Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1886-10-30
TERRIBLE RAILROAD ACCIDENT
The Horrible Nangling, Cutting and
Burning OF Men, Women
and Children.
TERRIBLE RAILROAD ACCIDENT.

TERRIBLE RAILROAD ACCIDENT.
Thirteen Passengers Burned to Death In
the Cars. -.
MILWAUKEE, October 2S.-The limited
passenger train on the Chicago, Milwaukee
4 st. Paul Railway which left here last
night at 10 o'clock was derailed at Rio,
when about three hours out, and thrown
into an old stone quarry. The particulars
are hard to get, but it is admitted at the
general Office of the company in this city
that one coach and the sleepers were
wrecked, and five or six persons killed be-
sides the engineer. Physicians left this city
on the early train for the..scene. Conductor
Searle, at first reported killed, was only
slightly hurt. A passenger who was on the
wrecked train says the scenes after the &C.
cident were narrowing. The passenger
coach, which he says contained between
fifteen and twenty persons, was telescoped
at both ends, and the fire and smoke that
enveloped the wreck prevented the impris-
oned and injured passengers from escaping.
The passengers from the sleepers gathered
around the blazing cars, but they were
PowERLEss TO RENDER ASSISTANCE.
Men and women could be seen tearing
their hair in the agony of the moment, and
friphtened screams issued from the burning
death-trap. One heavy woman in particu-
lar, he says, tore up one of the seats with
almost superhuman strength and endeav-
ored to break her way out OF the flaming
pyre, but her strength failed her and she
fell to the floor and
nrr A uORRlRTE r. DEATH
Only three persons escaped from the car,
Mr.. Lowenbach says-a man and two chill,
dren. The man was observed, as he forced
his wav through the ventilator on top oi
the car, with all the clothing on his body
from the waist downward burned off, and
his flesh roasted and bleeding from the cuts
inflicted by the broken glass. All of the
wrecked cars were consumed with the ex.
ception of the last sleeper, which was cut
away from the burning wreck. All OF the
bodies of the victims we're burned in the
wreck.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
The Evening Wisconsin's special from
Portage, Wisconsin, says: Last night,
soon after midnight. the West-bound linn
tied express was ditched at East Rio Sid
ing, q small station about thirteen miles
East of this city, on the main line OF the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad.
There are two side tracks at that place,
and at the time the train was due there
last night both were occupied by freights,
one by q v lid train and the other by train
No. IA, Conductor H. p. Hankey, OF this
city, which had just pulled in from the West
to allow the limited to pass. No. IA was
verv long, and the conductor was at the
head of the train, relying on the brakemen
to attend to the switch. One report says
the rear brakeman, whose business it y as
to close the switch after the train, for some
reason neglected altogether to do so. An.
other and more probable story is that he
started back to close the switch, but before
he could reach it the limited, which does
not stop at any but the largest places,
came tearing down the grade at the rate oi
fifty miles an hour and left the rails at the
open switch. The siding is in a cut, where
the road curves SO that the switch-light
caDnot be seen from the East until the
train is within few rods, so the engineer
of the limited could not see the switch-light
turned the wrong way till too late to stop
The engine left the track and run a short
distance and brought up against the sida
of the CUT toppling over. The baggage Cal
and two regular coaches followed, while
four sleepers kept the rails. The engine and
cars that went off were badly smashed and
soon took fire from the stoves. Engineer
Little and fireman were bruised and scalded.
The baggageman had his leg broken. All
passengers in the sleepers got out uninjured
except slight bruises, but in one day coach
thirteen were pinned in and
L1rERLLY BURNED TO DEATH.
Many others were injured by the severe
shaking up. The names OF the victims are
not vet known here. The whole limited
excepting one eleeper, which they were able
to u .lcouple and draw away, burned up
Superintendent Collins was on the east
bound passenger, No. 2. which was waitil {
at the station few miles this side OF the
wreck fer the limited and was soon on thu
scene. The wrecking train with surgeons
went from this city and did all possible tt
alleviate the suffering and save life. Con
ductor Honkey of the freight train was 81
demoralized by the accident, the RESPONSE
bility of which rests on his crew and thu
also on him, that he took to the woods IL
despair, leaving the train. He has Away
been a most careful and efficient man ant
much trusted by the company. 1t was
most horrible and sickening spectacle, tn
burning people making the night hideou
with their screams, while the bystander
were unable to render assistance. 1t wal
the worst wreck ever known in the North
west.
STILL ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
MuwAuKEE, October 2S.-A dispatch t.
the Evening Wisconsin from Rio, the seen
of last nights railroad accident, says: Tn
limited train ran through an open swltc
and plunged into q sand bank. The mai
baggage and day coach we're piled on to
OF It. In the day coach there were twelv
or thirteen persons, and one man anu tw
children were the only ones saved, tn
Others burned in the car. The man wh
esca ped had an arm broken and WIS othe
wise bruised. He is now at Columbus an
is doing well. A woman whose home ls
Winona
HANDED HER TWO CHILDREN
out of a window and burned to death
the car. Louis Brinker and Emil Walter
derf. of Columbus, Wisconsin, are amol
the dead. The names and residences
the others cannot now be ascertaine
The coroner is holding inquest on Il
charred trunks of bodies, all that is left
: the ill.fated travellers. The burning OF ba
gage obliterates the only clue to the lde
titv of occupants of the burned car. and
NAV never be known to Il certainty nc
many perished in the wreck.
From the most reliable accounts obtai
able tonight, the number who.perlsh
2 does not exceed ten and these were all
the passenger coach next to the bagga
car. The only occupants who escap
were two children, whose mother. Mrs. q.
Sherer. of Winona. handed them out to
/. brakeman. Mrs. Sherer was pinned do'
: by a seat and already in flames. The r.
: cuers hands
WERE BURNED TO CRISP.
None of the charred remains can be i'd
tilted As far as learned tonight the
>, who perished are: Mrs. G. K. Scherer,
= Winona, Minn.. Mrs. r. John, OF Winor
= Lewis Bunker, residence unknown; you
- woman believed to- be Mrs. George
Mari, of Chicago-her identity, however
verv uncertain; Emil Waltersdorf, re
J. dence unknown; five or more unkno
% persons; two sisters OF charity, one
- iieved to be Mother Alexia, Superior OF
y. convent at Winona. who w0s in Milwaul
4 to establish convent.
The injured includes Conductor Luc
Searle, of Milwaukee, badly hurt about
chest. but probably not fatally. W.
Clark, baegageman, leg broken; Chas.
,, smith, SIG Wabash Avenue, Chlca
a broken arm and wrist. face cut badly
10 broken spectacles; J. Phillips, brakem
r, cut badly about the head. No passens
ID in any of the sleepers were killed. c
er ductor Searle was in the baggage car WI
er the shock occurred with the baggagen
and Phillips the brakeman. He was pen
a1n f<N