Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1889-05-30
TORE UP THE TRACK.
A Fearful Railway Accident Near
Sullivan, Mo.
Thirty-six Passengers Injured, soms Prob.
ably Fatally-Trainmen Think q Rob.
berry Was Intended, but No
Thieves Appear.
OVER A pREcIP1cE.

OVER PRECIPICE.
ST. LOUIS, May 5-The west-b bound train
on the ST Louis San Francisco railfoad
which left St Louis Thursday night at SIS
was wrecked a little before midnight at q
point three miles west OF Sullivan. Mo.
which place is sixty-eight miles west of St
Louis. Not a passenger escaped unhurt,
and thirty six are known to have been Sc
rlQusly injured, though no deaths are yet
REPORTED Following is a list OF the injured:
b. 8. Welkert, Wentzyille, Mo- both legs
broken four inches above the ankle; George
8. simpson, Hancock County, Ill; Patrick
O'Day, aged years, fracture OF SKULL will
Rgobably die; Mrs. Kate OBEY, bruised about
head, neck and side, aud injured internally
Martin O'Day, cut and bruised on the face, also
eyl in right foot and bruised about the
chest; William Doherty. left hand cut
End bguisedi Mrs. Mary Grnjth. Fair Creek.
H.. Injured on forehead dhd right elbow
preReR; John o. Oatley. Rolla, Mo-, right
shoulder injured and thumb dislocated; John
T.. Hollow Cuba, Mo-, lower part Of right Side
bruised and cut on forehead; Mrs. Mary Ash,
Bloomington, Ind. bruised on left side abd
severely shocked; c. W. Phillips, Springdaie,
Ark, fracture Of arm and cut on shoulder; DIT.
20 S. RUSSELL, Tuscarawas, o., severe fesh
wound, ear torn and cut in the head, severe
shock, but rallying nicely; his wife also
cue In the head b. II. Newman, Cuba
NO.. ID. Railey, New York. arm and leg
bfoken; d. w. Graves, Marshfield, Mo-; John
kendrick, Fort Smith, Ark; Joe f. Haflin,
Cuba, Mo-; Walter Davidson, st. Louis, Mo. !;
]. b. Silly Rolla, Mo-. H. D. Mcintosh, ST.
Louis; j. o. Morrison, Richland, Mo-; Emma
Paterson, Decatur, NJ; Mrs. w. j. Wright
Decatur, H.; NJ Lipo, st Louis Mo. !;
Mary O'Day; e. j. Shaw, Durango,
Col; Anton Marx, ST. Louis, Mo-;
J. J, Brinton Sparta, Mo-; J. G. Hovele Litch.
Aai1 AZ TeA f
Cone, Brest, Mo-; Hattie Shank, ST. Louis,
Mo-; c. j. Wright, baggageman, bruised on
knee and right side, cut on face; Paul Harm,
Mount Pulaski, ILL.,, cut on head bruised on
shoulder; Mrs. w. j. Wayne. Decatur, Ill,
slightly bruised, little girl unhurt.
The train was running at a high rate of
speed, when suddenly the track gave way
and the locomotive, baggage car and five
coaches went over the embankment. The
trainnien and those only slightly injured at
once set to work TO prevent the additional
horror of fire, in which they succeeded, and
then turned their attention to the more un-
fortunate injured, and in a short time the
passengers, all badly hurt, had been re-
leased from the debris. A temporary hos
pital was improvised at Sullivan and the
most seriously injured were taken there,
while others were brought to Sc Louis ON
the relief train which was hurried to the
scene of the disaster. The Wounded are
under the care of Dr. Mcintyre, chief sur
geon Of the road
1t was IL :25 p IN. when the accident oc-
CURED and most OF the passengers had al
ready gene to sleep There is. curve in
the road about three miles west of Sullivan,
and when this point was reached sudden
iolt and far was felt all over the
tfaia Every body felt it, and the
people in the rear cars could hear
the forward coaches rattlihg and
tpmbling over the ties ana the crushing
ifoise Of cars being demolished. A creek is
crossed By the road at that point and there
is steep embankn1ent thirty feet high.
Most of the passengers thought that the
train was going through bridge, and a
feeling Of horror chilled their blood In an
instant all the coaches exceptthe two sleep
tng-cars had been thrown from the rails.
People were thrown about in the cars IN
all directions and some of them were
thrown from the coaches and down the
son, who travels for the Westing-
house air brake, was thrown right
out OF a window on the opposite side Of
the coach from where he was sitting aud
sent rolling down the embankment TO the
edge of the creek His feet were in the
water. Another passenger in the same coach
was thrown from the rear end of the car
to the forward end; and, in fact, men,
wonieb and children were thrown about
promiscuously. Fortunately there were no
fires In any of the cars and the Jolt ex-
tipguished the lights immediately. Othef-
wise q confiagration would have been
caused, and there is no telling how many
lives might have been lost. AS it was, most
of the forward cars were smashed into
smithereens.
The explanation given by the trainmen
to the passengers was that the spikes and
fsh-plates had been removed from the rail
at the curve, thus leaving the rail too
loose on the ties The forward portion of
the locomotive passed the place all right,
but The tender jumped the track and was
thrown part of the way down
an embankment Who removed the spikes
and plates is not known, but the
suppositiop is the work was done by train
robbers who wanted TO hold up the train.
Still no robbers put in an appearance, and
If the accident was caused by them they
must have either weakened in their pur-
pose or have thrown the wrong train The
road officials claim it is clear case of train
wreoking.
On the train was large body OF ply
sicians returning from Springfield, where
the State Medical convention is being held
and they also rendered valuable assistance
IN caring for the injured Among the latter
was Dr. Russell who received serious
hurts.
General Manager Morrill, has offered re-
ward of 81, 900 for information which will
lead to the detection of the party or parties
who removed the bolts from the fish plates
and thus caused the wreck