Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-08-28
a FEAnFUL RIDE.

Terrible Asciasst % tine D~aao 0aN1
Ro.1-A ce' Fan Of Ps-aeeN. ne.hss
DoUn tie U0uDtafa - . DrigAteal vs10sr
hy-aany Killed 80 Iaj1Ho1
RBADIRe, Pa, Aug e2.OA the Mount
Penn Gravity reflroAd. mountain route
encirclinG Mount Penn, $40 feet shDps
the city. yesterday forenoon about 1e:1O
O'Clock, cor, containing shDut eight
cen passengers wae taken from the
station to the top of the nountaiA
This consumed sbout thirty minutaA
On the top of the mountain there il .
high stone tower. where the pasnsn-
gers ere allow ed to slight TO enjoy the
scenery for thirty miles Ground.
When the tower wss reeched the en-
CINE was detached. when the car rsn
| away while the passengers we're st1l "a
| board The distance to the point of
starting is five miles and it 10 estinstna
| that this was covered by the runevsy
| car in about three minutes, the car ct
tanning fearful speed, estimated st
| eighty miles an hour. 1t remained on
the track to the foot of the plane, and
went around all the curves, while the
passengers shrieked in their fright
and several jumped of. When the car
reached the station at the foot of
the plane it jumped the track and rolled
down q fifty foot embankment where it
landed..upside down, with the passengers
| imprisoned inside. The greatest ex-
| element prevailed and soon a large
crowd gathered. Doctors and ambu-
lances were sent for and the dead and
injured removed. Four were taken QUE
dead These were: Charles Rettew,
aged fifty-five, conductor; Edgar NJ.
Levan, an attorney of this city, aged
about forty; Miss Rosa Pfeiffer, a young
lady Of this city, and Miss Harriet Hin
kle, of Philadelphia. The following
will die: Mrs. Hiram Schiller and
Mrs A. w. r. Schimel
The injured are: Sallie Bye and
Mary Guthrie of Wilmington, both
badly hurt; Willie Schimel of this city,
both legs broken; Miss Katie Holman,
| seriously hurt about the head, not ex-
pected to live; Misses Bessie and Katie
Kelley, nieces of Miss Holman, both
badly injured: Cornelius Hanlon of Al.
lentown, suffering from conclusion OF
the brain; Mrs Cornelius Hanlon, Of
Allentown, badly cut and bruised; Miss
Weller of Allentown. badly hurt abou,
the head and chest: Mrs Smith of Al.
lentown, skull fractured; Mrs Cooper
of Allentown, cut in left temple and
about the eye and her baby also Sc.
verely injured
Mrs Schiller and Mrs Cooper with
her baby in her arms jumped from the
car during its descent and were fohnd
by Harry Brown, of Philadelphia, who
had leaped from the car soon after il
started on its wild run, but escaped
, without injury.
The grade to the summit is very heavy
and the descent of the cars is Away.
rapid. There is a ravine at the place o
starting and just before this is reached
on the down grade there is a sharp curve
at the point the accident occurred, thu
men losing control of the car. Thu
road was built at cost of $50. 600 ant
had been in operation since May.
Norman B. Willsher, of this city, VIII
was standing at the foot of the plan
when the car came dashing down tn
mountain, gives a graphic story of tn
accident He says that he first heard
distant roar, as if thunder, and looke
up and saw the car coming down tn
mountain, but sticking to the tracks, a
the rate of about a mile in forty-fiv
seconds. He had barely time to recove
himself when the car, like a flash G
lightning, dashed past the static
|
feet below. He was the first on tn
ground and found the car turned upsid
down and the passengers all thrown int
4 a confused mass, and that with the a.
8 sistance of others who arrived on tn
l ground he helped to carry out the dea
and injured There were about doze
of the latter with broken limbs and ba
tered heads and. their clothing covere
n with blood. As the car fell the unite
shrieks of twenty voices added terror I
the scene.
9 Superintendent Dechart gives as tn
|. cause of the accident the refusal of tn
r brake to work properly. 1t was ne
J. brake and was being experimental will
A great many people visited the seen
: of the accident during the Afternoon
, The car was splintered into kindlin
}, wood and the escape of a single passel
U ger is miraculous
i STRIKE AT CHICAGO.