River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-10-18
DEATH IN AWFUL FORM.
Details OF the Horrible Railway Collision
on the behigh Valley Road-Fifty-seveu
sodiss Recovered and the wounded
Number Distressing scenes.

BODIES Recovered and the wounded
Number Forty-Distressing Scenes.
WmKEsPARRE, Pa, Oct ~ The terrible
accident on the LehiRh Valley road at Mud
Kun "Wednesday night grows more horri-
bic as the details are made known. The
official reports place the number Of killed
at fifty-seven, all but ten Of whom have been
ideatitied. Il IS impossible 10 tell the mum
bor Of injured. bat the best estimates place
toe figure at forty. Twenty-Five of the
seriously wounded were brought here 70
the hospital.
The collision occurred between the fifth
and sixth sections Of an excursion train,
consisting altogether Of eight sections and
hfty-seven coaches, which were convey
ing s sos passengers from the st. Mat
thew's celebration at Hazeiton. The
hrst four sections passed Mud Run
IN safety. The fourth aud fifth sec
tons lay at Mud Run together TO let reg
ular tran pass, when the fourth section
pulled out The fifth section then ran
down to the depot ready 70 start after the
expiration Of ten Minutes the time fixed
as the division between the running OF the
excursion sections.
While it was waiting the accident oc-
Cured. The ill-fated rear car was sud.
denly illuminated by the headlight Of the
locomotive of the sixth section. and the
next instant the engine plunged its
fun length into the crowded mass
Of humanity. The shock drove the
rear car two tn rds its length
through the next which in turn was forced
into the third. Not single occupant Of
the rear car escaped. The lights were ex-
tinguished by the shock. adding darkness
to the horror Of the scene, while almost i'm.
mediately the shrieks of the injured and
the groans Of the dying arose on every
side. making the strongest heart quail
After the first shock those who were
uninjured sprang to the work Of rescue
and We're soon busy with hands and axes
releasing the injured and recovering the
dead bodies from the wreck The colliding
engine was stuck fast in the middle Of the
wreck it had caused, actually cooking
the unfortunate victims with its escaping
steam. An effort was made TO withdraw
the locomotive from the car into which it
had plunged, but the first movement
brought forth shrieks of agony from the
imprisoned victims, and the ATTEMPT had
10 be abandoned.
Many horrible sights were met by the
rescuers In one place young woman
was pin oned in such way that her leg
had to be severed with an axe in order TO
set her free A man was found with
one arm held tightly in the wreck,
while with the other he was
clasping a prattling babe. young
woman was jammed between two seats in
the agony of death, while her father lay
dying upon the smokestack of the snorting
engine
Physicians were summoned from White
haven and responded promptly. The bodies
recovered were taken to Whdehaven,
where undertakers prepared them for re
mos IN 81 h-Nnnrhf
here last evening
The scenes at the Lehigh Valley depot
here beggar all description Hundreds Of
men, women and children, all of whom had
friends or relatives on the Inflated train,
thronged the platform and waiting rooms,
anxiously waiting for news frem the scene
of the wreck The company posted bullet ms
of the dead as rapidly as dispatches We're
received, and as the names were reCog-
nized the grief of the relatives and FIR ends
was heartrending. When the funeral
train reached here a dozen policemen were
required to keep back the frantic crowd Of
friends and relatives who had come from
Scranton and Pleasant Valley to meet their
dead. A special coach had been provided for
those friends, but they insisted on entering
the cars contain ng the dead, and were
only stopped by force and the efforts of
five priests who we're on the ira II. One
body was removed from the cars al White
Barre The train then continued on its
way up the Delaware d Hudson road to
Miners's Mills ami Scranton. The people in
the special coach again began to clamor
for permission TO enter the funeral
cars, but we're again refused, it being al
legged that no one had the Keys. Several
who were in search of missing friends be-
came desperate and soon broke down the
Oh F4.s-
their loved ones. Clothes were torn from
the mangled and scalded bodies, re-
vealing the gay uniform of St ALLOW
siOus men, cadets, and other members of
societies Those who knew that their rel
atives were on ard also fiocKed into the
cars and began rearranging the attire or
coverings Of the corpses Many were dis
torted and in horrible attitudes, and
friends endeavored to lessen their fright
full appearance.
It was as the train drew up at Plea ant
Valley that the most heartrending scenes
were enacted. Ropes had been stretched
about the depot, and guards kept the i'm
mense throng back The shrieks and
screams of stricken friends and relatives
were pitiful in the extreme. TIE first BODY
carried out was that of Oscar Gibbons, ID
years Of age, borne in the arms Of his
stalwart brother; then one after another
forty-six white-sheeted bodies were ca
ried out and given into the charge pt
friends The shrieks and cries Of q
women and the hoarse shouts and impr--
cations of the men made terrible scene.
When all were out the ira again pulled
out to bear the remaining dead to Scran-
ton, MinOoka and points beyond.
As far as can be learned the blame for
the disaster seems to rest upon the engi-
neer Of the leading train, which was drawn
ov two locomotives Officials of tle
was displayed at Mud Run, and
that the rear brakeman Of the
standing train was sent back with
red light, and that he signaIed
Cook, the leading engineer Of the follow
ing train to stop, but the latter failed to
heed it and dashed by the signal Hunni-
gan the rear brakeman, corrOborates tho
latter part Of this test mony and says that
his light could have been seen half a mile
down the track
Cook, the engineer was found at HE
home in thi 5 city He was IN bed with ]
bruised ankle. He did not care to talk
about the accident but declared that ne
was reither asleep nor drunk He said
there were no air brakes on his engine,
the train brakes being controlled by the
second engine.
The loss to the Iehigh Valley Railroad
Company will be over 600 600
s s-
Over 100000 Bushels OF Grain Held at
Minneapolis Waiting TO BE Unioaded-
MISNEAPoLIs. MINI, Oct. - There has
been a wheat blockade in tls city since
Tuesday There are /, 80 cars on track
here waiting to find place to be unloaded.
The blockade is troublesome, and the
Manitoba and Milwaukee roads are said
to be holding back cars in the
country. loaded with wheat, TO keep them
out Of a snarl here. The ], 80 cars block
AIDED represent $3.50 bushels Of whe AT
with re back of it to be rushed IN
here as fast as room can be made. Now
that wheat has declined, il is expected that
farmers will begin to sell more freely. Re
ceipts Of wheat at the terminal stations in
he Northwest are as largo a those year
ago for the same time.
-
The Flood in New Brunswick.
ST. JoHS, ~ b., Oct. - The fresh ct in
the river is still rising A large number
Of cattle have been drowned along the
river below Fredericton Several million
feet Of logs have been jammed at Or nd
Falls. the entire accommodations OF years.