St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-10-29
BISHOP wHIppLE,s ACCOUNT.
Graphic Account Of the Burning
of the assenger Coach-.The
Bishop Uuinjureu


Bishop Uninjured.
The passengers On the wrecked train
were furnished other cars after wait of q
few hours and taken back to Watertown
junction, thence up to Madison, and then
to Portage and the train arrived in St. Paul
about 8 o'clock. Several of the passengers
came to st. Paul. among them being Bishop
Whipple and wife. j. T. James of North
field, and c. P. Maginnis, of Morris.
Several of them were interviewed by
GLOBE reporter last evening. Bishop
Whipple gives most graphic account of
the accident. and the terrible death of the
passengers in the day coach.
"a freight train reached Rio about twenty
minutes before the limited train which was
wrecked" said Bishop Whippie, land the
switch had been left open. Our train was
going at the rate of forty-ive miles
an hour. so the train officials
said and the courage and bravery of the eu-
gineeT cannot be praised too highly. He
staJ ed with the engine and | never knew an
air brake TO be set SO quickly and strongly
as that one was Our train wss composed of
an engine, mail and baggage car, day
coach and three sleepers. and all except the
sleepers went OF the track and took fire i'm
mediately. was in the first sleeper and had
the oerth IN the end next the day
Vi -,
was in the berth opposite me. The instant Of
the shock he sprang from the berth ana ran
to the front end OF the car, but it was impos-
sible to get out at that end, for that end had
telescoped. He rushed back and cried out,
Come and help me save these people who are
BEING BURNED TO DEATH
had been awake but few minutes before
and had looked at my watch. Ii was 1890
o clock. 1 followed Maginnis in nv stock
ing feet. He ran faster than I,
and when / came to the burning coach
she had taken out two children of a woman
near the rear of the coach. She said her
name was Shearer, of Winona. and asked him
to save her children, for their father was
living. We both tried to lift the woman from
the car, but we could not, for she was wedged
in beneath the broken seat. In d moment
after we reached her, ner dress took fire and
she tainted. and was burned to death
before our eyes. There was compare
lively little screaming coming from
the car, but there was rather the
low moan of suffering, and / believe that
most of those who persisted were killed out
right. The car was teleScoped at both ends.
Dir. Ames, who was on the train saw the
passengers in that coach, and so did nv wife,
and they think there were seventeen. There
were two sisters of charity who boarded the
train and were bound for Winona: there
was mother and her daughter, whose
names are unknown, three young men, a
middle-aged man. Mrs. Shearer, her mother and
two children, man that got on at Columbus,
two men who boarded the car at WatertoWn
Junction and Mr.. Clarke, who climbed out at
the top. He and the two children were saved;
all the others were burned to death.
In about an hour and half, Mr. Collins,
superintendent of that division, arrived from
Milwaukee and Phillip Langley and Mr..
BOyden, of the company, were on the train
and everything was done that could be done
for the comfort of the passengers who were
left. The
LADIES ON THE TRAIN
were especially kind in caring for the two
motherless children; one was q little girl
about years old and the other a baby-a
little boy. The passengers in the sleeping
cars had some slight bruises but none were
seriously injured. The clerks in the mail car
saved about two-thirds Of what they had, Sc
curing most of the letters, out about ton
and quarter, chiefly papers, was burned"
Bishop Whipple said that for himself he
was in good condition. though the excite
ment had affected him somewhat Other
passengers say that Bishop Whipple was
among the most active and cool-headed of
all the passengers and did gallant service
in trying to save the poor women who we're
being burned to death, not ceasing his eff
forts until the flames drove him away.