The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-10-24
KILLED.
The Worst Wreck of the Year in a Mich
igan Town,

DALI Nhhhhs m4CusN OCUs HO.-1n0
worst accident of the year occurred
early this morning in the yards of the
Chicago and Grand Trunk Railroad in
this city, by which at least twenty-five
persons lost their lives and double as
many o were badly injured. A
Raymond and WhItcomb special train
of passengers from New York and
Boston was returning from Chicago.
The train was in charge Of Conductor
Scott, of this city, and took orders at
this station to meet at Nichols No. 9,
the passenger express going west, due
at this station at 1875 o'clock to day,
but which was three hours late, The
conductor or engineer or both of the
Raymond specials disobeyed orders
and passed Nichols station and collided
with the express coming west at the
rate of about thirty miles an hour. The
two engines were driven into each other
and are a total wreck.
The engineers and fremen when they
saw that a collision was inevitable,
shut off steam, reversed engines, put
on brakes and all jumped and escaped
without serious injury. The engineer
of the passenger express was named
GilcrRnshow, and the conductor Burke.
The conductor was badly hurt. When
the collision took place the second and
third coaches on No. 9, the train going
west, completely telescoped. As the
third car crashed through the second
it swept the people to the front end of
the latter car, in the vicinity of the
stove, where most of the bodies were
afterwards found. The cars immedi
ately took fire and in an instant were
all in a blaze. The night yard men and
the neighbors in the vicinity were on
the scene as soon as possible. One
passenger escaped through the door
way Others who escaped smashed
out the windows and climbed through.
Only three escaped from the left side
and no more than six from the other
side. All the rest of the occupants of
the second persisted. The bodies were
burned so badly as to be almost I'M
recognizable. Nearly all had their
hands, arms or legs burned off, and but
few have been identified. The engine
and baggage car of the special were
badly wrecked but the coaches being
sleepless and the train moved slow
escaped serious injury.
No q on the Raymond special was
injured. The Pacific express was made
up of 13 old coaches and four of them
were completely burned, catching fire
1 I'LL " 4O1lpS III Ou0 CdLSs l1SLIN
Garfield, one of the night clerks at the
Chicago and Grand Trunk offices heard
the crash and Immediately pulled the
fire alarm box and then teIephoned the
engine house and informed them of
the wreck. The firemen responded
promptly but the wreck was over a
mile away from the nearest hydrant
to the wreck and the difficulty of driv-
ing the hose wagon between the cars
and tracks delayed them and the fire
had gained considerable Roadway when
| the line of hose was finally laid, it
taking Is, 900 feet to reach the burning
cars. A line of hose was also laid from
the Grand Trunk w~aterwOrks, but
| there was not pressure enough to throw
a stream to the wreck. A. 9 o'clock
twenty-six dead bodies had been taken
out of the ruins of the wrecked cars.
AS far as the charred satchels, valises,
pocket books, watches, etc, were res
cued from the debris they were turned
over to the police officials. 1t is hoped
that some of these grim relics will give
a clue to the identity Of some Of those
who met such an awful death. Nearly
all of the watches were gold, and one
of the pocket books contained nearly
$500. All the physicians in the city
were aroused and were soon on the
! scene doing what they could TO ease the
terrible sutferings Of the injured. The
injured were taken to the Targett
House, to the railroad offices, to the
Bowling boarding house and to the
residences in the immediate vicinity
of the disaster. Fifteen, badly injured,
are now in the Nichols hospital. The
wreck was attended with incidents
that Mortified those obliged to witness
them.
@. H. Ward and B. S. Ward, Of
Moreton, Vermont, were in the i'll fated
car, but were among the few who
escaped uninjured. When the first
shock of the collision was over, @. H.
Ward jumped out of the side of the
car through a window. The seat in
front of him wa occupied by a woman
and her baby. He managed to pull the
woman through the window. She
begged him to save her baby, but the
little one was fastened beneath the
seats and burned to death. The poor
mother was nearly crazed and had to
be removed by force. Ward says that
the seat in front of this woman was
occupied by a young man. In the seat
back of the one he and his brother oc-
cupied were two young men. None of
these three escaped. His brother, B.
S. Ward, came out through the roof in
some manner, just how he cannot tell.
He jumped off the roof and assisted out
the Smith family of Fort Plains, n. Y,
consisting of father, mother and two
children. All four are more or less
seriously injured, but miraculously