The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-11-05
The Limited Express from Chicago
Goes Through an Open Switch Into
a Stone Quarry.
The Cars Take Fire and Many Persons
HeIpleSsly Roasted to
Death.
AN OPEN SWITCH
HORRIBLE DISASTER on THE RAn.

ers Sill Of which except the rear car left the
track and went into a S2ndOanE A nre I'M
mediately broke cut IN the wreck, consum-
ing everything except the rear sleeper All
the persons in the day coach were killed or
consumed in the flames except one man and
two children named Schsrer Of NInona,
whose mother and grandmother were
burned under most distressing circum-
stances At least fourteen persons were
killed. probably more; but Il : impossible
70 give their names, SIS they 4-e unknown
NJ one IN the sleepers WAS injured pas
sengeT who was n s. sleeper has reached the
city aad gives the following account OF the
disaster:
-a-r 81 A
TIE s-sf thing Gsw zaoGs IGe Eccite2: VAS
wAsaI wzs tA-owz u E-Ls1S- lie end Of the
hs-gA ! Was SlsSs1-S a. The t-De, bat this
1hs-a1EAEy kwzka-a& - Some one s; this
yu2sz--s sa2z.e1 -Esa III PASSENGERS cut l
1s@3s5 IL sasc-5 l-vI-G-oC- olc wGs ouE Of thAi
ca u =. uA L-ckzy I wzs 81 dressed and
zae8s5 q, - u a1z5 II l. WY few seconds
EEa- IL -AZ-S sH-reZe& Bsfo-e I could reach
IL ccks2 Aeya1d IL sleerszs IL was Au On fire
ESS5a All 1Az1ss ws-s 5E-ssing through the
wIz12wx Al rCCL Creams and sbrieGs came
trel she interior. 90: We were PowerIess 20 lend
hand II saving The unfortunate ones. 4 lady
appeared a. 4 window with two children and
handed them 20 4 gentleman outside This
wZs the most touching episode l ever
Witnessed, and I never want TO see anything like
Il again. Take my children :" she cried. / am
hurt, and cannot get out" Their name is Scherer
and their home Winona. They were young
things, the elder about four years, and the
younger scarcely as many months. We put
forth our most strenuous efforts to save the
mother, but she was caught in the seat, and the
flames driving about US, we were obliged to re-
linquish our hold upon her and she fell back
into the FIRE and persisted. Oh, it was q horrible
sight. The burning coach was run together,
the top bulged up. making a sort Of an up
turned V shaped mass of ruins. The train men
and surviving passengers did everything in
their power to save the doomed inmates, but all
their efforts were without avail, not a soul ex-
cepting the two children escaping.
HEROIC ENGINEER.
The engineer of the train was the nervtest man
] ever saw. When / first noticed him blood was
oozing from his mouth and ears, but he was g27-
ing orders to the men about uncoupling tue
sleepers from the burning coach. Poor fellow,
he did his duty well. Had he not applied the
brake as soon as he saw the danger the result
would have been worse, and heaven knows it is
bad enough. TIL baggageman told me that.
when the accident occurred his stove door was
open, and that the shock threw Goals out upon
the floor. Il could easily have extinquished the
fire then, he said. but was under a trunk with
my leg broken, and was consequently power
less" The flames instantly communicated to
the coach. By this wreck 1 lost my baggage and
money, but when / think of the people in that
burning coach / say nothing.
BISHOP wHIPPLE's EXPERIENCE
The bishop described the scene as one of
the most terrible he had ever witnessed He
had witnessed the burning of the cars, and
had done all in his power to save the suf-
ferers. but without avail He and Mrs.
Whipple spent last night at the Merchants,
where many friends called to hear of their
escape. The bishop said:
When the accident occurred they had retired
to their berths. The shock was not severe. but
car just as the flames burst forth from the
wrecked passenger coach, and in a very few
moments their sleeper and all the other coaches
but Que were burning. There was no time to
save anything, and the shivering, poorly -clad
ones who had Escaped were compelled to stand
there In the cold night and watch their fellow
R RiIed wfts s tSe ero ouaa and pe ssis. a ara an af, gss
curses and vain pleadings for help. There was
the snap and crackle Of the flames, the horrible
odoro OF burning flesh, the kissing Of the steam
combined to make the horrors those Of an In
ferno.
Capt John Ames of Mortified, who was In
the wreck. describes it as the most awful
one that ever occurred In the Northwest
His story Is very graphic:
CAP AMEs' STORY.
It was between I2:20 and IL 80 last night
and / was in one of the sleepers, having boarded
the train at Milwaukee. We were d little be-
hind time and our train was running certainly
fcrty-fiye miles al hour. All Of the passengers
agree on this. just a short distance west OF Rio
o freight train had left the main track and taken
. switch. This switch was left open. The first
three solid jerks to the cars, after which The
train went about three lengths and then came
20 q dead stop. Our car porter told us there was
no Trouble Dut we got out As soon as possible:
the passenger coach had been telescoped from
four TO six feet at each end, and that fire had
broken out in II. This all within less than q
minute. Then the horrors began. We none OF us
knew how many there were In the passenger
coach, but by comparing notes W. came to the
conclusion that there were from fifteen TO TWEEN
ty-tnree. The conductor. In the shake-up. had
lost his tickets. and could not tell. but the gem
eral impression seemed TO fix on twenty-three
OF those only three escaped The first, q young
man. crawled through q hole In the top OF the
car, and there were two children belonging to
Mrs. Scherer OF Winona taken out by Mr.. Nc
ainnis OF Morris and Bishop Whipple. The
herofsm of these two men was something won
dcrful. working as they did TO save not only the
children but others. McGinnis' bravery was
unexampled- When he got out Of the sleeper.
40 found Mrs. Scherer, her mother-in-law and
her two children at one Of the windows OF the
burning coach. The two women were pinioned
down by the seats. Mrs. Scherer passed out one
OF Tho shildse. 20 AcasaSss AID Bishop srs!SS.s
got the other.
HOW'LL ROASTED TO DEATH.
They then attempted to liberate the women,
but IL was impossible. The seats held then,
firmly In and the flames drove the rescuers away,
Mrs. Scherer's clothescaught on fire and the flames
ran up toher head. There were shrieks and eroans
Tor perhaps seven minutes and then all ceased.
They were literally roasted 10 death before oul
eyes. As TO who was In that car, while we Could
not get namese we did have descriptions. and al
near as we could make out. there were two mer
from Winona; Mrs. 5cherer OF Winona, her two
children and her mother-in-law & woman about
thifty-nve years old. and = young girl OF eigh.