The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-09-20
4 SCENE OF HORROR.
A Passenger Train On the Read
ing Road
is DITCHED IN THE sCHUYLKILL
BY Running Into Coal Train-Some Fifteen
Dead Have Been Recovered-An In
jured Victims Description.

HEADING, Penna., l9.-One.of the worst
wrecks ever known in this section occurred
tonight on the Reading railroad, seven
teen miles from here Near Shoemaker
vile there is curve where the railroad is
about eighteen or twenty feet higher than
the Schuylkill river. Here shortly before
O'Clock, freight train ran into coal
train, throwing several cars on to the
opposite track Before the train
hands had any time to warn any
approaching train of the danger, the
louisville express, carrying about hun
dred and fifty passengers, came round the
curve at the rate Of forty miles an hour
and ran into the wrecked coal cars The
engine went down the embankment, fol
lowed by the entire train with the human
freight. The scene was one of great hor
ror. The cries Of the imprisoned passengers
were heartrending. Some of the passengers
managed TO crawl out of the prison and
aroused the neighborhood Word was tele-
graphed to this city, and surgeons and a
force OF 300 Worklnen were taken to the
spot The work was slow, and the dead
ana dying were taken out with great
difficulty. Up to 10 o'clock tonight
SIX dead and thirty wounded had been
~'~'A S'i S0l' VI OliC ldlUCI SUlIS WcE6
TO this city and others taken to Myers hos
pltal at Ashland. The dead taken out so
far are: William D. Shones, Reading;
Jonn White, engineer, Pottsville; James
Templen, fireman, Pottsville: Harry Logan.
conductor, Pottsville; David Augstad.
Mahoney City; E. Logan, baggagemaster,
Shenandoah.
The injured are: Harrison Riland, Phila-
delphia; Joseph Southword, Centralia :;
James E. Markell. Bethlehem: John Thorn
ton, Joseph Mol, Shenandoah; Frank B..
Hall, manager of Frank Moyo's dramatic
company: John Carroll, ST. Chat; Joseph
A1sfeld, Mahoney City; William Glass,
Port Clinton; Thomas Coony, Philadel-
phia; Robert Collins, Pottstown: Samuel
Shellenberger, Hamburg; B. w Ciller,
GIrard; John Coolisk, Mount Carmel !;
w. w. johnson, Shenandoah: George
Sanders, Rolling; Benjamin Franklin,
James Bernhardt, Shenandoah; John Hess,
David G. Young, Mahoney City; Lyman
DICK, Hamburg; DR.. b. F, Salada, N.
Wrlnggold, Jacob Ulmar, Pottsville; Samuel
Coomb, Mahoney City; William Sommers,
Ashland
The wrecked train is still lying at the
bottom of the river. The exact number on
the passenger list is not known, and a re-
porter WHO'S still on the ground telephones
he believes there are still twenty-five or
more bodies underneath the wreck or who
were carried away by the current
Later II 80 - The Associated Press
agency has just had direct communication
with represen tative at the wreck, who
says conservative estimate places the
number of killed at forty to fifty 1t is
almost impossible to estimate the exact
number, and the full horror of the situa-
ton will not be known until a later
hour. At II o'clock Mail Agent
GreenWald's body was taken out,
followed by the horribly mangled
bodies of two Mahoney City tiremen on
their way home from Chester
At midnight thirteen bodies had been re-
covered. The names of those known are
already given. Five bodies are exposed to
view IN the wreck, pinned under the tim
bers.
one OF the passengers who escaped with
slight INJURIES, said to an Associated Press
reporter at midnight: when the crash
came was hurled from my seat. One end
of the car splashed into the river and |
was thrown against the side of the car
with force that partially stunned me. [
quickly recovered myself and managed to
climb upon the seats on that side of
the car which lay against the embaukment.
was prisoner in the car and while was
nursing my sprained ankle and wrist out of
joint, realized [ was in scene of veritable
horror. Around and about me were human
beings struggling in the water, screaming
IN fright, and some almost dragged me back
into the water again. A few saved them
selves as | did, and the remainder struggled
in the water and then quietly sank out of
sight"
Professor Mitchell, of Lehigh university,
bethlehem, is among the injured at the
Reading hospital. Lawrence Barnes. of
Philadelphia, had his arm dislocaJed The
body of John L. Miner, of Cresson, was
taken out at midnight.
AT o'clock this morning 300 men are
still at work, but making slow progress.
Fifteen bodies have been taken out. None
of the bodies have been taken from the
scene of the disaster
Kahn McDonohugh, Jack Noll and
William johnson, of Shenandoah.
andt John Strauss, of SchuylkiIl
Haven are among the latest Injured re-
ported. 1t is still believed that twenty or
more bodies are beneath the wreck. Moth
ing definite will be known until the wreck
is raised, which will probably be tomorrow
night.
No more names can be secured. The
telephone Office has closed and that was the
only means of getting news. The only re-
porter to get to the scene was one of the
Eagle men and he telephoned down nearly
all that was secured to the Reading papers.