The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-10-22
Two Engineers and Two Passengers Instantly
Killed, Fireman Badly Scalded and Twen-
ty-Three Others Manned or Bruised.
officials of the Road Confident that the
: Switch Was Turned by Wreckers.
b. 4 O. Limited Wrecked and the Engineer and
Fireman Killed-Three Postal Clerks and
Traveller Fatally Injured.
FATAL WRECK on THE c., b. s. Q.

GALFSBUHG, Ill. Oct. El.-lEe CnlcAgc,
Burlington & Quincy fast passenger train
No. 5. which lett here at 1880 O'clock last
night, met with an accident at the pottery
switch, near Monmouth. sixteen miles west
of here. twenty-five minutes later. The
train was running at u high rate of speed.
The facts show that the switch was partly
turned and the locomotive left the main
track and started on the side-track. Some
of the cars behind kept on the MAIN track.
As result the W hole train of seven cars. save
the sleeper, were derailed and turned over
on the side. the cars being scattered around
in great confusion. There was no tele-
scoping There were on the engine
engineer A. A. Emery. fireman Nels
Courtney, the travelling engineer.
who went on the trip TO see
how the new locomotive worked. Ander.
son was blown from the cab by the steam.
Emery and Courtney had no chance to es-
cape and their bodies were found close TO
the locomotive. The baggage and express
men were thrown across their cars, but es-
capped injury. A yOnng man named Frank
s. Johnson. of avon. who. with w. X.
Hardy. of Abingdon, was standing on the
steps of the smoking car, attempted TO
jump Off, but was thrown under the wheels
and killed. Hardy jumped and escaped
injury. The baggage car caught fire, bnt
the flames were promptly extinguished by
baggageman John Dore. Oscar thinner
man was pitched through window of the
smoking car and was unhurt, He hurried
back to stop two incoming trains.
l. Al
first chair car, right back of the smoker.
In one seat in the middle of the car sat
George Allen, his wife and baby. She was
next to the window, and as the car tipped
over her head was driven through the win
dow and she was instantly killed. The baby
was hurled across the car and. save q cut
on the head. was uninjured. Mr.. Alien re-
ceved only bruises. He found his baby
first, then groped his way from the car for
q laRtsr tn, and returning found his wife
dead. The scene after the wreck is said to
have been beartrendng. The imprisoned
passengers beat out the windows of the
cars to effect their escape. a large force of
surgeons and railroad officials went from
here aud Burlington.
THE DEAD AND INJURED.
In addition to the four killed. twenty-five
were injured. Those killed are:
MRS GEORE ALLEN. Lomopi, H.
f. L. JOHNSON. Avon, Ill.
GEORGE COURTNEY. Galesburg, ILL.,
A. A EMERY, Galesburg, Ill.
The injured are:
ELIZABETH j. MCDONALD, South Meliord, Ia,
r. J. KERDY, Lennox, H., left arm mashed.
joan BURNER FOreston, H., left arm torn of.
Gus WIGGFRS. Rock Island, ILL.,, nip hurt
(-ulas sl.arfy
scalded may live
FaANK vALTERsHALI, Chicago, cut about the
5. ". COOPER. Corning, Ia., scalp wound and
hand Injured
AGNES MILLER, Brookfleld, O., cut over left
eye.
JAMES MILLER, Brookleld, O.. arm bruised
CATH miller, BroOkfield, o.. arm bruised.
Mrs. CATHERINE CoRus, Murray. H.. left eye
and face bruised.
E. S. MCDONALD, South Milford, Ind, clavicle
fractured.
Z. ROWE. Shenandoah. Ia, hand cut and leg
hurt.
FOREST ROWE. his son, head hurt.
JEREMIAH CANTY, Glenline, Pa, shoulder and
head cut.
NATE PETERS. Chicago. shoulder bruised.
OSCAR ZIMMERMAN, Monmouth, H., hand cut.
l.. s. BRIcHER. High Creek, Ia, scalp wound.
MRS. A. {. SwOPE. Harrisburg, Pa, leg bruised.
A. q. swoPE, Harrisburg. Pa, bruised.
GEORGE ALLEN, Lamon Ia. slight bruise.
Il. ID. EVANS, Genesee, Mis.. shoulder injured
JAMES FARRELL. New London. Ia. slight cut
in head.
JAMES SCARBOROUGH, slgDe cnt.
All the injured persons have gone upon
their various ways except three. and these
the doctors DC not consider fatally injured.
Two of them have been moved to Gales
burg ana but one remains at Monmouth.
Mr.. Courtney was one OF the oldest en-
gineers on the road. having been with the
company before the war. The coroner
visited the scene of the wreck and Will hold
the inquest tomorrow.
THE SWITCH TAMPERED WITH.
T. c. Rice, superintendent of the Him OILS
| lines of the c., b. Il O.. expressed the opin-
ion that the switch had been tampered
with. After the wreck the switch was
found half turned. with the pin hanging
down and the switch locked. A switch en-
gine had been working on the side track
| during the afternoon. but subsequently
seven trains passed over the switch in
safety. Just year ago the fast mail ran
, off the same switch and several were IN
jured. 1t Is a standard split switch and was
| regarded as perfectly safe.
Regarding the cause of the disastrous
wreck two opinions prev all One OF these,
| shared by the officials OF the company and
| by some of the employees, is that the switch
! WAS deliberately tampered with. Dr. lay
Ior, the coroner. tx pressed to-nlgnt an op:n-
ion that the parties who tamperrd with the
| switch will be known in less than two
weeks. The inquest has been pOstpOn ed TO
| Friday. Two arrests were made to-day on
suspicion. One prisoner was released after
showing that he was in 10 way connected
! with the wreck. The other is w. II. Healy,
who has been working on farms in this
locality, and who - now being detained
In Jail. Healy. when seen tonight. claimed
that he can produce evidence To show that
ut the tim0 of the wreck be was sleeping IN
! barn, near Gerlaw. six miles from here.
| and that this morning he rode part of the
way in here. The police seem TO think
that there Is no case against him. The
coroner has evidence that he does not care
to reveal at present.
| The other opinion regarding the cause of
the wreck is that the switch was not in per-
feet condition. 1t is claimed that il can be
unlocked without the use of key In
such way as 10 be pushed half
way open. and that with strong
rafting 1t can be sprung open.
! One of the police asserts that he opened
| the switch five or six times this afternoon
! without key. The coroner, however. rep
resented that the switch was i'm perfect
! condition. although n doctor IN the coro-
ner's office asserted that the lock could be
slipped through the big link and the pin
/ pulled out. Superintendent &. +. Rice
| said tonight that he did not attribute the
| wreck to the malice of any discharged en-