The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-05-16
Three of the Dead Victims Of the Accident and
One Of the Injured We're Employees of the
Company Residing In This City.
Their Remains Brought to Indianapolis
and Met by Brother Railroaders.
Stories of Eye Witnesses-Freight Crew For.
got the New Schedule-Fatal Accident
on the Norfolk & Western.
HEAD.END COLLISION.

HEAD-END COLLISION.
Five Men Killed and Many Injured In .
Big Four Wreck at Cieves.
The summer schedule of the Chicago di-
vision OF the Big Four was Inaugurated
yesterday with one of the most serious ac-
cidents that has occurred on the road for
years. Five people. three of whom resided
in Indianapolis. ore dead as result OF the
smash-up. and three others are seriously
injured. while number OF passengers were
more or less bruised ana shaken up
The wreck occurred at 8:15 A. NJ. In the
midst of heavy storm. upon q curve
which rounds bluff on the Ohio river
near Cleves. There passenger train No. so.
an exclusively Sunday train. known as
tho Aurora accommodation. going east,
met through freight train No. 43. coming
west, head on. at full speed.
FORGOT THE NEW SCHEDULE.
The freight had orders to stop at North
Bend to let the accommodation pass.
Under the old schedule the trains passed at
another point some miles further on. In
stead of stopping for the freight the
engineer pulled ahead and approached
Cleves running about twenty miles an
hour. Why he did not stop at North Bend
will never be known. as he 10 dead. but 1t 10
thought that in his anxiety over the storm,
which might have washed out bridges.
he forgot the new schedule and hurried
on. As the train approached Cleves Chss.
Smith, the telegraph operator, was
shocked. for he knew it should have side
tracked at North Bend. and that the accom-
modo tiop O fa w vnxnp as nv a rd ua than woa
but q short distance away. running forty
five miles on hour to make up lost time.
Smith rushed to the signal wires and
d6dhed out the danger signal. Either it
was not seen in tho binding rain or the
engineer could not control his engine. for
it sped on without iesseninR speed.
At that very moment the passenger
came into sight with the speed of the
wind. If any effort was made on either
engine to slacken speed it was not sppre-
ciable. and the iron monsters sprang at
and crashed into each other with q roar
that was heard above the storm like clap
Of thunder. Both engines were battered
into shapeless masses and rolled off the
track. The cars behind were smashed into
kindlinR wood. and the track for one hun
were thrown down, and it was two or three
hours after the wreck before word reached
this city. and q special train was sent to
the scene from Cincinnati.
THE DEAD AND INJURED.
Long before it arrived the people from
the little village and from the surrounding
country had gathered. and. in the frightful
storm. were doing all they could. When
the work of rescue, which began ss soon as
the passengers of the wrecked accommoda-
tion train could pull themselves together,
was finished, four dead bodies had been
taken from the debris. They were:
WILLIAM FL. HIGGS, engineer OF the freight
residing at No. 200 English avenue, Indianapolis.
DAVID s. HIGHWOOD, conductor of the
freight. residing at No. 53s East Georgia street,
Indianapolis.
HIRAM BRUCE, fireman Of the freight, board
ing at No. II spann avenue, Indianapolis.
w. NEwBERRY EDWARDS. engineer Of the
accommodation, residing at Greensburg.
PHILIP GRlBBEN, baggage-master, Law
renceburg. died at $50 m.
The more seriously injured arc:
JOHN H. SCHROEDER, passenger conductor.
Lawrence5urg.
HoLToN TERRELL, clerk in the Cincinnati
Office of the Big Four, residing at Delhi, o.; IA
tally scalded
FRANK KEEFE, freight brakeman, residing at
No. AZ Harrison street, Indianapolis, spine In
jureds
ED BASS, passenger, Chattanooga.
F. o. CoNNELLr, passenger.
WILL CRAMoR, brakeman accommodation train.
LILLE READING. passenger. Aurora. Ind.
MRS. MoRELAND and little daughter, North
Bend. Ind.
GEORGE W. HUBLER, travelling salesman for
the Mccormick Reaper Company, Miamisburg,
o.; probably fatally injured; taken to hospitalat
Cincinnati.
WHERE THE DEAD WERE FOUND.
Under the freight engine broken. crushed
and scalded, wero found engineer Hlggs
and his fireman. Hiram Bruce. Under a
mashed freight car further back Phillip
Gibbon and David Highwood were found.
Nearly every bone in their bodies was
broken and their faces horribly sfgured.
The fifth dead body was that of Newberry
Edwards. engineer of the passenger train.
Henry Terrell had jumped before
the crash, but had been caught
under mass of wreckaee His chest was
crushed in and his head cut. He was taken
TO LaWrenceDurR, ont cannot survive long.
John Schroeder conductor of the passer-
ger train. was injured in almost the same
manner. and can live but few hours at
most. George w. Huber was crushed be-
tween two seats, being bent almost
double. Julius Webber, the chief clerk
of County Coroner BanRe. of Gin
cinnati, returned last night from the
wreck. and said the scene was one of
the worst he ever saw. He thought there
were from five to ten more dead In the
ruins. Frank Keefe. freight brakeman. had
just reached the top of q car when the COL
lision occurred. The crash was so terrible
that he was thrown over o telegraph wire
forty feet into a stream of water. which
alone saved his life. He thinks there are
at least three trsmps under the wreck oi