The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-07-04
Nineteen Persons Mangled and
Their Bodies Burned Out of
Human Semblance.
Horrified Onlookers Powerless Il
Stay the Flames or Extricate
the Victims.
Several Not Killed Outright
Slowly Roasted to Death
in tho Debris.
The Added Horror of Darkness Made the
Sccne Frightful Beyond Imagina-
tion-Some One Blundered.

RAvENNA, Ohio, July 3.-Nineteen people
were killed and twelve injured at an early
hour this morning iu the most frightful
railroad accident of the present year. At
three o'clock the east-bound express on the
Erie was lying at the station while some re-
pairs were being made by the engineer.
Flagman Boynton was started back with
lantern to warn any possible danger from
the rear. Suddenly. without warning, the
headlight of locomotive flashed around
the curve and fast stock train dashed
down the steep grade from the west, crash
ing into the rear of the passenger train
standing quietly at the depot There was
some dreadful mistake. Nineteen precious
human lives we're crushed out in moment
and twelve persons manned and injured.
Following is list of the killed and in
jured:
Killed: Henry Gildea, John McAvoy,
Patrick Ryan, I. Boppa, Il. Hupp, f. Burns,
j. Kimball, Owen Hardman. Thos. Nolan.
Thos. Keville, George Gildea, David Beth
ian, j. Coyle. N. Newcombe, d. Ryan, D.
Cassidy, Henry McGill, all glass workers of
Findlay, o.. and Corning, N. y; G. Griffin,
A. Gunthrop and w. Kain, of Brooklyn,
passengers in pullman sleeping car; un-
known nurse and little child. In
iured: Joseph Morgan, Thos. Hanley, Geo.
Smith, Jas. Dwycken, Dennis Ryan, Jas.
Smith, of Corning, N. Y, and John Cad
won, H. G. DeGraff, JAS. McGill, John Keat
ing, "A. p. Jones, Jonas Clark. All these
are seriously hurt and some may die. The
passenger train was about ten minutes late,
owing to trouble with one of the
cars. The train, at the time of the
accident, lay on the main track just
at the bottom of steep grade, and thoug h
the trainmen knew they were followed by
| fast freight, no one seemed to think the
freight WAS at their very heels, and once on
the down grade coming into the station it
| was hard matter to stop, especially as the
| freight did not intend to make Ravenna
stopping place: What might bave been
| was making time. and came down hill with
| a rush, the engine and tender being fairly
| hurled through the rear cars of the rassenge.
When correspondent arrived on the scene
after the accident the sight was awful.
Piteous cries for help arose from heap
of wreckage and willing hands were already
tearing at the heap of broken and twisted
timber and iron. Suddenly here and there
| tiny tongues of flame sprang up from crev-
| ices in the wrecked train. Fire had added
| TO the horrors of the wreck, and fight as
| they would the rescuers could not drive the
| ugly element back one foot from the writh
| ing victims, who shrieked and implored in
vain for help that was willing enough. but
was far too weak to tear aside the iron and
| timbers before wreck and flames had done
| their worst. There were very few I'M ured
who did not die, and very few dead who
1,rv,,c al on1-
| and burned out of all semblance to the
| form of their Maker.
Tom Hanley, of Corning. who was in the
| fatal rear car, with SCORE of fellow glass
workers, on their way homo to Corning,
after seasons work in Ohio, says it was
capped to tell of what followed the crash.
81 was half asleep" said he, when
fancied / heard a man cry out in alarm.
Too sleepy to fully investigate, glanced
around the car and sank back into seat.
Opening my eyes the next moment it
awakened in another world. l seemed to
feel no shook, only smothered crash and
a dull sensation of pain, resulting probably
from terrific blow l received on tho back
of the head. Then realization
of what had happened came only too
and cries came from every side, from
poor fellows who an instant before had
| been exchanging some CHEEKY remark.
| Then came the fire. and with the first blaze
| l stopped my ears to the screams of pain and
| terror. l was wedged in by some one, my
| friend probably, but he was so bent. twisted,
and doubled under and about my benumbed
| legs that could not tell what it was, ex-
cept that it was human and living at one
time, but dying now. Many were caught
and pinioned to their seats, or squeezed
against the walls of the car or against the
"a u bod sr,&.~
the cars. Wherever they were there they
| stood or lay, pleading i'll vain for help and
seeing every moment tho flames creeping
closer and closer, winding about their
limbs and licking their faces. and one
| by one their cries were stilled. My
| escape was simply a miracle and came
| about through no effort of my own. WAS
forced or knocked toward break in the
car and after hard work, extricated my
legs from mass of wreck and human
forms and found myself standing in the
outside air badly hurt but alive.
There was no delay In assistance but
all Efforts were fruitless until the arrival of
| the CITY fire department. The flames could
not be stayed until water had been poured
into the wreck for hours. 1t seemed to the
| agonized onlookers, but in reality all hu-
man power could dowas Done. At daylight
they were subdued and fearful crowd OF
several hundred stood Mt the station, gaz-
ing an the sickening sight. While all about
| them was the smothering odor of burning
human flesh arising from the mass of black,
heaped up, wreokage. Now and then the
eye chance upon little shreds of clothing or
| charred flesh and bones, each and all black
ened roasted to n horrible degree. Prob
ably the most fearful sight. if ono could be
worse than another, was the mp
pearance of the boiler of tho freight
engine. In the first shock the
front end of the boiler was broken in and
the engine plowed it's way through tho mass
of humanity. Four poor fellows were act
uRlly soooped up in the cauidron, wounded
and helpless. and there they lay. slowly
roasting to death before tho oyos of spec
tators who would, but could not. mid them.
These were afterwards tisheu out piece