St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-06-13
SCORES WERE KILLED
Twelve Hundred Children
Mixed Up With the Debris
Of a Wreck.
Horrible Accident, in Which
Dead and Injured Num-
ber by Hundreds.
Heartrending Scenes at the
Wreck, Where Whole Fam
lilies Are Wiped Out.

The Train Officials Held to
Be Responsible for the
Slaughter.
DUBLIN, June IA railroad acci-
dent occurred near Armagh this morn
ing which is without a parallel in the
history of railroading in Ireland. The
train. carrying the Sunday school excur-
sion bound for the popular little sea-
side resort of Warrenpoint. was made
up of two sections. and fully 1000 chill
dren and their relatives and teachers
were on board. This train, short dis
tance out of Armagh. was ascending a
steep grade to bank that rises to a
hight of fifty feet, when the engine of
the rear section gave out and was
unable to draw the heavy train. In
some way, which is not now clearly un-
derstood, several of the cars became
detached from the balance of the train
and started down the steep grade. In a
few seconds the cars were going down
hill at a terrific rate of speed. with the
brakes either utterly useless, or from
negligence on the part of the guard,
without proper attention. Had the
track on the level just below the
grade been clear for any considerable
distance the detached cars might
have lost their momentum and the
terrible accident that followed been
averted, but. unfortunately, the regular
train from Armagh followed just be-
hind the rear section of the excursion
train, and with the locomotive of this
train the detached cars came into col
lision with terrible force. The scenes
at the wreck Immediately after the acci-
dent were heartrending in the extreme.
The rear section of the excursion train,
from which the ill-fated cars had become
detached, was stopped after proceeding
but short distance, and the passen-
gers,as we'll as those of the forward sec
ton, soon ran back to render what as
sistance they could to those of the
little children in the wrecked cars,
where MANNED and mangled bodies still
showed symptoms Of life. The dead
and the
DYING LITTLE ONES
were scattered in inextricable confu-
sion among the jagg ed timbers and
twisted iron work of the wreck and the
groans of the imprisoned sufferers
mingled in an awful din with shrieks
of their more fortunate companions who
stood by powerless to afford assistance.
People from the surrounding country
f1Ocked to the scene and set to work to
remove the victims from the wreck.
Physicians were summoned by tele-
graph from Belfast and other points and
attended to tine wants of the injured.
while the dead were taken from the
ruins as fast as possible and placed in
rows upon the grass. The shrieks of
the children were horrible. The
bodies of the victims were ar
ranged in rows as soon as recov-
cred. Many were mangled beyond
recognition. There is scarcely family
in Armagh that has not some one dead.
The embankment on which the accident
occurred is seventy feet high. Many
touching scenes were witnessed. The
children bore their injuries with great
patience. Wrecking gangs are at work
clearing away the debris. A private of
the Irish Fusileers, before the cOllis-
ion, jumped on the footplate of
one of the cars and dropped
four children to the ground.
He then offered to assist others to es-
cape, but his offer was refused. In
many cases whole families were killed.
Crowds of people are visiting the scene
of the disaster, and the air is
RENT WITH LAMENTATIONS.
Before starting on the fatal excursion
the children paraded through the streets
of Armagh with flags and banners.
and the towns folks turned out
almost en- masse to wish them
happy holiday. The party of excursion
lists included ministers. teachers. the
parents of some of the children, and a
few other adults. The accident hap
pened opposite Sir Capel MOlyneux's
Establishment on the Belfast road. The
passengers give different accounts of
the accident, but they all complain
bitterly of the stupidity of those in
charge of the wrecked train, who,
the, say, tried to block the wheels
of the detached cars with pebbles.
The train consisted of fifteen carriages
The bulk of the children were in the
front portion of the train. Only about
one dozen children were killed. The
majority of the victims were about
twenty years of age. They were in the
last carriage, which was completely
smashed. Many of the occupants
jumped from the windows and escaped
with slight injuries before the collis-
ion. The passengers on the hind
train were not injured. They
alighted and assisted in the work of re-
lief. The scenes on the Identification
of victims by friends or relatives were
painful in the extreme. All the bodies
have now been taken from the wreck.
The total killed is seventy-twO,o of which
sixty-four have been identified. At
the formal inquest this evening the
said it appeared on the face
of it that there had been most culpable
negligence. The Belfast News Letter has
handed DR.. Lynn 92O to aid sufferers.
DIR. Lynn is the head of the school to
which most of the youthful excursion
lists belonged. He is one of the most
prominent Methodists in Ireland, and
his school is attended by many children
of other denominations. The annual
excursion of the school has always been
a very popular event. The number of |
injured is about one-third of the |
entire number of passengers. Many |
of these are certain to sue
.,,,,l, 70 tho offontc of their in inrias