St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-07-27

the following named from Dayton:
Warren Thompson. Fred Weidner,
Mark limerick. Edith Tuttle. +. 5. Tut
tie. Kate Schlein. Eden VI. BeasOn and
wife, Frank Reiger, William Oman.
Mary Gram, Annie Nenard. Samuel
LOhr, Charles Myers, Maggie Frest,
Annie Brennan. Pearl Shorthill and w.
c. Thompson. There are as many more
with bruises and other slight injuries.
William q. Douglass, one of the fore
men of the National Cash Register
works and who was also one of the COM
mitteemen in charge of the Cincinnati,
Hamilton Il Dayton excursion tOWOOds-
dale, tells this story Of the Saturday
night wreck, in which three persons
were killed and forty seriously injured:
The train of fifteen crowded cars
started on its return trip from Woods
dale about o'clock, and about an hour
later the accident occurred at Middle
town. \ draw bar about the middle of
the excursion train broke and they
stopped at MiddletOwn to patch it up
for the run to Dayton. Brakemen
were Immediately sent out with red
flags to flag the approaching train. and
nearly half an hour was consumed IN
repairing the disabled car. Red lights
were not promptly changed to the rear
of this car. though the train was pulling
out when the accident occurred at near
ly 9O'clOck. Two hundred and fifty
men, women and children were in the
last three coaches, and all knew that
freight train No. fl was following, and
they appreciated and talked of their
danger. Some Of them called Con-
ductOr Peter q. Clancy's attention to
their peril, and he cautioned them that
if they heard train A coming they
should jump from the car. Five
minutes later the awful disaster
was upon them. The excursion
was slowly creeping off the side track
when OminOus roaring was heard from
the expected train No. If, then not over
quarter of mile away. Nearer and
clearer came the monster mOgul with
thirty-fiYe loaded cars, and when in
sight of MiddletoWn station. Engineer
Schwind saw the tiagman waving the
danger signal an6 he Immediately called
for brakes. shut off steam and applied
the sand. He saw that collision was
inevitable. Then he and his fireman
jumped and an instant later the crash
came, a rear-end collision of mighty
force.
"Ihe excursion train was pulling out
onto the main track, and all but the two
hind coaches had left the siding when
the mogul engine with the heavy train
behind it went plOwng through. The
two rear cars and human freight were
hurled into the ditch. and the next
coach was struck fairly Ill the end, and
the locomotive pushing under elevated
it to an angle of fOrty-five degrees, and
there it stood, filled with shrieking
people. This car caught fire, but En-
gineer Schwind and his fireman were
able to eXtinguish the blaze by use of
hose from the locomotive. The two
cars lay crushed in the ditch with
mass of MANNED and mangled
people moaning in agony. pleading for
help. ReScuers set to work at once to
eXtricate them. Legs, arms and heads
could be seen through broken windows
or pinned under the wreck. Means of
the helpless sufferers and means of the
dying, mingled with the frantic cries of
mothers seeking husbands and children.
Many had been cut by glass and tim
bers in the rush to escape, and bloody
faces and hands bore CHASTITY testimony
to the great number who were injured.
Physicians and citizens of Middletown
were soon at the scene to join In Tescu-
ing the unfOrtunates. The terror
stricken eXcursioniStS were made COM
Portable in the houses, the three dead
persons were properly cared for and the
injured received all necessary atten-
tiOn."
Traffic on the railroad was suspended,
and relief trains were the only ears
moving. Passengers of the Inflated
train began arriving here at midnight,
but it was not until 1880 in the morning
that the special train reached here with
the fifteen most seriously injured peO-
pie. A tramp named James Wilson, of
Columbus, o., vino, with mis- two little
boys, was having a free ride on the
freight train, says he is raiIrOader by
occupation, and was on the third car
from the front when approaching Mid
dletown Saturday night; that he plainly
saw the red lights swinging, and that
the engineer tired to stop the train but
could not, and the heavy cars crowded
Iim into the excursion train. Two of
The wrecked cars were brought here this
afternoon en- route to Lima shops for re-
pairs. Both are badly shattered. Frank
Patterson is in critical condition to-
night from the loss of blood.