St. Paul daily globe., 1892-05-16
Two Trains Going at Terrific
Speed in Collision Near
Cleaves, Ohio.
Five Dead Bodies Taken Out
Others Thought to Be
in the Wreck.
Not a Single Person on Either
Train Escapes Without
Some Injury.
The Accident Happened in a
Storm--Property Loss
Very Heavy.

CLEAVES, O.. May 15.-In the midst of
terrific storm of wind and rain two
Big Four trains crashed into each other
near CleaveS this morning with awful
effect, the details of which aresnOt yet
known. This morning a new schedule
went into effect. and orders had been
issued accordingly. Freight No. 43,
through train, north bound. had orders
10 stop at North Bend 10 allow Express
No. 50. a cannon ball special. to pass.
Under the old schedule the trains
passed at point some miles further
on. Instead of stopping the freight en-
gineer pulled ahead and reached
CIeayes running about twenty miles an
hour. Why he did not stop at North
Bend will never be known, as he is
dead: but it is thought that, i'll his anXi-
ETY. over the storm, which might
have washed out bridges, he forgot
the new schedule and hurried on. As
the train approached Cleayes Charles
Smith, the telegraph operator, was
shocked. for he knew 1t should have
sidetracked at North Bend, and that the
express, a few minutes overdue then,
was but short distance away, running
forty-hve miles an hour TO make up lost
time. Smith rushed to the signal wires
and dashed out the danger signals.
Either it was not seen in the binding
rain or the engineer could not control
his engine. for it sped on by without
lessehng speed. At that very moment
the express came into sight with the
speed of the wind. If any effort was
made on either engine to slacken speed
it was not appreciable, and the iron
monsters sprang and crashed into each
other with a roar that rolled over the
storm
Like a Clap of Thunder.
Both engines were battered into
ehapeless masses and rolled off the
track. The cars behind were mashed
into kindling, and the track for 100 feet
was torn up. Telegraph poles were
thrown down. and it was two or three
hours after the wreck before word
reached this place, a nd 4 special train
was sent to the scene from Cincinnati.
village and from the surrounding
county had gathered. and in the fright
full storm were doing all they could.
Many of the wounded had been taken
away, and the number cannot tonight
be definitIy known. 1t is claimed that
some of those thus provided fer are in
dying condition. Not person
ON either train escaped unin-
jured. With the arrival of the
special train the work of getting out
the dead began. Up to o'clock five
dead bodies had been recovered, four of
them sh9ckingly mangled and mashed
out of all human shape. Under the
freight engine, broken, crushed and
scalded, were found Engineer William
Hidds and his fireman, Hiram Bruce,
both of indianapolis. Under mashed
freight car farther-back Philip Gibbon
and David Harwood we're found.
Nearly every bone in their bodies was
broken and their faces horribly disfg-
ured. The fifth dead body was that OF
Berry Edwards, engineer of the pas
senger train. His fireman, Henry Tyr
rel, had jumped before the crash, but
had been caught under mass of
Wreckage. His chest was crashed in
and his head cut. He was taken to
Lawrencebnrg, butcannot survive the
night. John Schroeder, conductor of
the passenger tram. was injured in al
most the same manner, and can live but
few hours at most. George w. Hud-
Ter, a commercial traveller from Miamis-
burg, was crushed
Between Two Sea Is,
being bent almost double. He was
taken to Cincinnati hosp tai. He can
not survive. Julius Webber. the chief
clerk of the county, was also injured.
Coroner Bange. of Cincinnati. has just
returned from the wreck and says the
scene is The worst he ever saw. He
thinks there are from five to ten more
dead in the ruin, but the exact number
cannot be told tonight. "BOney' Keefe,
freight brakeman, had just reached
the top of car when the collision Oc-
Cured. The crash was so terri bic that
he was thrown over telegraph wire
forty feet into a stream of water, which
saved his life. He thinks there are at
least three tramps under the wreck of
the freight. Several passengers on the
express are positive that several of
their number were also killed. 1t
is certain they are missing
but they may be among the
wounded scattered about. Owing to
the distance from the city and the pros
tration of the telegraph wires at the
scene of Tie accident and the telephone
wires by the storm, details have been
very slow in coming in, and no COM
plete list of the wounded can be given.
The property loss is very severe, and
will be 100000. Both engines are COM
plete wrecks, and the coaches of the
express train are ruined. 1t is claimed
that much valuable mail and express
matter is lost. A dozen freight cars
loaded with costly goods are a total
loss.
List Of Killed:
Engineer Edwards, of Greensburg, Ind, of
tie passenger tram.
Acting Baggagemaster Philip GribboD, of
Iavrenceburg of the passenger train.
Engineer William Higgs. OF indianapolis,
of the freight train.
Fireman Hiram Bruce, Of The freight train,
OF Greensburg Ind
Conductor David H. Sherwood, OF Indian
apolis, of the freight.
%s The Injured:
J. c. Huber, passekfgeT, Miamisburg o..
knee ban broken. head cut slight.
Holton Terrell, passenger, aged eighteen.
son of DR.. Terrell. of Delu, o., scalded over
the body; can't live.
Conductor John Schroeder, passenger On
the train, crushed mortally between the cars.
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