The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-10-30
ITHERAILROAD HOLOCAUST
TWENTY PERSONS NON KNOWN
TO HAVE
Perished In the Flames Of the Burn.
ing Train Near Portage City,
W.S., On Wednesday.

MILWAUKEE,, WIS, October 90
Though a mass of brui;es and con-
fined to his bed, Conductor Sfarle, Of
the i'll fated train that was wrecked
and destroyed at Rio, was better to-
day. He will recover. This alter
noon he talked freely. What he re-
calls of the passengers in the coach
whose occupants were cremated is
important as having bearing In es-
tablishing the minimum number
killed, and ia aiding 10 fix their
identity. He remembers aud can de-
scribe seveDtC en- people, and Knows
that there were more in the coach, so
that it was evident that the fatality
must have been at least twenty, and
probab'y more. Among those whom
he describes are Mrs. @. Scherer, OF
Winona, her children and mother-in-
law, Mrs. K. Jones; two Sisters OF
Charity, bound for Winona; Louis
Brinker and Emil Woltersdorf, Of
Columbus, Wis; two women who
cot on at Chicago, one with a
child; Charles Smith, who escaped;
an unknown man of about 40. who
bearded the train at Watertown, and
who WIS bound for Mauston, Wis. /;
man with q ticket for Saltwater,
Mimi; three loggers, ticketed for
Wseuau, probably to go 10 work in
the pineries. This list does not in
clude novitiate who accompanied
the Catholic sisters, nor Walter Scott,
IT. Lincoln, Mrs. O. M. Mohr, of
Rock Island; the commercial traveller,
Dibble, or Mrs. Lowry, OF Milwaukee.
The latter is probably mistake, as
no such person is known here. There
Is little doubt that the three pinery
men, whose presence on the car Con.
ductur Sesrle recalled today for the
first time, perished. He had left them
but a few MINUTES before curled up
asleep on the benches. The identity
OF the Catholic sisters was fully estsb-
lshed today, Mother Alexis,
superior OF a Franciscan convent
at Winons, Mimi, was not one OF
them as at frat reported. The vic
Tins were memb rs OF her convent,
however. One YVES Sister Alphonse,
assistant to Mother Alexia, and well
known in Catholic circles throughout
the Northwest; another WAS Sister
Dionesca. They were accompanied
by Albertine Schmidt, of New Cdssel,
Wis who was a candidate f)r orders.
A Portage dis, a'ch says; The work
of identifying the dead is prog yessing
slowly. The body Of a man whose
| legs and arms had been burned of and
whose distorted face bore evidence Of
the terrible agony he bad suffered wee
identified IS Louis Brincker. The
body of Emil Waltersdorf was found
under pile of rods and trusses. Hif
head was burned to cinder and ey-
cry particle of clio hing had been de;
stroyed. The remains we're identified
by ring found on one Of
his fingers The bodies Of
Sisters Aiphouse and Dionesca were
found close together. One was in q
kneeling posture with her handf
casped as though death overlook her
while engaged in prayer. The body
OF man who is supposed to be Wal
ter Scot was removed from under 6
seat. His name was written on hi
collar, which strange to say, had mo-
been touched by the flames. AS fas'
as the bodies were removed from thu
wreck they were taken to the village
of Rio, where Coroner Allen and thu
District Attorney had summoned {
jury preparatory TO holding the in
quest. After the bodies had been re
moved from the wreck search wal
made for articles that had been worI
and carried by the victims that nigh
be OF service to show who had per
ished. A hattul OF these ghastl.
relics were picked up.