Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-10-30
BURNED TO DEATH.
Turtner Particulars of the Railroad
oaiamity In the west-Seventeen Peo.
pie Believed to Have Been Lost.

Our tram was going at the rate of forty five
miles an hour, so train officials say, and the
courage and bravery OF the engineer cannot
be praised too highly. He STAYED with the
engine, and have never known an air brake
10 De set up so quickly and strongly
as that one was. l was in the frst
sleeper and had berth in the
end next to the day coach. The in-
slant OF the shock passenger in the berth
opposite me sprang from the berth and ran to
the front end of the car, but it wa. impss.i-
Die to get out at that end, for it had teles-
COPIED. He rushed back and cried out Come
and help me save these people who are being
burned to death" l had been awake but a
few minutes before, and had looked at nv
watch. 1t was 1890. | followed the man
In my stocking feet. He ran faster than [,
and when | came to the burning coach be
mad taken two children from woman near
the rear of the coach. She SAID her name
was Sherer, of Winona, and asked him to
save her children for their father was liv-
Ing. We both tried to lift the woman
from the car, but we could not for she was
wedged beneath broken seats moment
after we reached her her dress took fire and
she tainted and was burned to death before
our eyes. There was comparatively little
screaming coming from the car but there vas
rather the low moan of suffering and be-
lieve most of those who perished were killed
outright. The car was teescoped at both
ends. Mr.. Ames who was on the train saw
the passengers in that coach and so did my
wife and they think there were seventeen.
There were two sisters of charity who board
ed the train and were bound for Winona.
There was mother and daughter whose
names are unknown, three young men,
i
two children, a man that got on at Colum-
bus. two men that boarded the car
at Watertown Juction and man who climb
ed out at the tod. He and the two children
were saved. The others were burned to death.
In about an hour aud half Mr.. Collins, su-
perintendeat OF that division, arrived from
Milwaukee, and Phillip Longley and Mr..
Bayden of the company, were on the train
and everything was done that could be done
for the comfort of the passengers who were
left. Ladies on the train were especially
kind in caring for tine two motherless chill
dren. One was little girl about four years
old, and the other little boy baby. Passen-
gers in the sleepers had some slight bruises
but none were seriously injured"
CHICAGO, Oct 30.
Mr.. Peter, an Englishman, who survived
the accident to the limited train on the Mil
waukee & St. Paul railroad, described the
disaster as follows l was partially awake
when the accident happened. The train
must have been running at a high rate OF
speed. The first sound was that of an indes-
cribable crash, | can only liken 1t to the
swapping of numberless timbers with the
rapidty of a fusilade. Then heard woe
full appalling wall, the combined appeal and
despair of many voices. Before | could
IL, a IL
next ahead of US flashed in the vestibule of
our sleeper. In three minutes the three
sleepers were empted of passengers. When
alighted the day coach was ablaze in every
part. In another minute the flames bad
spread both ways, and | was out of my car
Just in time to see woman, her body half
within and half without the burning coach,
hand child to man, epJoining him as she
did so to 'tSave the child for its dear fathers
sake" Two men struggled to pull the wo-
man out of the window, but her limbs were
fixed in the wreck and / saw the poor crea-
ture burned to crisp. Meanwhile we
caught glimpses of others through the brakes
of the blazing wreck and heard moans down
to the last audible sound; but we were pow
erless to help the victims for the heat was So
fierce that no one could stand within hun
dred feet of the line of the fire. The porters
threw blankets and bedding from the sleep
ers until they were driven so closely by the
flames. that one had to tumble headfirst out
of one of the windows. The crew from one
of the side tracked trains attached locomo-
tive to the rear sleeper and tried to pull the
cars away to place of safety, but the coup
ling being bent, the cars could not be moved
without dragging the burning coach and so
only the rear sleeper was successfully de-
tached. The blaze lighted up the whole
neighborhood, and grass and fences and tel
egraph poles near by were on fire."
MILWAUKEE, Wis, Oct 30.
Conductor Seare of the ill fated train that
was wrecked and destroyed at Rio, though
badly hurt and confined to his bed, wa. bet
ter today. He will probably recover. He re-
members and can describe seventeen people
who were cremated in the coach and know
there were more in the car, so that it is evil
dent the fatalities must have been twenty and
probably more. Among those whom be de-
scribes are Mrs. Scherer of Winona, her
children and mother-in-law, Mrs. X. Jones {;
two sisters of charity bound for Winona L.
Brinker and Emil Woltensdorf of Columbus,
Wis, two women who got on at Chicago, one
with a child; Charles Smith, who escaped /;
an unknown man about 40, who boarded the
train at Watertown, and who was bound for
Mauston, Wis, and man with a ticket for
Wausau.
This list does not include Walter Scott, j
T. Lincoln, Mrs. c. N. Mahr of Rock Island,
Commercial Traveller Dibbleor. Mrs Low
rey of Milwaukee, the latter is probably a
mistake, as no such person is known here
There is little doubt that the three pinery
men, whose presence on the car Conductor
Sesrle recalled for the first time, perished
He had left them but few minutes before
curled up asleep on the benches, The ident-
ity of the sisters were fully established today.
Mother Alcxia, superior of Francis convent
at Winona was not one of them as reported
The victims were members of her convent
however, one was Sister Alphonse, assistant
to Mother Alexi, and well known in Catholic
circles throughout the northeast, another was
Sister Dionoso, they were accompanied by
Albertine Schmidt, of New Cassel, Wis, who
was candidate for orders. Portage des-
patch says: The work of identifying the dead
is progressing slowly.
The body of man whose arms and legs
had been burned of and whose disturbed face
fed as Louis Grencker.
The body of Emil Woltersdorf was found
under pile of rods and trusses. His head
was burned to q cinder and every particle of
clothing had been destroyed. The remains
were identified by means OF a ring found on
one of his fingers. The bodies of the sisters
were found close together. One was in
kneeling position with her hands clasped as
though death overlook her while praying.
The body of man supposed to be Walter