Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1893-10-21
HE DISOBEYED ORDERS.
An Engineer Held Responsible
For Battle Creeks Horror.
MANY VICTIMS YET UNIDENTIFIED

The Conductor and Engineer Locked Up
For the Awful Catastrophe-Many OF
Those In the Fatal Car Were From New
York and Other Eastern States.
BATTLE CREEK, Mich, Oct 2I.-The er.
ror OF one human being-a man who now
crouchGs like hunted animal in a prison
cell-led to the greatest railroad holocaust
in the history of Michigan, and 20 human
lives have paid the penalty of the moments
negligence. Two trains, both laden with
Passengers, met in a direct headon collision
On the Grand Trunk railroad in the sub
urbs of this city, and that the number OF
dead and injured was not fourfoll greater
is due to the fortunate fact that the COLI
sion occurred in the suburbs of a city in
stead of in the open country, where both
trains would have been running at full
speed.
As it is, the 26 charred, disfigured and
unrecognizable bodies lie in the morgue,
and 81 MANNED and bleeding victims are
groaning in agony in the Charity hospital.
How many of these wounded may be added
to the death list no one can tell, for the in.
juries in many cases are internal and quite
unfathomable to the only superficial med
ical examination that is possible now.
All that surgical science can do is being
done, and the officials of the Chicago and
Grand Trunk railroad are doing all that is
possible to alleviate the condition of the
suffering and care for the need of the vic
Tins of the dreadful disaster
The two trains which met face to face
while going ut a rapid rate of speed were
both regular trains, although each was
considerably behind time One was a Ray
mond and Whitcomb special train return
ing from the Worlds fair and bound fol
New York and Boston, and the other was
the regular west bound Pacific express
train. The Raymond and Whitcomb was
running as an extra section of regular
train and was therefore - regular" in
the phraseology of the railroad men.
The engineer of the latter train had posi-.
tive orders to sidetrack for the express at a
siding mile east of this city. He ignored
these orders, and 600 feet beyond this siding
he met the east bound train full on. Both
trains were wrecked, Pnd half the train OF
the Pacific express was demolished and
burned.
The Raymond and Whitcomb train, be-
ing composed almost entirely of heavy
sleepers, escaped serious injury, and none
of the excursionists lost their lives.
The engineers and firemen of both trains
jumped in time to save their lives, but &c
passengers of the Pacific express met al
most instant death. The day coaches in
the front part of this train were telescoped
and burned, and of the % human remains
at the morgue conjectures can only be
made as to the identity of six Twenty re-
main entirely unidentified.
List of the Dead.
Those identified by letters or articles in
their clothing or by other means are as
follows:
c. c. Van Dusen, Sproutbrook, y. "; died at
the hospital.
Mrs. c. c. Van Dusen, SprOutbrook, n W
burned to death in the wreck before she could
be extricated.
W. W. Henry, woonsocket r. l.; burned to
crisp.
Mrs F. R. Mckenzie, NIiddletown, Conn;
burned to a crisp.
T. a. MoGarvey. Toronto; mangled and
burned to n crisp.
]. W. Beardsley, Watkins, y. "; burned and
mangled.
The coroner has numbered each of the %
bodies now in the morgue consecutively
and noted the articles that have been found
on each body that might lead to identified.
ton. Relatives or friends telegraphine
from distance as to the identity of the re
mains should mention the number of the
body in order that the proper record may
be made by the coroner and mistakes avoid.
ed in forwarding the remains. The coro
ner's official list of the remains now at the
morgue is as follows:
No. Male: pass marked f. ]. Mogun Provi.
dence; silver open face watch and pocketknife.
No. 2-Female; burned TO crisp; no clothing
No. 3-Boy; red hair; pocketbook, chatelaint
watch, handkerchief with red border; short
pants and long stockings
No. Nv. w. Henry, Woonsocket, r. l., OF
the firm of Sheldon & Henry; railroad tickets,
business cards. etc.
No. 5-Male; silk handkerchief marked IT, =
statement on paper from John Monroe, banker
of New York, TO Charles Z. Verde; also note in
German from Charles f. Wenzle 10 DIR. Howard
Evance.
No. 6-Male: money on person, X English
gold coins, gold spectaCles, silk scarf, handker-
chief with H. g." in old English letters.
No. Male; charred beyond recognition.
No. S-Woman; handkerChiefs with name F.
r. Mckenzie; package of rubbers in paper
marked Middletown. Conn, addressed to Mrs.
G. r. Mckenzie from Mrs, NJ. Parker of STAN
ford Conn.
No. 9-Female; burned beyond recognition
No. 10-Supposed to be T. \. NIcGarvey. Onta-
No I-AIrs- Charles Van Dusen. sprout-
brock. y. Y.
No. PA baby. unknown; burned to crisp.
No. 1s-Male; No Identification; burned to q
crisp.
No. ltNale; burned to a crisp.
No. 15-woman: burned TO a crisp.
No. lG-Alan; silver hunting case watch with
initials wv. A"
No. 17-woman: no Identification
No. 1S-Woman.
No. 19-Woman; burned beyond idcnuica-
ton.
No. ao-wurnan; no Identification
No. al. w. Beardsley, Watkins, n. Y.
No. 2s-Burned beyond Identification.
No. 23-Burned beyond Identification.
No. 2+Burned beyond Identification.
No. 25-Man; no identification.
List of the Injured.
The list of the injured is as follows:
Ezekiel Davidson, ex-president of Fairport
| Village, \. V; Miss Belle Williams, Lockport
| n. Y; Mrs Henry Bushnell. Brockport, n. Y.
| William Thompson, Woodstock. Ont; Franz
| Rogers, Woodstock. Ont; Fred Wurtz, Roch
ester; Evelyn WurtZ. daughter of above; Ha-
vey Smith, Fort Plain, N. "; Mrs. Harvey
Smith, Fort Plain, n. ", right leg broken
Frank H. Smith, Fort Plain, n. ", boil