Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-06-13
Horror After Horror.
The Epidemic of Disaster Still
RACES Violently.
DREADFUL CALAMITY IN IRELAND.
An Excursion Train Loaded with Sunday
School Children Breaks in Half
with Frightful Consequences,

Sevonty-Two Dead Taken Out of the Ruin,
Many of Them Little Ones, and 100
Wounded - Worst Accident Since the
Tay Bridge Collapse Work on the
Chaos at Johnstown Begun by the State
The Plan of Operations Adopted
Devastating Fire at Grinnell, Iowa
The Heart of the Town In Ashes.
DUBLIN, June ia railway disaster oc-
CURED near Armagh, yesterday morning,
which has no parallel in the history of rail-
way travel in Ireland in its awful loss of life
or the. character of the victims The train
was carrying Sunday school excursion
bound for the popular little seaside resort of
Warren's Point and was made up of two sec
tons. Fully 1890 children and their rela-
tives and teachers were on board.
The Tt ain Breaks In Half
The train, short distance out of Armagh,
was ascending a steep grade to a bank that
rises to height 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 clearly understood, several of
the rear cars became detached from the bal
ance 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 negli-
proper attention.
Frightful Results of the Collision.
The engineer of the rear train saw the de-
tached cars dashing down upon him in time
to stop the engine, but notwithstanding this
the force of the collision was terrible, as at
the moment they struck the locomotive the
wild coaches were flying at the rate of fifty
miles an hour. The collision was terrific in
its force and frightful in its results, and the
scenes at the wreck were notwithstanding.
Dozens of children and adults were dead,
while others were held in the wreck with
broken limbs and horribly mangled bodies,
and their screams and appeals for succor
were blood-curdling and piteous to degree
past description. The dead and dying little
ones were scattered in inextricable confu-
sion among the jagged timbers and twisted
iron, while the passengers from both trains
who were unhurt stood by almost helpless
with horror to relieve the sufferers
The Soldiers to the Rescue.
A man who was riding on the highway
CLOSE by saw the collision, and without stop
ping to see any more dashed away at once to
Armagh and returned with a company of
soldiers from the barracks there These
came provided with stretchers and, being the
first on the ground to render assistance, did
good work in extrioating the living and the
dead from the wreck
The Living and Dead.
People from the surrounding country
focked to the scene and set to work to re-
move the victims from the wreck. Physi-
clans were summoned by telegraph from
Belfast and other points and attended to the
wants of the injured, while the dead were
taken from the ruins fast as possible and
placed in rows upon the grass.
At IL o'clock last night the list of dead |
numbered seventy-two, with almost a GER |
tainty that others among the large number |
Of injured will die This makes the disaster |
The greatest railway horror that has ever
been known in the United Kingdom, with
The possible exception of the memorable Tay |
bridge disaster, by which seventy-four per- |
IONS lost their lives |
The wounded so far as can be estimated
will number as many as 100
Dropped Dead from Horror.
The manifestations of grief on the part of |
survivors who had near relatives burned in |
he mass of tangled wreckage, were of the |
most demonstrative nature peculiar to Celtic |
grief. The cries and bitter lamentations |
we're heart-rending, and car driver named |
Hughes who visited the scene dropped dead |
rom horror and was carried back to his |
nome in Armagh in his own car.
Train Men Under Arrest.
The engineer, fireman, and guard, of the |
-ear section of the excursion train, and the |
traffic managers clerk were arrested charged |
with causing the accident, and remanded |
without bail. |
Cause of the Disaster. |
There is no doubt that the disaster is pri-
nariy due to obsolete appliances, the brakes |
being the old-fashionei hand brakes with |
worn links