Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-02-21
RAILWAY HORRORS
Two Fatal Wrecks, One in a
Tunnel.
THE DEATH-ROLL NUMBERS EIGHT

And the Fate of Seven Was Peculiarly
Horrible - Two Women Among the
Victims, One Terribly Burned After
Death--One of the Unfortunates Cut in
Two-An Engineer Slowly Cooked on
the Atchison--sig Explosion of GIycer-
ine-Other Fatalities.
NEW YORK, Feb. 2l.-An appalling dis
aster occurred shortly after Z o'clock yes
terday morning in the Fourth avenue
tunnel hear Eighty fifth street, in which
two women aud four men met their death,
and several other persons were seriously
injured. All were employees of the New
Yord, New Haven and Hartford railway.
The accident was caused by the New Ha-
ven accommodation train, which left the
Grand. Central station at 7:0l, crashing
into the shop train, the rear car of which
was filled with car-cleaners and other en-
ployes bound for the railroad shops at
Mott Haven, and which had left the sta
tion five minutes ahead of the New Haven
train. The tunnel was filled with dense
fog, owing to which the engineer of the
shop train ran under slow hea lway. In
the mean time the New Haven local was
speeding along in the rear
Agonized Cries of the Victims.
The engineer of the local was uncon-
scious of any danger ahead until when
within twenty feet of the shop train he
saw its red lights and Mt once applied the
brakes, but it was too late. The engine
had already crashed into the hind end and
had telescoped the car containing the I'M
fortunate employees on their way to work.
The scene that followed beggars descrip-
ton. Men and women screamed Tor help
and there were means from the diving
The passengers on the New Haven, none
of whom was injured, rushed pell-mell
over each other in the dark tunnel, panic
stricken. Following the crash, flames
burst from the wreck and clouds of smoke
rolled up through the air vent in the tun
mel that was almost directly over the scene
of the accident. Fearful cries for help
were heard by those who were passing in
the street overhead.
A Woman's FrightfuI Fate.
In the meantime firemen had swarmed
down into the tunnel and had began their
work of subduing the flames and rescuing
the injured. One of the women car clean
ers had been struck by the engine and her
condition was sufficient evidence to be
lleve that she had been killed instantly.
The lamp in the car had exploded and
scattered flaming oil over her clothes and
besides being horribly mutiiated, her head
and body were terribly burned Out of a
broken window of the wrecked car where
the engine of the local had pinned him
fast, hung John Haucke, a car cleaner,
crying for help. The firemen as tenderlv
as possible tried to pull him out but the
efforts caused him such intense pain that
he begged to be left where was. When he
was gotten out it was found that his legs
had been partially burned off. He died on
the way to the hospital.
The List of Unfortunates
The following is correct list of the
dead and injured: Dead-John Haucke,
Michael Mullane (aged I5), Mrs. Nellie
Supple, Mrs. Ellen Fay, John Murray,
aged 40, all of this city, and an unknown
colored man. Injured-William f. Brown.
brakeman, injured internally; NJ NJ.
Culbreth colored cook, suffering from
shock; Engineer Fowler aud Brakeman
Linn, slightly hurt
Cause of the Disaster.
One body was picked up in two pieces.
The locomotive of the passenger train had
gone right through the fated car, crush
ing everything in its way. The cause of
the accident is hard to tell, but the en-
gineer of the passenger train says there
was white light at the entrance to the
tunnel signifying that the road was clear
He was arrested and held without bail.
The fireman corroborates the engineer