The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-11-02
A Limited Express Train Runs
OFF an Open Switch Into
Bank.
The Cars Take Fire and the Pas.
sengers are Roasted
Alive.
A Terrible Disaster for Which
Some One is Certainly TO
Blame.

! Ut Ca SpcNldl W bAic
ErsHiHg Wisconsin from Portage, says:
Last night soon after midnight the west
bound limited train was ditched at East
Rio siding, a small station about thirteen
miles east OF this city on the main line Of
the Chicago, Milwaukee K st. Paul rail
way. There are two sidetracks at the
place and at the time the train was due
last night both were occupied by freights
one by wild train the other By train No.
Il, Conductor III. p. Hankey, of this
city, which had just pulled in from the
west to allow the limited express to pass
No. II was very long and the conductor
was at the head of the train
RELYISG UPON BRAKEMAN
to attend to the switch. One report says
the rear brakeman, whose business IL was
to close the switch after the train, for some
reason neglected to do so. Another and
more paobable story is that
he started back to close tie switch but
before he could reach it the
limited express which does not stop at
any, except large places, came tearing
down the grade at fifty miles an hour
and left the rails at the open switch.
THE sIDINGs ARE IN A CUT
where the road curves, so that the switch
light cannot be seen from the east until
the the train is within few rods, so that
the engineer of the limited express could
not see the switch light was turued wrong
until too late to stop. The engine lett the
track and ran a short distance and brought
up against the side Of the cut topping
over the baggage car. Two regular
coaches followed while four
sleepers kept the rails. The engine and
cars that went of were badly smashed and
soon took fire from the stoves. Engineer
Little and Fireman Eagan soon crawlcd
out from under the locomotive badly
burned and scalded. The baggageman
had leg broken. All the passengers In
the sleepers got out uninjured, except
slight bruises, but in one OF the day
coaches thirteen were penned in and
BURNED To DEATH.
Many others were injured by the severe
shaking mp. The names of the victims
have not yet been made known
here. The whole train, except
one sleeper which they were able to I'M
couple and draw away was burned up.
A wrecking train with surgeons went from
this city. Ii was a most horrible and sick
ening spectacle, the roasting people making
the night hideous with their yells, while
the bystanders were unable to render any
assistance. 1t was the worst wreck ever
known In the northwest.
BISHOP wHIPPLE THERE.
| The Inter Oceans Milwaukee special says
that the report that Bishop Whipple, Of
Minnesota. was on the train that was
wrecked near Portage last night, caused
considerable of a stir among that gentle
mans friends in this city. II he was on
the train, however, he was undoubtedly Oh
one of the sleepers and escaped. The train
was composed of one baggage car, one
mail car, one passenger coach and three
sleepers. The mail car was in charge
of John Bosch, of Plainheld,
who with his FIVE men escaped, though
badly bruised. They got all the valuable
mail out before the car burned, sixty bags
of papers were destroyed. OF the passen-
gers in the day coach
ALL persisted EXCEPT TWO
small children of G. r. Scherer, of Winona,
Minnesota. Mrs. Schere and her mother
in-law, Mrs. Rosena Johns were in the car
and persisted but were able to push the
children out through a window to the out
siders. The children were sent home.
The coach Contained about twenty
people, and the momentum of the sleepers
behind il raised the center of it up like
letter ga :" when the bottoms came together
smashing everything to pieces and pinning
the people down with the seats. General
Manager Mills, who went out to the scene
of the accident at four o'clock t6is morn
ING. returned al four o'clock this afternoon.
The correspondent saw him when he
reached his office. He said, In response to
a question, that he had but little informa-
ton to give beyond what had already been
given. He believed that twelve persons
lost their lives in the wreck. OF these he
had been able 10 get but
FEW NAMES.
There was Mrs. Scherer and her mother
in-law, Mrs Rosina Johns.
Their two children were saved. The
Door mother, almost enyeloped, thought OF
her children first and succeeded in pushing
them out of the window. There were tSo
women wearing the garb of nuns, both OF
whom persisted. One was Mother Supe-
rior of some convent. Information receiv-
ed here leads to the belief that she was a
Mother Superior of a convent at New Castle
in Fon DuLac county. The order is known
as the third of Franciscan Sisters. A
merchant at whose store the sister bought
goods says
!, THERE wERETHREE OF THEM
and that they had their packages taken to
the depot to go upon the night train to
DUPONT. =
THE OTHER VICTIMS
whose names Major Miller had, were
Louis Brinker, of Ashland, and Emil
Waldersdof, a merchant of Columbus, Wis.
consin. The only man who es-
|, capped from the burning car wa:
, DIR. Smith, Of Chicago If the merchant
is correct about there being three instead
of two sisters, who were going on the train
There should be added one to Mr.. Millers
a Az .intinns making In ALL thirteen.