The Progress., 1888-10-20
DEATH IN AWFUL FORM.

on the Lehigh Valley Road-Fifty-Seven
Bodies Recovered and the Wounded
Number Forty Distressing Scenes.
WILKEsBARRB, Pa, Oct. u The terrible
accident on the Lehigh Valley road at Mud
Hun 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
identified. It is impossible to tell the mum
Der Of injured. but the best estimates place
the figure at forty. Twenty five of the
seriously wounded were brought here to
the hospital
The collision occurred between the fifth
and sixth sections Of an excursion train,
consisting altogether Of eight sections and
ffty-seven coaches, which were convey
ing 5,5O5 passengers from the ST Mat
+ thew's celebration at Hazelton. The
hrst four sections passed Mud Run
IN safety The fourth and fifth sec
tions lay at Mud Run together to let reg
ular train pass, when the fourth section
pulled ont The fifth section then ran
down to the depot ready to start after the
expiration Of ten minntes, the time fixed,
as the division between the running of the
excursion sections. I
While it was waiting the accident oc.
Cured. The Inflated rear car was sud
denly illuminated by the headlight of the
locomotive of the sixth section, and the
next instant the engine plunged its
full length into the crowded mass
OF humanity. The shock drove the
rear car two thirds 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 were soon busy with hands and axes
releasing the injured and recovering the
dead bodies from the wreck. The colfiding
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
to be abandoned. !,
Many horrible sights were met by the
rescuers. In one place a young woman
was pinioned in such a way that her leg
had to be severed with an axe in order to
set her free. A inan was found with
one arm held tightly in the wreck,
while with the other he was
clasping prattling babe. A 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
fofr fn oh
where undertakers prepared them for re-
moval to this city, and thes were brought
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 ill-fated train,
thronged the platform and waiting rooms,
| anxiously waiting for news from the scene
of the wreck The company posted bulletins
of the dead as rapidly as dispatches were
received, and as the names were recog-
nized the grief of the relatives and friends
was heartrending. When the funeral
train reached here 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
dean. A special coach had been provided for
| those friends, but they insisted on entering
the cars containing the dead, and were
only stopped by force and the efforts of
| five priests who were on the ira n. One
| body was removed from the cars at White
| Barre. The train then continued on it's
way up the Delaware & Hudson road to
| Miners's Mills and Scranton. The people in
| the special coach again began to clamor
| for permission to enter the funeral
cars, but were 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
| car doors and began a frantic search for
! 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 board also hocked into the
cars and began rearranging the attire or
coverings of the corpses Many were dis
| tOrted and in horrible attitudes, and
friends endeayored to lessen their fright
full appearance.
It was as the train drew up at Pleasant
] 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. The first body
/ carried out was that of Oscar Gibbons, 13
years Of age, borne in the arms Of his
stalwart brother; then one after another
/ forty-six white-sheeted bodies were car
ried out and given into the charge of
] friends. The shrieks and cries of the
women and the hoarse shouts and impre-
cations Of the men made terrible scene.
When all were out the train again pulled
out to bear the remaining dead to Scran-
ton, Minooka and points beyond.
4 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
Dy two locomotives. OfRcials of the
roal claim that the danger signal
was displayed at Mud Run, and
that the rear brakeman of the
standing train was sent back with
red light, and that he signaled
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, corroberates the
latter part Of this testimony, and says that
his light could have been seen half mile
down the track.
II 5iG GCnn:r tho anpipeer WAS fnrnd at hi 4