The Russellville Democrat., 1890-09-25
FEARFUL DISASTER.
Shocking Calamity on the Read-
 ing Railroad.
A Passenger Train, Running at High Rate of Speed, Dashes Into n Freight Wreck Many Persons Killed and
 Injured.

utes late. It was known as the Potts vile express and was running at the rate of at least thirty-eight to forty miles an hour. It had on board pos sibly 125 or 150 passengers and consist- ed of engine, tender, mail and express cars and three passenger coaches Above Shoemakorsyille, this county, about fifteen miles from this city, is a sharp curve. where the railroad Is about eighteen to twenty feet higher than the Schuyllkill river. Here shortly before six o'clock freight train ran into coal. train, throwing several cars of the lat ter on the opposite track. sns Before the train hands had time to go back to warn any approaching train of the danger the Pottsville express came around the curve and ran into the wrecked coal cars on it's track. The en- zinc went down tho embankment into the river, followed by the entire train with It's human freight H s Some of the passengers managed to crawl out of their prison and arouse the neighborhood. Word was telegraphed to this city and help summoned, but all information was refused at this point by the railroad officials. Physicians and surgeons and force of 300 work men were taken to the spot by the com pany and with the aid of travelling electric light plant the work of clearing away the wreck was at once begun. Up to midnight thirteen bodies had been recovered. Five bodies arc ex- posed to view in tho wreck They are pinned under the timbers.
 Conservative estimates place the number of killed at from forty to fifty. It is almost impossible to estimate the exact number and the full horror of the situation will not be known before morning.
 At eleven o'clock Mail Agent Green wald's body was taken out, followed by the horribly mangled bodies of two Mahanoy City fremcn on their way home from the Chester convention.
 The killed so far as identified arc as follows: John l.. Miller, of Cresson; William D. Shome, Reading, badly mangIed; John White, engineer Potts. vile, Pa; James Temphn, Pottsville, Pa; George k. Kaercher, Pottsville, Pa; Harry Logan, conductor, Pottsville, Pa. ;. David Aughstadt Mahanoy City, died after being taken from the wreck. His head and body were crushed; E. w. Lo- gan, baggagemaster, Shenandoah.
 George R. Kaercher, Esq, the eminent 1 railroad lawyer of Pottsville, who has also law office in Philadelphia, is among the killed. Persons who were we'll acquainted with him have identi- fled the crushed body in the debris of the Pullman car. William D. Shome, one of Readings wealthiest citizens. was passenger on the train and was one of tho first per sons reported killed. .s
 RECOVERING THE DEAD.
 READING, Pa, Sept 20.--At two o'clock this morning the situation was as follows: Three hundred men wero still at work, but were making slow progress. Fifteen bodies had been taken out. None of the bodies have been taken from the scene of the di- saster. 9sas.t It is still believed that twenty or more are underneath the wreck. Who they are is not known, because it is not known who was on the train, and how many were actually killed will only be disclosed with tho removal of the en- zine and cars from the bed of the river.
 STORY OF A SURVIVOR. si8a@
 READING, Pa, Sept. 20.---0ne of the passengers who went down in the wreck and who was but slightly injured, and was one of the sixteen of the injured brought on a special train to the Read itary c,aft al ut al aaln when the passenger train left Reading the cars were all we'll filled. Among the people were many ladies' He sat in the front part of the last car This is his story: The train was going at livelyrate of speed. The passengers appeared a happy crowd, many of them ladies, chatting and laughing after a days pleasure at the Berks County fair. l was viewing the country through which we were passing when suddenly there was a terrible crash. l was hurled from my seat while tho cars rolled down the twenty foot embankment, and I was thrown from one side of the ear to the other like toy, when-splash, one end went into the water and was thrown against the side of the car with force that par tially stunned me. quickly recovered myself and managed to climb upon the seats on that side Of the car which lay against the embankment l was pris- oner in the car unable to get out, and while nursing my sprained ankle and wrist out of joint realized that 1 vas in scene of veritable horror. Around and about mo were human beings swug- gling in the water, screaming in their fright, and some almost dragged me back into the water again. A few saved themselves as did and tho remainder struggled in the water and then quietly sank out of sight"