The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1890-10-31
A Fatal WRECK ON the Rail,

CINCINNATI, o., Oct. pa coils
ion occurred yesterday morning at
4:30 on the Cincinnati Southern rail-
way in a tunnel a quarter of a mile
north of Sloan's Valley station, be-
tween freight and passenger trains.
The engines of the two trains dashed
into each other in the tunnel. which
is a sixth of a mile long. and the cars
following were jammed into each other
in a mass.
Then came the added horror of a
conf1agration. No description of the
scenes has yet been made-only the
bare results have been telegraphed to
the officials here.
Engineer John Pimlett died this
afternoon, making six victims of the
tunnel collision.
The initial cause of the accident was
a wreck which occurred last night at
Elihu station, two miles below Somer-
set. The delay to passenger trains by
this wreck caused the mistake of the
engineer and conductor of the freight
train by which the tunnel collision
occurred. Fortunately the passenger
train had not entirely gone into the
tunnel when the crash came, and SO
the three sleepers which did not leave
the track served az a e of escape
for the passengers. These sleepers
were detached and drawn away from
the burning train, but the baggage and
mail cars and two coaches burned.
From the stories of railroad men
who arrived here tonight it appears
that the wreck was due to the careless
ness of the rev of freight train No.
90. This train was instructed to wait
at Sloan's Valley until passenger trains
Nos. 9 and 5 had passed. The wait
was a long one and all of the crew of
the freight train went to sleep. En-
gineer Pimlott awakened just after No.
9 had passed, and assuming that it was
No. 5 and that the road was clear,
aroused the crew and the train went
on. The approach to both ends of the
tunnel is sharply curved and within a
hundred feet of the mouth of it the
trains met. One sleeper and one coach
of the passenger train were saved, the
train hands and passengers pushing
them back up the track.
The flames started a few minutes
after the collision, and the wooden lin
ing of the tunnel is still burning
tonight.
A brave man, whose name could not
be learned, hearing the cries of George
Long in the baggage car, seized an AK,
cut a hole in the car and rescued Long.
In the express compartment of the car
was E. P. Ruffner, United States ex-
press messenger. The unknown hero
worked hard to cut away for Ruffner
to escape, although the flames were
darting all about him. The effort was
unsuccessful, and Ruffner finally
shouted from his prison to 60 away
himself, to say goodbye to his family
and tell them that his would-be res
cuer did all a man could do to save his
life. The unknown hero staggered
out of the tunnel with his hair and
clothing badly scorched and fell down
in a faint. None of the men in the ex-
element thought of learning the hsro's
name, but it is believed that he is a
railroad man.
Others of the train men had wonder
full escapes. 1t is miraculous that any
of the passengers escaped without in
jury.
Secretary Blaine said in answer to
an inquiry that the alleged interview
with him published in the syndicate
newspaper letter in Washington and
elsewhere, touching the sphere Of
woman" was wholly a fiction. He
had never uttered a single word OF the
matter attributed to him.