Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1891-07-16
who shrHked and implored in

|. victims, who shraked and implored in
vain for help that was willing enough
but was far too weak tultear aside the
iron and timbers before the wreck and
flame had done their worst. TkHN
were very few injured who did not diegy
and very few dead who were not bruised
and broken and blackened and burned
out of all semblance to human form.
Tom Hanley of Corning, who was in
the fatal rear car with score of bright.
lively fellow glass workers, on their
way home to Corning after good sea-
sons work in Ohio, says it was a mir
acle that any occupant of the car es-
capped to tell Of what followed the crash.
II was half asleep, listening in lazy
way to the jokes and an occasional cheer
full growl from ono of our friends in the
corner. vainly attempting to get some
sleep, when I fancied heard man cry
out in alarm.
Too sleepy to fully investigate, 1
glanced up and around the car and sunk
back into the seat. Opening my eyes
tho next moment, it seemed as if had
fallen asleep and awakened in another
world. I seemed to feel no shock, but
only smothered crashing, and dull
sensation of pain, resulting probably
from o terrific blow I received in the
back of the head Then realization of
what had happened came only too soon,
as the most horrible groans and
cries came from every side,
from the poor fellows who
the instant before had been exchanging
some merry remark. Then came the
fire, and I stopped my ears to the scream
of pain and terror that arose. It was
my friend probably, but he was so bent,
twisted and doubled under the seat and
about my benumbed legs that I could not
tell what it was, except that it was hui
man and living at one time, but dying
now, as I could catch the gasping
breath and death knell coming from
the poor fellows throat. It was a ter
rible but merciful release, and pain
less death to what some others had to
suffer.
Many were caught and pinned to their
seats or sqeezed against the wallis of the
car, or against the engine that had
dashed into and through cars wherever
they stood, or lay pleading in vain for
help and seeing every moment the warm
flames creeping closer and closer, wind
ing about their limbs, and licking their
faces; and one by one their cries we're
stilled as they gave up the fight for life
My escape was simply miracle and
came about through no effort of my
own. was forced or knocked toward a
break in the car, and after hard work
extricated my legs from the mass of
wreck and human forms, and found
myself standing in the outside air,
badly hurt but alive
There was no delay in rendering as
sistance. but all efforts were fruitless
until the arrival of the city fire depart.
ment, as the flames could not be stayed
on their terrific march to death until
water had been poured on the wreck for
hours, as it seemed to the agonized
onlookers, but in reality all that human
power could do was DONE Then at
daylight fearful crowd of several
hundred stood at the station, gazing
with fearful eyes upon the sickening
sight, while all about the smothering
odor of burning flesh was arising from
the mass of blackened heaped-up
wreckage.
Now and then ones eyes CHANGED
npon little shreds of clothing or scared
flesh, and little piles of what might have
been human bones, each and all black
ened and roasted to horrible degree.
Probably the most fearful sight, if any
one could be worse than the others, was
the appearance of the front of the boiler
of the freight engine. In the first shock
the front end of the boiler was broken
in, as the engine plowed it's way through
| the mass of humanity, and four poor
fellows were actually scraped up in the
cauldron. Wounded and help
less there they layf slowly roast
ing to death be ore the very
eyes of the spectators, VII would but
could not aid them. These were after
wards fshed out piecemeal by the fire.
mems hooks and mercifully covered
with sheeting.
Aid for the wounded was soon On hand
but for the dead nothing remained but
to hide them from sight as soon as
possible. The handsome Etna building
was transformed into morgue, and as
the masses of the burned flesh were
hooked out they were hastily removed
there, and either stretched full length,
or huddled in little heaps. An enorm-
GUS crowd had gathered, but the doors
were kept closed
Some morbidly curious crept up to
the windows, only to fall back aghast
at what they had seen. Nineteen re-
mains of what had been human beings
covered with sheetings, through which
bare blackened limb now and then
protruded, while the blood soaked
through the white cloth and puddled on
the floor, while Coroner Sherman with
his assistants stepped from one to the
other, searching for letters or some
means of identifying one mass from an
other. This was difficult. In half
dozen instances the entire head had been
burned of, leaving only the blackened
trunk, grim and CHASTITY, defying all
efforts at Identification. Their names
and other data could only be secured
from their surviving friends, but one
could not tell one trunk from another,
all had become alike in their common
fate. Among the entire nineteen dis
membered bodies but two retained any
thing resembling the features of human
beings. It was here in the morgue that
the most touching and awful discovery
of the night was made The coroner
tenderly removed from one form the