The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-10-01
FATAL CARELESSN ESS.
Fearful Collision Of Two Freight
Trains.
Both Engineera KILLED and . Large Num-
her q Cattle Perish-The Wreck
Takes Fire and Mae Carr Are
Destroyed.

KANSAS CRY, Mo-, Sept 2a.-The most
frightful wreck which has occurred on any
railroad in this vicinity for . long time
happened in dead Mans CUT on the
Missouri Pacific railroad. nineteen miles
east of Kansas City, about 4:30 o'clock
yesterday morning. Two freight trains
came together with . terrific crash In q
head collision, and both engineers were
horribly mangled and instantly killed. The
cars were piled On top OF each other in q
mass twenty-five feet high and the wreck
caught fire Immediately. Ono of the trains
Was loaded with cattle, and about ninety
head were killed outright or burned by the
fire. and two cars Of wheat and one
Of ice on the other train were
destroyed. In the opinion Of Chief
Hale the loss will foot up almost
100000. The accident was caused by the
carelessness Of the operator at Greenwood,
who reported to the dispatcher that tile east
bound train had not passed his station,
when in fact 1t had gone by. The east
bound train. No. 2s. was in charge of Con.
ductOr F. NJ. Mount Engineer Jamea
oOWbCt 0iu hCtu0l IL Ts AtCOtus ~ COlle
sisted of eighteen cars Of grain and general
merchandise. The west bound train con.
sisted of twenty-five cars loaded with cat
tie, in charge Of Conductor Rothaker. En-
gineer j. II. Lighter and Fireman j. w.
Calfus.
HOW IT OCCURRED.
The west bound train had orders to run
to Lees Summit TO pass the east bound.
n Ianfco,, tho NIGHT nrorotnr rU1,,-
wood. had been asked concerning the east
bound freight and he reported that 1t had
not passed his station. 1t Is supposed that
he had been asleep when he was called up
md that the east bound freight had passed
without his knowledge. The run to Lees
Summit was long one for the west bound
train and Engineer D0wler put q full head
of steam on and at the time the accident
occurred was pushing his engine forward at
the rate of fifteen miles an hour. The
ether train had slight grade to overcome,
but the time she was making was fully
twelve miles an hour. dead Mans
Curve" Is quite deep cut with a
rock embankment nearly thirty. five feet high
Oh one side and similar one ten feet high
on the other side. The curve Is the sharp.
est on the road, and In the daytime trains
can not be perceived coming round It dis.
lance Of over forty feet. 1t has always
been regarded as one Of the most danger
Gus places on the road, and Its name was
significant of wreck and disaster. The cut
received its name on account OF man who
died of Asiatic cholera during the war hav.
ing been buried on the spot Some years
since dreadful accident occurred at the
place and the railroad men feared the spot.
The engineer on the )west bound train
was running under orders to pass the other
freight at Blue tank, and lie was making
speed for that point, supposing the east
bound freight was sidetracked there wait.
Ing for him. The night was quite dark and
both men we're keeping sharp lookout as
they went into the curve, but the first init.
nation either had of danger was when the
headlight OF each approaching engine swept
into view from around the curve. Both
men reversed and threw back the throtIIes
and whistled the shrill signal of danger. En-.
gineer DOwler and his fireman both leaped
from the cab at once. The forward brake.
man was on the tender and he leapcd OF
at about the same time. AlcOri,, the fire.
man, jumped to the side on which is tile
lower embankment and succeeded in
getting out of danger, and the brake
man also got out of the way.
bowler, however, tried for his lie
Oh the other side. and was clambering up
the steep and rocky bank when he lost his
hold and fell just as the trains came to-
gether and with them was buried. Tho
engineer Of the west bound train. j. II.
Lighter. was equally unfortunate. He per.
formed his duty like hero aud called to
his fireman, J. W. Calfus, to leap for his
life, and attempted to leap out of the cab.
lie stuck to his post moment too long,
and at the crash lie was unable to clear tie
engine, and was buried together with his
brother engineer beneath the wreck. Cal.
fus, the fireman, narrowly escaped with his
life, being partially buried by the piling up
of the cars. He was badly crushed and In.
jured as 1t was. Thomas Perrymal,, who
had charge of the water tank at Little Blue,
was On the vest bound train at the time,
going 10 Lees Summit. In leapipg from
the train ne broke his leE.
AwFCL SCENES.
Tho engines were '.Moguls," which weigh
eighty.0ne tons. At the high rate of speed
both were going they went together with Q
fearful crash and being 50 heavy they
crashed right through the iron and steel of
the other. The west.bound was going the
faster Of the two and It was slightly raised,
although the paris of each as they appeared
after they forced themselves together looked
"A though they were welded in one piece.
The cars If both trains piled on top of each
other over the PROSTATE engines, and A. the
deep cut prevented them from falling to
the sides they raised themselves in pyra.
mid over twenty-five feet high. Some bore
semOlance 70 cars. but the most of them
were nothing but mass Of broken timbers
and iron. The front ten cars loaded
with cattle In the west-bOund train be.
ing li,hter than the heavily loaded
grain aud Ice cars In the other train were
thrown In one unshapely mass over the
others, the timbers parting and the cattle
believing with fright With nearly fifteen
cars and the engines piled up in one I'M
shapely mass the scene beggars description.
TO add to the fearful fright and terror OF
both the men and animals the fire in the
engines SOON communicated to the cars and
In = very little while the flames had spread
and enyelOped the whole mass. There
were nearly ninety head Of cattle in the
Ears which had gone over the engines.
Part OF them had escaped from the cars
which had broken but the most of them
were roasted in the fire which soon became !
raging. Being in the deep cut there was no !
chance for the cattle getting out and they |
perished ustering the peculiar n0isss n,aLe |
~ animals In m0rtal terror.
New Ulm (Minn.) is probably the
'nly city on the continent in which
German is the official language of the
council. The mayor and
III the councilmen are Germans, and
III business is transacted in German.
dowever, the German Post, which had
'een the official organ of the council
or twenty-three years, has just coll
apsed, and every document will now
ave to be translated into English for