Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-10-21
The Victims of d Train Wreck
Meet Death.
TWENTY PEOPLE BURNED BY INCHES
Most Frightful Disaster of the Series
That Has Made October,
1893, Noted.
VERY DEADLY NEGLECT OF ORDERS


Identifcation-Grewsom Description OF
What Was Left of the Victims-Sames
of the wouuded-Dreadful and Heroic
Death of n Christian woman-ReIios of
the Horror.
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. Oct. 2l.-The
error of one human being-of man who
at this time crouches affrighted like
hunted animal in a prison cell-led to the
greatest railroad holocaust in the history
of Michigan, and twenty-six human lives
have paid the penalty of the moments
negligence. Two trains, both laden with
passengers, met in a direct head-on col
lision on the Grand Trunk railroad at 3:45
a. m. in the suburbs OF this city,
and that the number of dead and injured
was not four fold greater is due to the for
tunate fact that the collision occurred in
the suburbs of city instead of in the open
country where 10th trains would have
been running at full speed. As it is,
twenty-six charred, disfgured and IN
recognizable bodies lie in the morgue, ard
twentv-seven manned and bleeding VIC
! Tins are groaning in agony in the charity
hospital.
Dcath-EoII Likely To Ee Larger.
How many of these wounded may be in
the de .th list none can tell, for the in
jur.es in many cases are internal and
quite unfathomable to the only superficial
! medical examination that Is possible now.
All that surgical science can do i being
done, and the officials of the Chicago and
Grand Trunk railway are doing all that
| is possible TO alleviate the condition of the
suffering and care for the needs Of the vic
tins Of the dreadful disaster. The two
trains which met face to face were both
regular trains, although each was con-
| siderably behind time. One was Ray
mond and Whitcomb special train return
| ing from the Worlds fair and bound 70:
New York and Boston. and the other
was the regular Pacific express westbound
! train.
Clear Neglect of Orders.
| The Raymond and Whitcomb was run
ming as an extra section of regular train
and was therefore regular in the
! phraseology of the railroad men. Tie en-.
gineer of the latter train had positive or
| ders to side track for the express At a sid
ing a mile east of this city. He ignored
these orders AMI 60 feet beyond this sid
! ing he met the eastbound train full on.
! Both trains we're wrecked and half the
train Of the Pacific express was demol-
ished and burned. The Raymond and
| Nhitcomb train, being composed almost
entirely Of heavy sleepers. escaped serious
| injury. The engineers and firemen of both
trains jumped in time to save their lives.
! 1t was on the Pacific express that the hor-
rors took place.
Twenty Unidentified Corpses
The day coaches in the front part of this
train were telescoped and burned, aud of
the twenty-siX human corpses recovered
coniectures only can be made as to the
identity of six Twenty remain entirely
unidentified. Those identified by letters
or articles in their clothing or by other
means are as follows: c. c. Van Dusen,
OF Sproutbrook, y. Y, died al the hopital;
Mrs, c. c. Van Duseu, of Sproutbrook, n
Y, burned to death after the wreck and
before she could be extricated; w. w.
Henry of Woonsocket, h. l., burned to
crisp; Mrs. +. Il. Mckenzie, of Middletown,
Conn, burned to crisp; I. \. MCGarvey, of
Ontario, Canada, mangled and burned TO
death; J. w. Beardsley, of Watkins, y.
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 identification.
Official List of the Dead
Relatives or friends telegraphiug from
a distance as to the identity of the remains
should mention the number of the body,
in order that the proper record may he
made 10y the coroner and mistakes avoid
ed in forwarding the remains The coYo-
ners official list of the remains now at the
morgue is as follows:
No. Male, hunting spectacles two
blank. books, bottle of pills, railroad ticket;
pocket tbook containing s64 in money, and
paper marked Z. J. Mogon, Providence.
II. l.; silver, open faced watch and pock ct
knife.
No. 2.-Female, burned to crisp; No
clothing
No. 3.-Bos, red hair, pocketbook. chat
elain watch handkerchief with red Dor.
der, short trousers and long stockings.
No. 4.-W. w. Henry. of Woonsocket,
r. l..
No. 5-Male, silk handkerchief marked
"T y black suit, statement on paper from
John Monroe, banker of New York, tc
Charles Z. Verde; also note in German
from Charles Z. Wenzle to Dr. Howard
Evance.
| No. 6.-Male, 1ackknlie, horn handle
pocket book and silver watch; brown
trousers, old fashioned front flap; money
on person. English gold coin; gold spec
tacles, silk scarf, handkerchief with "H
G. in old English letters
No. Male, 40 pounds; charred he
yond recognition.
No. s.-WomaD, weight about 16;
pounds; chain bracelet, pair black kid
| gloves: handkerchief with name f. r. Nc
kenzie package of rubbers in paper
marked Middletown, Conn; red plush
cloak; gold watch in leather case; letter.
on person addressed to Mrs. f. r. Mcken
zie from Mrs. NJ. Parker, OF Stanford
Conn; SIS in money.