
He has lost his tickets, and SO there is no rec
ord. The burning of the baggage also hinders
the identification OF the oorpses.
District Attorney Armstrong. assisted by
Coroner Allen and force OF men, has been at
work all day at the ruins OF the wrecked train,
hunting for the remains OF the dead or 90 find
some clew to identify those who perished Up
10 q late hour tonight they have succeeded in
raking out trunks and other fragments suffi-
cient to make up eleven bodies. All the bodies
were btNned beyond recognition, and it viii be
days before the names OF all the victims are
known
Conductor Hankey OF the freight train, who
he'd TO the WOODS 1m1nedatoly after the cat0S-
trophe occurred, has been found wandering
around in raying condition. He is likely TO
become hopeless maniac
The hero of the catastrophe was the engineer,
who in the face of seeming death, held his
hand on the throttle, and thus saved the hves
OF all the passengers in the sleeper Then,
when the train stopped, he crawled out from
beneath his engine, bfeeding and alarmed the
sleepers of the danger from fire.
After the engineer escaped from his engine
he ran back TO the sleepers and warned the
porters that the other cars were on FIRE. and
that the passengers must be got out quickly.
He was covered with blood but seemed to have
no thought about himself, but only for those
the train. One of the men from the
postal car was equally helpful. He ran
to a window where he saw two women and at
tempted TO help them out but they were fast
ened down and could not be eXtricated He
took out two little children. The youngest was
taken from the arms of lady who cried out
five or six times, take my husbands only
child AS soon the child saved she
tainted, and was shortly after surrounded by
flames. One OF the passengers said he saw
three women standing up in the car, seemingly
fastened in some manner which prevented
their moving in any direction. They also were
soon surrounded by the flames, and became q
part Of the burning mass.
From all accounts there must have been n
frightful scene in the car in which the fatalities
occurred. The pressure caused the coach to as
sumo the position of the letter A. Lamps were
broken and the stove overturned, altering fire
and flames in al directions through the coach.
Mangled and bleeding. nearly all the passengers
were pinned securely by broken seats, many
heaped one upon the other. Their agonized
shrieks told the story Of fractured limbs, 70
which was added the horror Of cremation. 1t is
positive that only three escaped. Charles II.
Smith is a medical student of Chicago. His
parents live in Charles City, Iowa. Mrs. Scher-
er's two children whom she reached out OF
window as the flames surrounded her. are four
years and eight months DID, respectively.
All the coaches and cars were burned except
the last sleeper, -Nashota.- The trainmen,
with the two freight engineers, worked vigor-
ously TO save the sleepers by pulling them out
from the flames, but their positions were such
that they could only uncouple the rear coach.
Mail Agent John Beach. of Plainheld, with his
four assistants, succeeded in saving the little
mail by throwing IL outside and dragging it up
the banks from the flames. About sixty sacks
Of paper mail for Minnesota and Dakota were
destroyed. The men escaped themselves with
numerous bruises. The loss To the railroad
company is placed a $4,000.