Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1892-03-10

The absent-mindednes Of switch
man, OF 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 at
Milwaukee, which caused the instant
death of seven men.
According to dispatch giving particu
lars, the accident occurred at the foot of
18th street few minutes before 4
o'clock Tuesday afternoon. The fact
that the trains were moving at q COM
paratively slow rate OF speed alone pre-
vented a railway horror which would
have counted it's dead by the scores.
All the killed and injured were en-
ployt OF the railroad company and re-
turning from their work at the West
Milwaukee shops on the shop train,
which consists of seven old-fashioned
coaches. The train had just passed 18th
street when the Watertown special came
laundering along on a parallel track.
Just before 1t overlook the shop train q
white-faced switchman rushed out,
waving his arms, and the next instant
the Watertown special took the switch
and plunged into the rear coaches of the
shop train.
Three OF the shop train coaches were
toppled over and ground into the Gin
ders of the rOadbed. Several cars on
the passenger train left the rails, but
were not overturned. The men in the
overturned cars struggled to free them
selves. The frightened passengers of
the Watertown special recovered their
senses and rushed from the cars and in
side of two minutes 300 men were at
work rescuing the men from the wrecked
cars. Many were cut and bleeding, but
by the time the police patrol wagon ar
rived most of them had recovered suffl-
ciently to walk or be carried away by
friends.
Those who were killed suffered almost
instant death. They we're men who at
tempted to jump from the side doors of
the old coaches and were crushed TO
death when the cars toppled over en-
them. The bodies were all quickly
taken from the wreckage and conveyed
to the morgue.
The picture at the wreck was one
which few people could look upon with
out a 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 were stained with the blood
Of the unfortunates. Here was crush
ed hat, and there battered dinner-pail.
The workmen who escaped huIriedly
went to their homes or their friends,
and the ground was soon abandoned
to the employees of the company tngn ;od
In clearing the tracks and trying to as
certain the exact cause of the accident.
The latter proved an easy task.
Will Bartels, the switchman in charge,
went to Superintendent NJ. Kenna, asked
his advice and then gave\ himself up to
the police, to whom he admitted that he
had left three switches open in the per-
formance of his duty, his only excuse
being that he forgot to close them. He
was locked up pending investigation.
There was great indignation among the
neighbors 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 the
remains were brought to the city, and
the most affecting scenes 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
information concerning the wreck, and
The agents of the claim department, who
have charge of the work of settling
iamage claims against the company for
Injuries, were upon the ground almost
rs 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
nnts, and the three, according to the
statements of Bartels, are kept so busy
that it frequently becomes necessary for
him to rely upon his subordinates to see
that the switches are in the proper po-
sition. He admits he turned two of the
switches, and may have left them open
He is twenty-nine years old. He says
that he is anxious to make all the
amends which are in his power, or which
the law may require Of him in a criminal
way.