Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-08-23
DEATH WAS pilot.
An Awful Ride Down a Penn
sylvania Mountain.
A OAR GETS LOOSE AT THE SUMMIT

Dashes Down the Line at the Speed of
Lightning and Piles Its Human Freight
at the Bottom Mangled, Broken, and
Dead-Four Of the Passengers Instantly
Killed and Thirteen Wounded, Most of
Them to Death--Other Accidents.
READING, Pa, Aug GA horrible 40
cident occurred yesterday forenoon shortly
before IL o'clock on the Mount Penn Grav-
ity railroad. mountain route encircling
Reading The road was opened five
months ago, and has been doing good
business ever since The cars were taken
from point on the outskirts of the city
to the top of the mountain, a distance of
five miles On returning the cars were al
lowed to go down the mountain by grav-
ity, by way of another route, to the point
of starting.
The Passenger Car Gets Away.
Yesterday about 1870 o'clock car con-
tanning about eighteen passengers was
taken from the station to the top of the
mountain This consumed about thirty
minutes. On top of the mountain there is
high stone tower where the passengers
were allowed to alight to enjoy the scenery
for thirty miles around. This time, be-
fore the passengers could get off, the car
got away in some manner and started
down the grade. 1t went down the incline
like flash, the brake wouldn't work from
some unknown reason, and at the end OF
the line the car was reduced to kindling
wood. How any OF the passengers escaped
alive is mystery; as ii is the casualty list
is ba d enough.
-Four Killed, Thirteen Badly Hurt.
Four persons were killed by the acct
dent namely: Charles Rettew, conduc-
tor; Edgar Nj. Levan, lawyer; Miss Rosa
Heiffer, all of Reading; Miss Harriet
Hinckle, of Philadelphia. The following
is list of the worst wounded: Mrs. VIM.
A. Fl. Schemehl, badly cut and suffering
with conclusion of the brain, cannot re-
cover; William Schemehl, both legs badly
fractured, will probably die: Mrs. Schit-
Ter, terribly mangled and unconscious:
Miss Kate Holman, seriously hurt
about the head, not expected to
live; Misses Bessie and Katie KEEL
ley, both badly injured; Cornelius Han
Ion. of Wissahickon. suffering with
conclusion of the brain; Mrs. Cornelius
Hanlon, badly cut and bruised; Miss Sal
lie Bye, of Wilmington Del, very badly
injured and unconsciouss Miss Teller. of
Reading, badly hurt about the head ard
chest; Mrs. Byron Smith, of Wilmington,
Del, skull fractured and will die; Mrs.
Cooper, of Allentown, cut in left temple
| and about the eye; her baby was also Sc
verely injured.
Description of the Disaster.
When the car left the summit the en-
gineer of the locomotive which had just
| uncoupled from the car started his engine
! to catch it. but was unable to do so. The
car sped on, increasing in velocity at ev-
| cry second. Ii proceeded mile safely,
turned the north curve, and then began
| its frightful descent Conductor Rettew
| fully realizing all, turned to the panic
| stricken passengers. told them all control
| of the car had been lost, that they could
jump for their lives il they wished to, but
that he would stick To the car
A Fearful Ride to Death
By this time they were descending at
| the rate of nearly mile minute.
| Women and children screamed and held
| on to their husbands and fathers, impior-
| ing them not to jump. Frantic efforts
were made to operate the brakes but all
| in vain. The road is skirted with stumps
and rocks. and to jump implied probably
instant death. Finally Brakeman Frank
| Heller, seeing Antietam curve ahead,
leaped from the car, landed on his back
| and lay as if dead.
The Climax of the Horror.
This melted others and Mrs Nathan
Schetler and Mrs. Cooper, the latter with
a babe in her arms, MI of Allentown, also
| jumped. The panic stricken passengers
| saw the two women and babe land on
their heads and roll over down bank
| Near the bottom of the mountain the
| car jumped the track and landed
bottom up. The passengers were all
| thrown into a confused mass A dozen
| persons crawled out with broken limbs
and battered heads, their clothing covered
| with blood. As the car fell, the united
shrieks of twenty voices added terror TO
the scene