St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-28
CREMATED INACOACH
Seven Passengers on a Monon
Train Meet a Terrible
Fate.
Spreading Rails Ditch the
Limited Express and the
Wreck Is Burned.
Pinioned Under Blazing Debris
the Victims Are Roasted
to Death.
The Death Roll Supplemented
by a List of Twenty
Injured.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, Jan. N.-Pas-
senger Train No. on the Monon, which
left Chicago Sunday night at IL :55. was
wrecked this morning at 7:50 one mile
above Carmel, village sixteen miles
north of this city. The train was rum
ming at rapid rate. and was approach
ing the long trestle across Wilkerson
creek, when the tender of the engine
jumped the track. The engineer re-
versed his engine, but before the air
brakes could check the speed of the
train the four coaches attached went
over into the creek. The ladies' coach
Immediately caught fire. and in an in
credibly short time was reduced to
ashes. Fortunately for the occupants
of this coach, Train No. 2, which
left the city for Chicago at 7:30, had
been ordered to meet the train No. l at
Carmel, and as soon as word of the
wreck was received the passengers hur-
ried to the scene and went earnestly to
work rescuing the occupants of the
burning car. A horrible scene met
their eyes. In plain view of all, were
two boys and woman. All were dead,
but their bodies
WE'RE BEING RAPIDLY CONSUMED.
side of the car and could be touched by
those on the outside, but the opening
was not large enough to draw the body
through. Immediately in front of the
boys was lady who got on the train at
Frankfort. Her body was enveloped in
flames, but there was no possible way
to get her out of the burning coach.
Across from this lady was Mrs. Eu-
banks, of Broad Ripple, Ind. Her head
was horribly crushed. The brakeman
and passenger seized her by the arms
and by desperate effort pulled
the body through the window. Life
was not yet extinct, but she died only a
few minutes after being taken out.
since died, was Mr.. Deming, of Sheri-
dan. He was pinioned to the floor by
timbers and horribly crushed. Some
heroic men seized axes and after few
minutes work cut away the timberS that
held the body, which was removed TO
the north side of the track. There was
no medical aid present, and the man
died in few moments. Buckets hav-
ing been procured from the farm
houses near by, the flames were soon
subdued, and the fire prevented from
communicating to the sleeper or other
coaches. AS soon as it was possible to
do so, a search was made for the dead.
The body Of a woman, identified as Mrs.
Lizzie Fitzpatrick, of this city, was soon
found. 1t was burned to crisp. The
Oldham children were found side by
| side, the heavy stove lying across their
bodies. w. j. Collins, of the Indianap-
| oils Sentinel, who was on the train, fur
nishes the following accurate list of the
dead and injured.
MRS. NELLIE EUBANK, Of Broad Rip.
pie, Ind, burned to death; thirty eight years
| old.
c. O. DEMING, of Frankfort, Ind, skull
crushed; thirty i've years old; died aftel
rescue.
MRS. oCTAvIA OLDHAM and her two
twin girls two years old, of Sheridan, Ind.
MISS MARY HOOVER, of Horton, Ind,
| burned to death.
MRS. COX, of Indianapolis, who had beer
| visiting her brother at Westfield.
Injured-J. D.. Pearson, Sheridan, Ind
| right shoulder and arm crushed and injured
| internally; FL. C. Miller. New York City
| commercial traveller, badly cut and bruised
| right leg crushed, cannot live: Louis New
man, internal injuries. George Munser, ex
| press agent, foot crushed and back badly
| hurt; Charles G. Writ Frankfort, bruised
head and hips; B.; S. Whitsett, Indian
| apolfs. head badly cut and back
troit. commercial traveller, hip hurt and cu
| on the head: j. P Allzier, bruised about
back and head serious; G. ". Stingel, Ross
vile, legs cut, arms severely bruised and
| back injured: Harry Angle, son of conductor
elbow cut off and cut back of head Those
| slightly injured are: Will Marker, with LORD
| Thomas, Chicago; j. d. Baldwin, district
| passenger agent; Conductor Abe Angle
| Mack FitzSimmons, brakeman; jackson
| d. G. Jusuce baggagemaster; OLto Gresham,
| Indianapolis; F. E. Calkins, Chicago.
Investigation reveals that the acci.
| dent was due to spreading of the rails
about $50 feet from the trestle. Repair.
| ing of this section of the track was done
on Saturday. w. j. Collins, of the In.
dianapolis Sentinel. passenger, said:
| "The first intimatiOn of ANYTHING un-
usual was a Swaying of the cars, fol-
| lowed by the front end of the sleeper
| going over the embankment. There
was crash and shock that threw the
| passengers from one end of the car to
the other, out of one berth Iuto an
other, and demolishing everything in
the car. A gentleman kicked out win
| dow. through which a number made
their exit; others, seeing that there was
no immediate danger to those in the
| sleeper, dressed themselves and then
| sought the open air. On emerging from
the sleeper it was discovered that the
| coach Immediately in front had been
| badly wrecked, because in leaving the
bridge the front end struck the en-
bankment approach, completely demol-
lshing that end of the car, overturning
the stove, in which brisk fire was
| burning. The
CAR IMMEDIATELY TOOK FIRE,
| the flames spreading with great rapid
| ity, and in a moment enveloping the en-
tire structure. Those who had escaped
| from the other coaches and were able to
| work began assisting those in the burn
| ing coach to free themselves. The first
| persons taken out were two ladies, both
dead. Then Mrs. Oldham and little boy,
| of Sheridan. Two other children of
this lady were still in the car, and the
| mother noting this fact, and although
badly injured. made desperate effort
| to return to the burning coach. Being
| dissuaded in this, she appealed to the
bystanders to rescue her boys. Clasp
| ing her Youngest in her arms, she ex-
claimed: "Ihank God. have you left;
but have two other children in that
| fire: God be merciful," and then turn
ing to the passengers, urged them to
| rescue her burning children. By this
| time the train from the south arrived
| and the passengers fell to work. urged
on by the frantic appeals of the dying
and injured to give them relief. Every
one who could, worked with a will.
Axes were procured and a determined
effort made to get the dead and dying
out, but their efforts proved futile. as
the flames spread SO rapidly that the
work had to be abandoned in few
| minutes. There was a scene of the
widest confusion. The deck of the
bridge was completely demolished, the