The morning call., 1893-10-21
An Engineer Who Ignored His
Plain Orders.
TRYING TO SHIFT THE BLAME.
Deliberately He Ran His Train Out
Beyond the Point Where He
Should Have Stopped.

{ BATTLE CREEK, Mich, Oct 2O.-The
=error of one human being, of one man who
crouehes sffrighted in a prison cell to-
night, led 10 the greatest holocaust in the
his tory of Michigan to-day, and twenty
SIX hum man lives paid the penalty of that
one moments negligence.
Two trains, both laden with passengers.
met In a direct head-on collision on the
Grand Trunk Railroad at 8 As this morn
ing in the suburbs of this city. and that the
number dead aud injured is not fourfold
greater s.due- to the circumstance that the
collision occurred in the suburbs of the
city where the trains had slackened
speed. As: 1t Is twenty-six charred.
disfgured and unacceptable bodies
lie in the >morgue tonight and twen-
fy-seyen marred and bleeding victims
are groaning in agony in the Charity Hos
pital. How many Of these wounded may
be. in the list tomorrow none can tell, for
the.iajuFies in many cases are quite beyond
The limits of the medical examination n
that is possible now. All that surgical
science can do is being done, and the Off
GERS Of. the railroad are doing all that is
possible TO alleviate the sufferings OF the vic
=: The two trains met face to face. Both
were regular trains, although each was
considerably behind time. One was a
RaymGnd and Whitcomb special train re-
turning from the Worlds Fair and the
other was the regular Pacific Express.
westbound: The engineer Of the Raymond
and Whitcomb train had positive orders to
sfdetrack for the express at a siding one
nrile east OF this city. He ignored his
orders, and 600 feet beyond the siding he
met tie eastbound train full on. Both
trains were wrecked and half the train OF
the Pacific Express was demolished and
burned. The Raymond and Whiteomb
train, being composed almost entirely of
heavy sleepers, escaped serious injury. and
none Of the excursi onists lost their lives.
The engineers and firemen on both trains
jumped in time. but twenty-six passengers
in the Pacif1 Express met almost instant
death, for the day coaches on the front
part OF this train were telescoped and
burned, and CT the twenty-six human
bodies at the morgue tonight conjectures
can only be MADE as to the identity of six,
twenty remaining entirely unidentified.
The identified dead are as follows:
C. C. Van Dusen of Sproutbrook, n. z,
died in the hospital.
Mrs. c. C. Van Dusen Of Sproutorook,
n. Y, burned to death after the wreck
before she could be extricated.
W. w. Henry of Woonsocket, r. l.,
burned to a crisp.
Mrs. F. r. Mckenzie of Middletown.
Conn, burned to crisp.
T. A. McGarvey of Ontario. Canada,
mangled and burned to death.
j. W. Beardley of Watkins, N. Y.
burned and mangled.
The Coroner has mum bered each of the
bodies now In the morgue consecutively
and noted the articles found on each body
shat might lead to its iden tification.
: On one body paper marked "E. J.
.Mogon, Providence. r. l." was found.
On another was statement from John
Monroe, banker of New York. to Charles
E Verde and also a note in German from
Charles Z. Wensele to DIR. Howard
Evance. One unknown baby was burned
to a crisp. The following articles were
found in the debris, but it Is impossible to
connect them with the bodies:
;. A book lettered League of American
.Wheelmen," with the name inside OF Will
Ham Louis Wilson, Northwestern Univer-
:isfty, Evanston, ILL.,, 632 Sheridan road
:: Cards and an envelope marked Miss L.
B. Hayes; the cards bought of George
Muir, Evanston. Ill.
"A box of pills marked Bradley. Evans
ton. H."
= A: Bible, thoroughly wet and partially
burned, gave the following on its title
page: Emblem for st. Clements class,
an. anchor Hebrews GIG; teacher, j. s..
Arch. Easter. 1885," The name was so
near the edge that only the syllable
"a Arch" could be deciphered.
There are in the morgue eighteen
bodies-eight males, seven females and
three burned not only beyond Identified
ton; but so that it Is impossible even TO
determine the. sex.
Immediately after the accident the
manned and injured were conveyed to the
Nicholas. Memorial Hospital in this city
= The complete list of injured as reported
at Assistant Superintendent Classford's
.Cffice in Detroit s:
Ii. W. Williams of. Toronto.
w. A. Ryerse of Port Dover. Outario.
=. William Henry Bushnell of BrOckport,
New York.
:: 5. II. Smith. who is expected to die,
!. and. Il, Smith: Israel Smith. Berry Smith
aud Mrs. Smith. all of P0rl Plain, n. Y.
= Miss Belle: Williams of Brockport, n. Y.
=: Frederick WerIz of Rochester, n. z,
Mrs: Weriz and Miss. Wertz Of Roches-
ter, n. Z;
Frank Turnweigei of Blissfeld, Pa.
+; Jennie Stewart and j. S. Stewart of
T Dalton Station, Ill.,.
&C. Van Dusen. of Sproutbrook. N. Y,
: who has since died.
: w. Thompson Of Woodstock, Ontario.
:. Frank Rogers of Woodstock, Ontario.
: Mrs Vance and George VANCE of Sim
coe: Ontario
Albert Bradley of Toronto: Ontario.