Huntsville gazette., 1893-01-28
THE WANN HORROR.
Appalling Results Of the Big -Four
-s Accident at Wann, Ill.
The Death Roll VIII Reach at Least
Thirty.fand Many VIII be Manned
4 for Life-Revised List OF
the Victims.

calamity at Wann, Ill, which was bare
ly outlined in these dispatches. will
take its place in the annals of railroad
disasters almost without a parallel.
The primary accident, which resulted
in the death of Engineer Ross, and
which was the result of a switchman's
negligence, was followed by con-
sequences simply appalling.
The wreck attracted large crowd,
not only from the immediate neighbor-
hood. but from Alton, 2 miles or
watched the burning oil train. appar-
emily unmindful of the danger to which
they were exposed, or busted them
selves with efforts to save prop
erty endangered by proximity to
the burning train. The story
of the explosion has been told.
but the extent of the havoc is only now
becoming fully apparent. More COM
plete ruins were never seen. Every
thing touched by the awful blaze was
destroyed. Beside the tracks are the
ruins Of three cottages, homes Of the
railroad men, the stock yards are bad
ly damaged, trees are torn and twisted,
while the rails of all the tracks at that
point are twisted all out of shape.
The scene of the wreck was visited
by hundreds of people Sunday, and the
sight presented, Notwithstanding the
efforts of the wrecking crew at work,
gave vivid idea of what.the experience
of a few awful moments must have
been to those who met instant or lin
gering death by the blazing oil. For
hundreds of yards around were ruins
of the clothing thrown off by the
blazing victims as they ran hither and
thither in their agony and despair.
In the fields are patches of ground
from which the grass has been burned
as the blazing men and boys rolled
over in vain effort to extinguish the
burning and boiling oil with which
their clothing was saturated and which
spread like lightning over their poor
defeaseless bodies.
II Many horribly ghastly finds were
made by the crowd which visited the
scene. Pieces of human skin burnt to
crisp, parts of hands and feet, locks
of hair, shreds of clothing, cut and
torn boots and shoes, coats, hats,
vests and underclothing, torn from
the burning victims by themselves or
by the brave men who assisted them at
the risk of their own lives and limbs.
Eight gloves of human skin, just as
they were pulled from the hands of the
victims, with the nails Of the fingers
still adhering to them, were found by
visitors. and, horrible to relate, some
of these and similar finds were carried
off as relics by those who discovered
them.
From 500 to 1000 yards away from
the place of the explosion pieces of
clothing and other fragments were
found beside burned patches Of grass
which had caught fire. Pieces of money
melted together by the intense heat
were found at least 300 yards from
where the tank blew up.
The people Of Wann and also of Al
ton and surrounding country respond
ed with alacrity in ministering to the
suffering, but Notwithstanding all that
could be done by human skill the death
list already numbers sixteen with the
probability of several more being add
ed Below we give a carefully revised
list of the victims so far as obtainab BILE:
DEAD.
Webb Ross, Of Mattoon. engineer Of the lim-
tied.
"A. Cornelius, Of Iowa. student at Shurtlef
college.
Henry Pinney, Alton junction.
VIM. Mccarthy. boy, Alton.
Edward Miller, Alton junction.
VIM. Miller, father OF Edward.
Ed Maupin, st. Charles, Mo.
Chas. UT. boy, Alton.
Unknown man, supposed to be John Mantz,
Upper Alton.
Unknown man, not identified.
VIM. Shattuck, Upper Alton.
Dan Harris, Alton junction
Henry Penning American bottoms.
John Lock- glassblower. Alton.
Henry Virgins, Alton junction.
John Wilkinson.
INJURED IN ST. JosEPH's HOSPITAL ALTON
W. c. Harris Alton; face and head.
Frank Scullin, Alton; face and hands.
Louis Deneaue, g1assblower, Montreal, Can. !;
not serious.
JOS Hermann, Jr., Alton, boy; dangerous
condition - f
John LuttreII. railroad man; very dangerous
condition.
William Richardson, Alton junction; will
die.
David Richardson, brother Of William; will
die.
y John. wilkinson. Alton. boy; very dangerous.
John Fretz, Edwardsville crossing; will die
Herman Estke, Alton; very low.
Frank Bartel, glassDlower, Brantford, Ont;
very low.
Chas Harris, Wann; very low.
George staples. boy; very low.
A E Frazier. tramp, dangerous.
Hamilton Valentine. American bottoms;
critical condition.
Charles Grove home unknown; slightly in
jured.
Pat Findley, glassblower. Canada; slightly
injured.
Charles Hammond, American bottomsi
slightly injured.
Otto Hagaman, Alton, boy; will die.
John Burks, Fosterburg; badly burned.
INJURED IN HOUSES AT wANS.
John Henry Jr.. Wann; hopeful
Henry Weigaad. Wann; will die
John Philbrick, Wann; both eyes burned
out. will die.
Chas Haller. farmers boy; legs burned of,
will die,