Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1891-05-22


ELMIRA. N. r.. May 13.-Specials
from Condersport and Austin, in Pot
teScounty, Pennsylvania, tell of a ter
rible accident in that county. train
loaded with 100 men. bent on the re-
lief OF people threatened by fierce fires,
ran into the fire and was wrecked.
The engine and cars were burned,
The Austin Dispatch says that seventy
five men were seriously and probably
fatally burned, and Superintendent
Badger OF the railroad and four men
are still missing. ,e<s-, e.",
The men were sent from Austin Sun
day night and had been fighting back
the fire by every conceivable means.
They made trenches, piled up earth
and lighted back fires, but were finally
obliged to retreat. The men hastily
boarded the train and started to make
the run to another point when it was
found they were hcmmed in by forest
fires on one side and huge skidway
of burning logs on the other. 1t was
finally decided to dash past the burn
ing skidway and the engineer and fire.
man with faces covered with dampened
cloths and their hands and arms wrap
ped in wool pulled through the wall OF
fire. The seventy-five exhausted men
gathered in groups on the flats for pro-
lection. or lay on their faces on the
floors. AS the blazing furnace OF logs
was approached the heat became un-
bearablo and the smoke was so blind
ing and sitting that the men were
obliged to cover their mouths with
cloths.
just opposite the millions OF feet OF
burning logs where the heat and smoke
and flames were the greatest ter
riole thing occurred. The engineer
had forgotten that such u great heat
would surely warp the rails. Suddenly
there was lurch, an ominous heaving
and shrek of despair as the train
toppled over to the hell of fire beneath.
A scene ensued never to be forgotten
by those who escaped and every man
will bear to his grave a mark of that
awful moment. The cars caught fire
like so many playthings and the men
within. half blinded and scarcely re-
alizing anything except that they were
being slowly roasted to death, struggled
fearfully to regain the track where
safety lay for time at least. Those
uninjured from the fall and only smart.
ing from the pain of the intense heat
bravely turned their burned, backened
hands to aid their unfortunate fellows.
At this hour 30 D. n.y. it is i'm
possible to secure details though it
is known that Superintendent Badger
of the Slime Mahoning Valley rail-
road, who was in charge OF the train,
went down under some OF the wreck
and undoubtedly burned to death. Six
others also miserably persisted at once
or died soon afterward and thirty
others of the party are badly burned,
many probably fatally, having inhaled
the flames. Seven others of the party
are missing and their tate is unknown.
though they are likely in the charred
wood of the logs or train. The re-
mainder of the party saved themselves
by lying down in the creek. Relief
parties started for the scene as soon
as the fearful news spread, but will
hardly be able to reach the place of
the wreck unless the fires have burned
themselves out. Owing to the great
devas station done to everything in the
way OF the fire communication is badly
interrupted, and it is impossible to
learn the names OF the men burned or
missing. AS to the damage it is
known that 40, 900, 900 feet of hem
lock logs and timber and %. 900 cords
of valuable bark have already been
destroyed, and the fires are raging
without any appreciable diminution.