Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-11-03

was too late. She was dead. l shall
never forget that scene and the scene which
followed. Slowly the fire consumed that
old ladys corpse. We could see the flames
mounting higher and higher. 1t was
CHASTITY sight and seemed to hold one spell
bound. Soon the body was a blackened
and shapeless mass, and there it hung out
OF the fast burning window until the neck
parted and the head fell into the burning
grass beneath. Not five minutes had pass
ed since the accident occurred when the en-
tire train, save the last sleeper, was roar
ing flame. Every voice in the fated coach
was hushed in death. | never before wit
messed such rapid spread OF flame. The
blaze illumined the woods for miles around.
The very gra SIS cracked and snapped and
the telegraph poles were burned to their
height"
J. r. Stonesipher, of GAINESVILLE, o., ar
other passenger who was on a sleeper, says:
Il ran forward and there saw the most ter
rible 81 hit have ever witnessed. The pas
senger car was crushed as If it were an egg
shell, and / saw human beings writing IN
intense agony in it. In the corner near me
were three women, damned in the wreck,
and wholly unable to extricate them
selves. The coach was burning fierce
ly., There were men there besides my
SELF one of whom had an ak and ham
mer, trying to liberate them. Another
went to the fence to get board. | had no
tools of any kind to help them out. tried
to help them out, and got hold OF one OF
them, but could not do anything. About
this time | saw q NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
gentleman coming up with an ak. He com
menced cutting on the car. L then ran
back to the sleeper. When I got back the
women were dead. The gentleman who
was making such frantic efforts to save the
victims, / learned, was Bishop Whipple.
When I first got to the car the women
seemed to be in perfect health,
only they were fastened SO they
couldn't SET out. They were wringing
their hands piteously and calling on God to
help them. In few minutes they were
dead Everything took place in SO short a
time. The whole cars seemed to burn like
finder. The children who were taken from
the burning car escaped being wedged in,
perhaps by being on their mothers lap.
They were handed over the car, the top OF
which was knocked off, and saved"
Amos Black, OF Chicago. who was one OF
the passengers on the train, says: Il had
lust retired in one of the lower berths OF the
first sleeper, when was startled by blast
from the whistle of our locomotive. The
next instant heard crash and felt our car
sway on the rails. l leaped from my berth
and hurried out of the car in my under
clothes. The night was intensely dark, and
spot where I saw the forward cars piled
upon each other I beheld a terrible
spectacle. Leaping through the crevices
of the broken coaches were dozen
tongues of fire, and from within
the kissing, roaring furnace [ could
hear the cries of the imprisoned passengers.
There was one woman in particular who
aroused my sympathy. She was quite
aged and was apparently accompanied by
| WI n wa q several
When the old lady saw she could not pos
| sibly escape from the wreck she bent all her
| energies toward saving her companion.
| Selling her by the waist the old lady en-
| deavored to thrust her form through hole
in the car, and failing in this she tried to
enlarge the aperture by gathering out a
| panel with the back OF q seat. 1t was OF
| no avail, however, and a few minutes
| later both fell back into the flames, and 1
| did not see them again"
A CHASTITY SPECTACLE.
The removal of the blackened and charred
| trunks from the wreck was CHASTITY spec
| tacle. The body of q man whose arms and
! legs had been burned off and whose dis
| torted face still bore evidence of the terri
| BILE agony he had suffered before death came
to his relief was identified as Louis Brinker,
| of Columbus. Emil Woltersdorf, a gentle
man from the same city, was found under
| pile of iron rods and trCsses. Had it not
been for a ring which he wore upon one OF
| his fingers tits doubtful If his identity would
ever have been known. His head was
burned to O cinder, and very particle OF
clothing on his body had been destroyed.
| The charred bodies OF two women, sup
! posed to be Franciscan Sisters, from Mil
waukee, were picked up close together near
the rear of the coach. One of them was
found in kneeling posture, with her hands
! clasped upon her breast, as though death
had overtaken her while engaged in prayer.
The body OF man, who is believed to be
Walter Scott, was found under a seat. His
name was written on his collar, which,
strange to say, had not been touched by
the fire. It is not known where the I'M
fortunate man resided.
After the bodies had been removed from
the wreck search was made for the jewelry
and coins which were carried by the vic
| tins. A hatful OF these ghastly relics were
picked up during the day. Among them
were two amethyst earrings, six gold
watches, necklace, two onyx crosses and
Sc or 81 in specie. All these are in the
hands of Coroner Allen, and it is hoped
they may lead to the Identification of sew
eral of the victims.
| A force OF men was engaged, last night, in
raking over the ruins of the burned coach.
es. At il o'clock the charred remains OF
eleven victims had been taken out. In the
waist-coat pocket of one was found a
memorandum book, partly burned and on
one half page was thefollowing: 81. Tourin
| Lincoln, 2 Forty -ninth Street, Chicago
| H."
DIAGRAM OF EAST RIO TRACKS.