Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1891-07-29
FIFTY PEOPLE DEAD.
EXCURSION TRAINS COLLIDE NEAR
SAINT MANDE, FRANCE.

Three Carriages WrecIied aud Fifty Peo-
pie Sent Into Etcrnity--The Wreck
Caught Fire and Many Unfortunates
Were Roasted Alive.
PARIS, July ga terrible railway
accident occurred near the village of
Saint Mande in the department of the
Seine. Two excursion trains collided,
owing to some error on the part of the
driver of one of the trains. Both were
loaded with people out for holiday.
The collision was followed by scene
of frightful confusion. Three carriages
were utterly wrecked, over fifty PEG.
pie being killed and sixty injured. Most
of the bodies recovered are without legs,
through the seats being jammed to-
gether and cutting off the limbs. Tween
Ly thousand people assembled at the
scene, including many relatives of the
injured and dead. The scenes were
most heal rendering as the victims
were extricated. The driver and fire
man of the second train were burned
alive. The stationmaster, on whose
oversight the blame is now placed, has,
it is reported, gone mad and disap-
peared.
Scenes of Horror.
PARIS, July 27.-A dispatch just re-
ceived. from the scene of Sunday nights
feartG collision between excursion
trains near Sainte Mande represents
the accident as having been even of a
more distressing character than at first
appeared. After the fearful crash the
train caught fire and the unfortunates
who were hopelessly wedged in the
debris were slowly roasted. Many of
the poor creatures were so placed that
for many antagonising minutes they
were forced to look upon death re-
morselessly burning its way to them,
Nothing that humanity could do could
extricate them from situation not to
he described by language. The awe
stricken multitude were compelled to
stand helnlessly by and listen to the
awful din made by the cracking flames,
the FILLING iron work of the burning
cars and the shrieks, means and prayers
of tie doomed. Occasionally q voice
would raise itself above the tumult,
supplicating the merciful to kill the un-
happy speaker and put him out of pain.
In number of instances men and
women Were seen laughing, gibbering
and finging their arms wildly about,
fear having dethroned their reason.
Two Hundred Killed or Injured.
The engine of the rear train teles-
COPIED the last three cars of the train
ahead and almost instantly the reser-
voir in which the gas was stored ex-
ploded with terrific force. The wreck
age then caught fire, A half hour
hour elapsed after the outbreak of the
flames before the last faint cry of agony
was stilied. Fully 200 persons are
known to have been killed or injured.
The town hall of st. Mande presents
a fearful spectacle. The blackened bod
les of the dead lie in rows upon the floor
and upon tables in that building. In
some cases the remains are but little
more than heaps of cinders intermixed
with portions OF limbs and fragments of
other parts of what were but short
time ago human beings, laughing chat=
ting and singing in jovial contentment.
One pile of charred limbs and human
cinders was especially conspicuous, as it
consisted of a mass of unidentified and
unconnected bodies placed in heap.
An Official Statement.
PARIS, July 2s.-An official statement
of dead and wounded in the railway ae-
cident at Saint Mand, Sunday, place the
number of dead at forty three and of in-
jured at nineteen.