Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1892-03-11
SEVEN WE'RE KILLED.
WcENM-M MEET DEATH I'm A
RAILWAY WRECK.
y Misplaced Switcl, or the st. Paul Road
Causes u Had Sinnsii-Ep In Milwaukee
-rhe Switcimnn Arrested Indiana
Won,an's Prison Burned.
Car. C,ashcu Togc,Lsr.

Cars Crashed Together.
The Observation-Disclosures of Il SWITCH
man, or the physical impossibility of his
being in two places at one time, re-
suited In the accident on the Chicago,
milwaukee and ST. Paul Railway ut
Milwaukee, which caused the instant
death of seven men.
According toa dispatch giving particu-
lars, tho accident occurred ut the foot of
18th street II few minutes before 4
O'Clock Tuesday afternoon. The fact
lhat the trains werc moving at "a COM
para'lvc!y slow rate OF speed alone pre-
vented Il railway horror which would
nave counted lis deadly the scores.
All Tho Killed and injured were m
ploy IS of the railroad company and re-
Turning from their work at tho West
milwaukee, shops on the shop train.
which consists of seven old cushioned
coaches. The train had just passed 18th
street when the Watcrtown special came
numbering :llong on Il parallel track.
Just before ii overlook the shop train u
whitc-iaced switchman nJshed out,
wnvlnS his arms. and the next instant
the Mutertown special took the switch
and plunged into the rcar coaches of tho
shop train.
Three of the shop train coaches were
toppled e and ground into the Gin
ders of the roadbed. Several cars on
the passenger train left the rails. but
were not overturned. Tho mon in the
overturned cars struggled tu free them
selves. The frightened passengers of
lhc Matcltcwn special recovered their
senses and rushed from the cars and in
side of two minutes 200 men were at
work rescuing the men from the wrecked
cars. Many We're cut and bleeding, but
by tho time The police patrol wagon ar
rived most of them had recovered suf,i-
GENTLY to walk II be carried away by
friends.
Those who We're killed suffered almost
instant death. They were men who at
tempted to jump from the side doors of
the old coaches and were crushed to
death when the cars toppled over on
them. The bodies wore all quickly
taken from tho wreckage md conveyed
to the morgue.
The picture at the wreck was ono
which few people could look upon with
out Il shudder. Beneath the overturned
cars, which had been raised with levers
sufficiently TO release the bodies of the
dead, were strewn pieces OF flesh, while
the tracks We're stained with the blood
OF the unfortunatcs. Here wa a crush
ed hat, and there O battered dinner-pail.
The worllmcn who escaped hu1riedly
went TO their homes or their friends,
and the ground was soon abandoned
to the employees of the company engaged
III clearing the tracks and trying TO as
certain the exact cause of tho accident.
The latter proved an easy task.
Will Rartn1s tho a,yi@rhnnn in oGo 40
VENT to Superintendent N. Kenna, asked
his advice and then CAV himself mp to
the police, 10 whom he admitted that he
had left three switches open in the per-
i%orlnance OF his duty, mis- only excuse
being that he forgot to close them. He
was %locked.up pending investigation.
There was great Indignation among the
n%eighbors of the dead, who talked about
hanging the switchman responsible for
the disaster. Few of the friends of the
victims heard of the accident until tho
remains Were brought to the city, and
the most affecting enc were enacted
at the morgue when the work of identi-
fication was going on. A singular
feature of the accident was that nobody
upon the express train was injured.
The railway officials maintained their
usual policy OF refusing to give out any
colGti LlIiR lllC WIech, anu
the agents of the claim department, who
have charge OF the work of settling
damage claims against the company for
injuries, were upon the ground almost
as soon as the local police officers.
Bartels, the switchman who is held re-
sponsible for the cause of the wreck,
was seen at the Central Police Station.
He has two men under him as assist
ants, and the three, according to tho
statements of Bartels, are kept so busy
that it frequently becomes necessary for
him to rely upon his subordinates to SEQ
that the switches are in the proper po-
sition. He admits he turned two of tho
switches, and may have left them open.
He is Twenty-Five years old. He says
that ne is anxious to make all tho
amends which are in his power, or which
the law may require of him in u criminal
way.