The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1891-07-09
RAILWAY HORRORS.
TERRIBLE WRECKS IN OHIO AND
WEST VIRGINIA..

A Roar Eni Collision and n Rotten
Trcs,le-Excursioni>ts tho Victims In
Both fnstances-Two Score dead and
Eighty Wounded.
In quick succession two frightful rail-
way accidents have Mortified tho coun-
try. Two score of victims instantly
killed, several fatally hurt, and nearly
a hundred more or less seriously injured,
is the awful result.
The first occurred at an early morning
hour, at Ravenna, Ohio just as dawn
was ningling with the darL ness, pas
sengcr No. 8, cast bound, on the New
York, Lake Eric and Western, pulled
into the station few minutes late, The
train consisted of an express and bag
gage car, three day coaches, two Pull
mans, and a special the latter occupied
by forty glass blowers from Corning.
n. ", returning from an excur-
sion at Findlay Trouble with a
coupling detained the train men,
and fagman was sent back to
warn fast freight which was following
close. Before he had gone two car
lengths past the special car the heavy
freight came laundering down long
grade, ana in the next instant twenty
one dead and over thirty wounded vic
tins were buried in the ruins. Fire
quickly started, and the scene that TO-
lowed beggars description. Ravenna 8
fire department was summoned, and but
for its ass stance the list of fatalities
must have been greatly augmented. The
rear special car, the freight engine. and
the sleeper "Warsaw" were totally de-
stroycd, en'ailins property loss of over
100000. The sleeper Warsaw" had no
passengers. In the s'cepcr "Ascoli, 1"
next in front, Mrs, Jas Gasscr and
child, of Chicago, and three men from
Brooklyn, n. v, were killed. OF the forty
glass blowers, SCI cntcen were instantly
killed, and al the rest in. ured, two
fatally. Several of those fatally hurt
suffered such agony from wounds and
fire that they begged the rcscuers to kill
them. The wrecked passenger train was
the famous "Thundcrbolt," the favorite
east bound train on the Ere route.
1t is one of the new sold veStibued
trains. Chicago TO New York. There
were many Chicago passengers on the
train besides Mrs GasSer, and before
the news or the accident had reached
that city they had wired their friends of
their safety. Gen. Nelson A. Miles and
Captain T.. l. higgins were of the num-
ber The kille and wounded wrrc all
from Brooklyn and Corning, n. y. The
second accident. 70 lowing before the
public had fully realized the awful cx-
tent of the first. was none the less ter
rb'c and but slightly less fatal.
The list of wounded is much larger,
while the dead and fatally hurt
number nineteen 1t was the worst
.cident in the history of West Virginia,
and occurred eight mi cS west of Charles
ton. on the kanawha and Michigan
Railway. The passenger train for Co
lumbuS. Ohio, was pulling two carloads
of cXcursionlStS-thc Charleston Lodge
Of United American Mechanics. The
slcepcrs of a high trestlc had been weak
encd by fire. presumably caused by a
| Passing engine the night before All
| the train except the excursion car:
| passed the trcstie safely. but the latter
were derail,d by spreading rails.
A third accident, fatal, but
| slight compared to those detailed above
| crossing at Rockwell and Madison
streets. horse car was struck by {
| switch engine, one passenger killed. two
| fatally hurt. and three seriously in
| iured. This accident occurred at 2:3t
| a. M. and was caused directly by The
combined careleSsufsS of the railwa!
gateman. the engineer, and the conduc
| tor of the street car.