Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-12-30
DEATH UPON THEM.
He Comes Without Warning, for
Somebody 6lundered.
A LOADED STREET CAR RUN DOWN.

Fifty Persons on Board. and Four of Them
Killed-Of the Wounded Several VIII
Die-A Frightful Disaster at a Chicago
Grade Crossing Evident CareIessness
Causes Collision with a Fort Wayne
Train-Six Men Arrested as Responsible
for the Slaughter-List of Casualties.
CHICAGO, Dec. 30-A Fort Wayne train
in the semi-darkness of the early hours of
yesterday . morning dashed past the
Forty-seventh street crossing at the rate of
thirty miles an hour and left behind it the
mangled bodies of four dead and dozen
fearfully injured passengers of a street car.
Following is a list of the victims: The
dead-John Blaha, of Fiftieth and LOOMS
street, drawn beneath the wheels of the To-
romotive and frightfuIly mangled; Archi-
bald McAndrews of Forty-seventh and
Wood streets, head crushed and his
body torn and cut; John Roberts. night
superintendent of the T. F. Wells Packing
company, 1910 Langley avenue, terribly
mangled; unidentified woman, supposed
to be Minnie Carson-a card with that
name being found in her purse-died of
internal injuries while being conveyed to
Mercy hospital.
Several Injured Likely to Die.
The injured are: John Brisk of 1910 Fiji
tieth court, head cut and body crushed, will
probably recover; Ellen Conway, 4445 Dear
born street, suffering from a compound
fracture of the skull and internal injuries,
will probably die; J. j. Costello 1873
Wentworth avenue, right arm broken and
legs and head badly cut, condition very Sc
rious; George Clark. Forty sixth and Sher-
man streets, cut about face and shoulders
and internal injuries, will probably recov-
er; Henry Gruber, 4447 Goodspeed street,
cut about head and legs, injuries serious
but not fatal; Michael KOhn, 1895 Ash
land avenue, shoulder dislocated, left leg
broken and hurt internally, re-
covery doubtful; Minnie Kudel,
4T26 Deyer street, head cut and
abdomen pierced by steel splinters. recov-
cry extremely doubtful; William keisler,
Forty-ninth street and Ashland avenue,
left leg broken and arms cut and injured
internally, may recover; Patrick O'Neill.
a37 FOrty-seventh street, leg broken and
side crushed, recovery doubtful; Thomas
Riordan. FOrry-second and State streets,
badly bruised and injured internally, will
recover; Patrick STANLEY, FCrty-fifth street
and Wentworth avenue, driver of the street
car, collar-bone broken, will recover: -Jo-
seph Williams, sos Union street, cut about
head and shoulders.
The Car Crowded with People.
The accident occurred shortly after
o'clock. The street car going east on For
ty-seventh street was crowded with half a
hundred laboring men, going to their
work. The passengers We're wholly una
ware that Il train was approaching as the
car started to cross the railroad track.
There was absolutely no warning. There
was the wild shrek of an engine, fright
full crash az the iron horse tore through
the midst of the Inflated people, and in an
instant the dead and tortured were strewn
along the frozen ground by the tracks.
The train came to a standstill some dis
lance south of the crossing, and those on
board hastened back to the wrecked street
Ear, of which scarcely enough remained to
enable the witnesses to distinguish what it
had once been. The neighboring residents
also turned out to the rescue of the
wounded.
Houses Made Into Hospitals.
The alarm was turned in to the police
stations anywhere within the vicinity and
five police patrol wagons reached the spot
short time later. At first everything was
confused. 1t was still dark and while the
cries of the wounded could be heard their
bodies were almost invisible The houses
near the crossing were soon turned into
impromptu hospitals and a lumber of the
unfortunate people were taken to the hos
pitfalls and to their homes. One man, who
was found still breathing, live long enough
only to be carried to a neighboring house
Before one of the injured had reached Mercy
hospital death came and the destination of
the wagon was changed to the
IF no hoI in
the debris of the street car, but after the
search had been thought complete, it was
found that two men had been dragged
several hundred feet by the engine, under
The tender of which they still remained.
SOMEBODY'S CRIMINAL BLUNDER.
The Authorities Have Six Men Under
Arrest.
Six persons were placed under arrest.
They were Patrick Stanley and Bernard
O'Connor, driver and conductor respective
ly of the street car; Engineer Rosscup and
Fireman Meager, of the construction train;
the gateman, John Albright and the
towerman, Peter Schwartz. To all of these
some suspicion of carelessness: is attached
The gateman was last January indicted
for alleged carelessnes in connection with
fatal accident at his crossing. In the
present instance neither the gateman nor
the towerman was at his post, both being
in warm shanty near the tracks, leaving
the gates up and exposing any street car or
pedestrian TO approaching trains.
Accused by Their Own Tongues.
This fact was established by their own
statements The street car men ap-
pear to have been equally careless Either
the driver drove upon the track without
receiving any signal from the conductor,
who had gone in front, or the conductor
gave that signal without first having sat
isfed himself that the track was clear The
fireman and engineer of the construction
train are also at varianc in their state
ments. There seems to be no doubt in the
minds of any one that it was due to the
most gross carelessness in some quarter.
The Train Was Exactly on Time.
-.