Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-01-23
WAS DEADLY RAIN.
A Shower of Flaming Oil Falls
on Scores.
AWFUL RESULT OF AN EXPLOSION,


Brings Thousands of People Together
tering Burning Oil Upon Dozens-Six-
teen Persons Burned to Death in the
Fields, Fourteen Who Cannot Recover
and Thirty Seriously Scorched-DreadfuI
Sufferings of the evictims-Details of the
Horror.
ALTON, Ills, Jan. 23-The Pacific ex-
press of the Big Four road ran into an open
switch at Wann Junction, or Alton juno
ton, small station at Old Alton, three
miles east of this city, at $40 O'Clock Satur-
day morning The engine struck some
loaded oil cars, was derailed and thrown
over an embankment, the oil ignited, and
| the engineer was killed. Two hours after the
collision, wh&e the vicinity of the tracks
was crowded with people who had come
out to see the wreck, one of the tanks eX-
ploded throwing the burning oil into the
crowd. Sixteen persons were so badly
burned that they died either instantly or
by p. m. yesterday Fourteen were fatal
ly burned, but still live, and thirty-one were
| severely injured, but will recover.
Death Roll so Far as Reported.
The list of dead up toe p. m. yesterday
IS as follows: Webb Ross, Mattoon; Hiram
Cornelius, Iowa; Edward NJ Miller, Alton
Junction; two unidentified men; William.
Shattuck, Upper Alton: Henry
Penning, Wann; Willie McCarty,
John Locke and Edward Maurin, Alton;
Daniel Harers, Alton junction; VIM.
Mantle, FosterburS, Ills, Charles Utt,
VIM. II. Miller, Charles Harris, and John
Wilkinson, Alton. OF these all but the
| first six died of their injuries after being re-
moved to the hospital at Alton, except Utt.
w. II. Miller and Manthe, whose dead
bodies were found near the scene of the
wreck yesterday morning.
List Of the Fatally Injured.
OF the injured fourteen the hospital
physician said at o'clock, cannot recover.
They are Otto Hagewan, John Fred, Joe
Hermann, Henry Pilgrim, John Luttrell
and William B. Richardson, Alton; A. T.
Frazer, st. Louis; Frank Barth, Brantford,
Canada; Frank Scully and John Burke,
Alton; William Miller, Alton Junction;
- Murray and - Rottoff, Upper Alton.
Serious Cases That Will Recover.
Those who sustained serious Injuries.
but who will probably recover, are: Mrs
A. l.. Willen and child. Kansas City;
Henry Wiggfhs and George Staples, Alton
Junction; John Pike, Herman Nuske and
Erene McCaldwell, Alton; Louis Deufe,
| Montreal; Henry Staples, Uniontown, ky.i
- Montgomery. Alton; Dalton Harris,
Alton Junction; Frank Barton, Stamford.
! Ont; Louis Mcintosh, William Mcintosh
and John Henry, Alton Junction; John
Monahan, East st. Louis: James Mullane-
Alton Junction; Charles Harris and w. C,
Harrison, Alton: Pamentine Valentine.
Philadelphia, Pa; Charles Hamilton, Al
ton Junction; B. Menhaus, Pat O'Meara,
z. B. Job, John Seister, Ephriam Richard
son, John Finley, John McPike, Evan
Caldwell Patrick Finley and Charles
Crow, Alton.
Scenes at the Wreck.
The scene of the disaster was visited YES.
ter1ay by thousands OF people. The pas
senger train was wrecked almost beyond
recognition. Next to it was the gear of
the cafe car, around and through which
an eager crowd was searching for money
and valuables from the burned mail
pouches and baggage. Several gold and
silver coins and some iewelry partly mol
ten were found. Another grewsome relic
dug out of the ashes was the metal lid of
a coffin in which the corpse OF a young
woman en- route from Texas to Boston
was burned. About half of the big stock
yards was lying in smoking ruins. The
most sickening spectacle Of the sad piano.
rama was the ashes and remnants OF cloth
ing dropped from the bodies of the victims
as they fled from the shower of burning oil
They were lying everywhere and some
times with them We're particles of human
flesh.
CHASTITY Relic of the Disaster.
By the wagon road, in ditch filled with
snow, was found the entire cuticle of eight
hands with finger nails attached as it
peeled from the bone as the sufferers in
their frenzy dashed into the freezing sub
stance Late Saturday night and early
yesterday morning several victims were
found in a fearful condition in the fields.
where they had fled and fallen from ex-
haustion, and it is believed others are yet
missing
The Deadly Open Switch.
The train left st. Louis at o'clock, con-
sisting of engine, buffet and baggage car,
and three Wagner sleepers. When the
engine was passing the curve at the east
end of the yards at Wann Engineer Webb
Ross noticed the switch was open. The
| train was going at high rate of speed and
it was impossible for the engineer to check
it. He remained in the cab, however, and
set the air brakes, this act costing him his
life. The fireman, Richard White, jumped
from the engine just before the collision
and escaped with slight injuries. The
engine crashed entirely through one of the
tank cars, splitting it half, and was
| then forced on and entirely over the other.
Jumped Too Late for Safety.
The oil from the wrecked tanks at once
caught fire and flames instantly surround
| ed the engineer, who had jumped just as
| the pilot of the engine struck the first tank
Throwing his hands to his face the brave
man struggled to the embankment at one
side of the track, but as soon as he reached
it he sank to the earth crisp and black
ened corpse. The engineers action in re-
versing his engine and applying the brakes
slackened the speed of the train sufficiently
to prevent any serious injury to the pas
sengers, of whom there were about sixty.
THAT WAS ONLY PRELIMINARY.