Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1891-07-27
! NEWS BY TELEGRAPH.
From All Quarters.
A Sad PLEASURE TRIP.
The Dayton Disaster Satur-
day Night.
THREE KILLED AND FORTY INJURED.
Seal Fishing in Behring Sea
Stopped.
SECRETARY BLAINE NEARLY WELL.
Chauncey NJ. DepeW Talks
of the Outlook.
THREE KILLED AND FORTY INJURED,
SECRETARY Blaine NEARLY WELL.
STORY OF A SURVIVOR.

The Dayton Disaster Saturday Night
william G. Douglass, One of the
Foremen of the National Cash
Register Works and One of the
Committee in Charge of the Excur-
sion, Relates the Horrible Ex-
per1ence of Those ON Board the
Cars-Three Killed and Forty In.
jured.
DAYTON, O., July 26.-William g..
Douglass, one of the foremen of the
National Cash Register works, and who
was one of the committee in charge of the
Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton excur-
sion to Woodsdale, tells the story of the
Saturday night wreck, in which three per-
sons were killed and forty injured. The
train of fifteen crowded cars started on
its return trip from Woodsdale about 7
o'clock and an hour later the accident oc-
Cured at Middletown. A 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 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 nearly 8 o'clock. Two hun
dred and fifty men, women and children
were in the last three coaches, and all
knew that freight train No. A was follow
ing, and they appreciated and talked of
their danger. Some of them called Con-
ductor Peter q. Clancey's attention to
4l,os- h.
when they heard train A coming they
should jump from the car. Five minutes
later the awful disaster was upon them.
The excursion train was slowly creeping
off the side track when an ominous roaring
was heard from train No. A, then not
over quarter of mile off. Nearer and clear
er came the monster mogul with thirty
five loaded cars, and when in sight of
Middletown station Engineer Schwind saw
the fsgman waving the danger signal and
he Immediately called for brakes, shut off
steam and applied the sand. He saw that
a collision was inevitable. He and the
fireman jumped, and an instant later the
crash came, a rear end collision of mighty
force. The excursion was pulling out on
to 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 ploughing through. The two
rear cars with their loads of human freight
were hurled into the ditch, and the coach
was struck fairly in the end, and the loco
motive, pushing under, elevated it
to an angle of forty five degrees,
and there it stood, filed with
shrieking people. This car caught fire
but Engineer Schwind and his firemen were
able to extinguish the blaze by the use of
hose from the locomotive. Two cars lay
crushed in the ditch with a 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 the mothers seeking husbands and
children. Many had been but by glass
and timbers in the rush to escape, and
bloody faces and hands bore CHASTITY testi-
mony to the great number injured.
Physicians and citizens of Middletown
were soon at the scene to join in rescuing
the unfortunates. The terror stricken ex-
cursionists were made comfortable, the
dead were properly cared for and the in
jured received all necessary attention.
All traffic on the road was suspended.
Passengers began arriving at midnight, but
it was not until 1880 a. m. that the special
train reached here with the fifteen most
seriously injured people.
Three persons were killed out
right: William Matthews, aged thirteen;
Miss Ida Freyer, aged twenty-five years;
Frank Simoner, aged seventeen. Four are
in critical condition at St. Elizabeth hos
pital: Joseph B. Cleyal, mechanical
draughtsman, left arm crushed off at the
shoulder; Frank Peterson, aged twenty
one years, left arm amputated above ell
bow; Joseph H. Sweeverly, aged twenty
five years, of Pottsville, Pa, spinal in
juries, and James Murphy, aged fifty, ter
ribly injured in the small of the back; Miss
Mary Reese of Osborne, O., was badly in
jured and also the following Dayton peo-
pie: Warren Thompson, Fred Weidner,
Mark S. limerick, R. S. Ruttle, Kate
Schlein, Eden M. Beason and wife, Frank
Reiger, William Oman, Mary Gramp and
G. Venard, Samuel Luher, Maggie Frost,
Annie Brennan, Pearl Shotthill and w. G.
Thompson. There are many more with
bruises and other, slight injuries.
A tramp named James Wilson of Column
bus, who with his two little boys was hav-
ing free ride on the freight train, says he
is railroader by occupation and was on
the third car from the front when ap-
preaching Middletown Saturday night;
that he plainly saw the red lights swing
and that the engineer tried to stop the
train, but could not, and the heavy cars
crowded him into the excursion train.
Two of the wrecked cars were brought to
Dayton this afternoon en- route to the Lima
shops for repairs. Both are badly shatter-
ed. Frank Patterson is in critical con-
dition tonight from loss of blood.