Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1888-05-10
IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT.
a Car Load Of Dynamite Explodes
Near Shenok;n With Terrible
Effect.
Seventeen Houses Wrecked on the
Sleeping Inmates-Eight Killed
and Thirty Injured.
Circus Train Wreckad-Great Loss Of Liza
BY Hail Storms in India-Drownings
On Lake Erie.

BY Hail Storms in India-DrOwnings
On Lake Erie.
| SHAMoKIS. Pa, Nav "A freight train
: on the Philadelphia & Reading railroad
I was passing through Locust Gap, six miles
from this place, at eleven O'clock Saturday
night, VIXEN car loaded with powder ex-
rloded, killing eight people, wounding
: thirty, some seriously, burning eight
houses, leveling four blocks TO the ground
and destroying twelve loaded cars.
The freight train, consisting Of seventy
FIVE cars bound for Williamsport had be-
c, NE disconnected by the breaking Of a
coupling and the engine and three cars had
run half a mile before the crew discovered
that the train was divided. The first
section then awaited the arrival of the
second at the foot of heavy grade. The
two braGemen lost control of the second
section and 1t dashed into the first section,
causing an explosion in the thIrd car, which
was loaded with powder.
At the scene OF the accident the railroad
runs along steep hill, AT the bottom of
which stood two rows of houees occupied
by the Philadelphia q Reading Coal aud
Iron Company's employees. Ga the hillside
stood i little cottage occupied by John
QInn and his family Of four children, two
boys and two girls. The force OF the ex-
piosion wrecked the buildings, seventeen
IN I'll. and the stoves set Ere to the ruins,
and Quinn and his two little girls were
burned to death. The two boys escaped
with burns.
Simon kerwicks family consisted Of
Mary and Willie Cavanaugh, adopted
children aged respectively eight and four
en- years, Daniel Kerwicll aged eight,
Alice kerwck aged five, and his wife and
new born babe. X .rwIcI1 Carried his
wife from the burning bull ding, bat the
children were burned to death.
Thirty persons were injured, the most
serious being Mrs. Miles Dougherty, leg
broken, bruised and cut; her mother Mrs.
Mathews, bruisei and internally injured;
Mary. daughter of Mrs. Miles. NECK cut and
bruised; Andrew McElwee, right eve de-
stroyed and neck cut; John Domain. left
hand anputated and cut about the limbs;
: Mrs. Palrc.l McNanuS. injured by mis-
sizes; Mrs. SIMON kerwicz. suffering FROM
SHOCK, condition serious. Several Of the
/ injured were seat TO the miners hospital.
/ Ia all twelve cars were destroyed and
seventeen houses - III their furniture All
the windows in the LocUst Gap churches
/ and schools were broken and the doors
. blown of. III Mt Carmel large store WIZ
dows were broken. The total loss is esti-
mated q $4,000.
The force of the explosion shook the
ground for twenty miles arounl. wreclzng
many houses in Mt. Carmel aid the neigh
borhood.
None of the train hands were injured,
although one is said to have been blown a
considerable distance. Tue engineer OF the
| locomotive which was very close at the
time of the explosion was stunned, but
soon recovered.
The sufferers were soon supplied with all
the help that willing hand, could give, and
shortly after the explosion large numbers
of people were on the scene. Yesterday d |
the roads leading to tue horrible wreck were
lined with vehicles going and returning.
Locust Gap is u town OF about =, GO0 luhabit- |
ants.
FATAL LANDSLIDE.
STECBENvILLE O., May AT one o'clock |
yesterday afternoon. about three miles !
above this city, at Mlanna station, as the |
train of the Miller & Freeman circus was
passing through deep cut known as tie |
''Backbone' 1t met Il landslide which threw !
the engine and five cars from the track, |
pllng them up in a confused ard broken !
mass. The cars were badly broken and |
were burned, while the engine was turned !
over directly across the track. a. 3. Sill |
well, of Welisville, O., the engineer, was |
terribly sca!ded and 1t is feared received |
internal injuries. Elmer Ellsworth, Of |
Columbus, o., the colorei cook, was killed |
outright.
CLOUD BURST.
WICHITA, Kan. May 1-Yesterday morn |
ing ABOUT SIX o'clock a cloud burst is re- |
! 4
Maize, town about fifteen miles west OF |
this city. The terri tory drenched was about /
two hundred wards wide and mile long. |
For about twenty inmates the water poured |
down, as expressed by an eyewitness, "as .
if the entire heavens were tank of water |
and a hole hal been punched into it, the !
size OF the parallelOgram receiving it."
The noise WAS terrible, the dOwn-po
sounding much louder than the falls Of !
Niagara. II did not look as though one |
could see ten feet into the pouring water
In fact it came straight down. The cloud
did not seem TO move. The clouds were as
black as night, but to the east was clear
sky, just small step of it above the hori-
ION giving little light. Had it not been
for this it would have been perfectly dark.
Most of the territory covered by the storm
was corn field and it is thought there was
not stalk of corn left.
THE ARLINGTON, NEB., HOLOCAUST.
OMAHA. Neb.. May the circumstances
attending the burning of the widow Freese
and her family in the barn near Arlington
Friday are still q mystery, but further
investigation tends to remove the suspicion
that murder was one of the features OF the
horrible affair. The fire, with the excep-
tioa of few smoldering heaps. had gone
out, and another thorough search resulted
in the discovery of the eighth victim of
the holocaust-Lewis Grotzen, the hired
man-near the east end OF the barn among
the remains OF the horses.
TWO PLEASURE SEEKERS DROWNED.
ERIE. Pa, May "A sail boat in which
were party of Germans capsized on Lake
Erie near Westie!d yesterday, and Viii
lam Bann and August Piercher were
,!-owned. The other two, g. Bader and
George Smith, were picked insen sible by
passing vessel They will recover.
A special dispatch from Nashville,
Tenn, dated April %. says: Miss Mollie
in