Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-10-29
THIRTEEN DIE BY FIRE.
FLAMES FOLLOW A COLLISION
ON THE RAILS.

Shrieks Amid the FiSmes-An Open
Switch the Cause of the Crash.
PORTAGE. Wis, Oct. 2S.--Soon after
midnight last night the west-bouud linn
tied train was ditched at East Rio siding, a
small station about 10 miles east OF this
city, on the main line OF the Chicago, Mil
waukee and st. Paul railroad. There are
two side tracks at the place, and at the
time the train was due there last night
both were occupied by freights, one by a
wild train and the other by train No. IL,
Conductor II. Z. Halkey. OF this city,
which had just pulled in from the west
to allow the limited to pass.
AN OPEN SWITCH.
No. IA was very long and the conductor
was at the head of the train, relying upon
he brakeman to attend to the switch.
One report says the rear brakeman, whose
business it was to close the switch after
the train, tor some reason neglected alto
gether 10 do so. Another and more proba-
bic story is that he started back to close
the switch, but before he could reach II
the limited, which does not stop at any
place except large places, came tearing
down the grade at fifty miles an hour and
left the rails at the open switch.
IN wi ON n COkNEs
The siding is in a cut where the road
curves so that the switch light cannot be
seen from the east until the train is within
a few rods of it. so the engineer OF the
| limited train could not see the swiIc
| light turned wrong until IL was too late
| TO stop. The engine eft the track, ran a
| short distance and brought up against the
| side OF the cut, topping over. Tue bag
| gage car and two regular coaches fol.
lowed, while four sieepers kept the rails.
| The engine and cars that went of were
badly smashed, aud soon took fire from
stoves.
THIRTEEN BURNED TO DEATH.
Engineer Little and Fireman Egan
! rawled out from under the locomotive,
badly bruised and scalded.
The baggage man bad leg broken.
All the passengers in the sleepers got
| out uninjured except slight bruises. but
| in one day coach thirteen were pinned in
and literally burned to death. Many
others were injured by the severe
| shaking.
Toe whole train, excepting one sleeper,
which they were about to uncOuple and
draw away, was burned up.
AID NEAR AT HAND.
Superintendent w. g. Collins was on
| the east-bOund passenger No. which vas
waiting at the station, few miles this
| side of the wreck, for the limited, and was
! soon on the scene. A wrecking train with
surgeons went from this city and did all
possible to alleviate the suffering and 10
save lives.
Train No. was obliged to back up 20
this city and go over the Northwestern
railroad TO Milwaukee via Horizon,
Beaver Dam and Fox Lake. The same
route has been used by trains to-day, as
| the wreck Is not cleared
Conductor Hankey, of the freight train,
| was so demOraliZed by the accident, the
respous biity Of which rests on his crew
and thus also on him, thai he took to the
woods in despair, leaving his train. He
has always b gu most careful and eff
Client man, and much trusted by the COM
| pany. 1t was a most horrible and SICK
ening spectacle, the roasting people
making the mig ut hideous with their wells,
| while the bystanders were unable to rem
| der assistance. Jt was the worst wreck
ever known in the Northwest.
SURVIVORS, STORY.
| MILWAUKEE, Oct. 2S.-B. Loewep bach.
! a job printer of this city, was on the
wrecked train. tie says the scenes after
the accident were narrowing. The pas
senger coach, which he says cont aimed
between ID and 20 persons, was telescOpe d
at both ends, and the fire and smoke that
|
prlsoned and injured passengers from
escaping. The passengers from the Sleep
ers gathered around the blazing cars but
| we've powerlesS to render assistance.
Men and women could be seen tearing
| their hair IN the agony of the moment,
and frightful screams issued from the
death trap. One heavy woman in particu-
lar, he SAYS, tore no one of the seats with
| almost superhuman strength and endeav-
| n hIn n he mi ~
pyre, but her strength tailed and she fell
to the floor and met horrible death.
| Only three persons escaped from the pas
serger car. Mr.. Lowenbach says, man
and two children. The man was observed
as he forced his way through the ventla-
tor on top OF the car with all the clOthiug
on his body from the waist downward
burned off and his flesh roasted and bleed
ing from cuts inflicted by broken glass
Every one OF the wrecked cars We're con.
sumed, with the exception OF the last
| sleeper, which was cut away from The
burning wreck. All the bodies OF the VIC.
TINS were burned in the wreck.
THE VALUABLE MAIL SAVED.
The mail car was in charge OF John
| Beerch, of Plaintield, who with his five
men escaped, though badly bruised. They
| got all the valuable mail out before the
ar burned. Sixty bags Of papers were
| destroyed. VI the passengers in the daY
coach all persisted except two small
children ofC. K Scherer, oi WinOna, MINI,
Mrs. Z. K. Scherer and her mother-in
law, Mrs. ROsina Johns, were in
the car and persisted, but were
able to put the children out throu III
window TO outsiders. The children
were sent home. The coach contain ed
about 90 people. The momentum Of the
sleepers behind it raised the centre up
like the letter A. When the bottoms came
together they smashed everything Ia
pieces and pinned the people down with
the seats. General Manager Miller, who
went out TO the scene of the accident at
O'Clock this morning. returned at 4o'clock
this afternoon. He said, IN response 10 a
question, that he had little inf rmatlon o.
give beyond what had alre ady been gwen
He believed that II persons lost their lives
in the wreck.
SOME OF THE VICTIMS.
or these he had been able to get but few
names. Those were Mrs. Scherer, Of wi.
mona, and Mrs. Rosiua johns, OF the same
place. There were two women wearing
the garb OF nuns, both OF whom bad
passes. One was the Mother Superior OF
some convent. lnoi nation received here
leads 10 the belief that she was the
Mother Superior OF the convent at New.
castle, IN Fon du Lac county. The order
is known as the Third Order of Francis
can sisters. A merchant at whose store
the Sisters bought goods SAYS there
were three of them. and that