Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-10-21
TWENTY-SK DEAD.
Worlds Fair Special and Pa
ciic Express Trains Collide.
Passengers Crushed, MangIed, and
Many Of Them Burned Alive.
Battle Creek, Mich. Scene Of Terribls Acct
dent-Orders Were Discbeyed.

Battle CREEK, Mich, Oct e0.-An &C
ciient occurred about o'clock this morn
ing ia the yards of the Chicago & Grand
Trunk Railway near the round house in
| this city, by which at least so persons lost
their lives, and double as many more were
badly injured.
A Raymond & Whitcomb special train of
passengers from New York and Boston was
IT turning from Chicago.
The train was in charge of Coniuctt r
Scott Of this city and Engineer Wooiey and
took orders a. this station to meet al
Nichols, No. 3. the Pacific expires. going
". st. due at this station at / 35 thi, mJru-
ing bat which was t-rea hour. late.
The conductor or engineer, or both, of
the Ray ymond special disobeyed orders and
passed Nichols station, and colliled with
the Pacific express coming west a. the rste
of about 80 miles an hour. The two en-
gines were driven into each other and are a
total wreck. Eugineers and firemen
jumped and escaped without serious Injury
The engineer of the Pacific express, named
Gil Crawshaw, and the conductor, Burke,
were badly hurt by being caught in the
wreck.
When the collision took place the second
and third day coaches on No. . train, going
West, were completely telescoped. |; was
in these cars that the horrible sacriti .e OF
life took place.
The second coach cut through the third
coach like knife and the roof passed over
the heads of the sleeping, AMI the iil-fated
passengers were entombed in fiery fur
mace.
The engine and baggage car of the special
were badly wrecked, but the coaches being
sleepers, and the train moving slowly, es-
capped injury. Passengers in the four
coaches were more or less injured, and in
one of them, No. l3, called the unlucky
coach, which has been in several accidents
before, there were % deal bodies taken
out this morning by the firemen.
They were pinioned under seats and
jammed up against the end of the coach BY
the nexs coach which had te,cscoped it anu
then burned like rats in trap.
The accident was a mile from a fire sta
ton an before water could he turned on
the cars were all burnei. No one on the
Raymond special was injured. The Pacific
express was made up of IS old coaches
and four of them were completely
csrs. The bodies were burned so badly as
to be unacceptable. Nearly all had their
heads, arms or legs burned off aud cannot
yet be identified.
As the car crashed through the second, ii
swept the people iu mass to the north end
of the latter car, in the vicinity of the stove
where most of the bodies were afterwards
found.
The cars Immediately took fire and in an
instant they were all in a blaze. The night
yard men and the neighbors in the vicinIt!
were at the scene as soon as possible.
One passenger escaped through the door
way. Others who escaped smashed out
windows and climbed through. Only thre.
escaped from the left side and not more
than six from the other side. All the rest
of the occupants Of the second coach per
ished.
The most horrible sight was that pre-
sented by Mrs. Charles Van Dusen of For
Plain, N. Y. She succeeded in getting
half way out of the window but her leg,
we're fastened and those who ran to her as
si.tance could not release her.
She was burned to death before their
eyes with one-half of her body still hang
ing out of the window. Before death came
to relieve her sutferings she gave her
name.
Charles Van Dusen, husband of the dead
woman, was taken from the wreck alive
but died some hours later.
Ward says that the seat in front of his
mother was occupied by a young man. Ii
the seat back of the one he and his brother
occupied were two young men. None OF
a.
came out through the roof in soma mlnner.
Just how he cannot tell. lie jumped of
the roof and assisted ont the Smith famil,
of Fort Plains, n. Y, father, mother and
two children. All were more or less Sc
riously injured.
The news of the terrible accident did no
became generally known in the city until
o'clock and then the entire population
moved toward Nichols. 1t was with diff
Guilty that the crowd was kept back, but
they were orderly. No act of yanialisa
has been reported. The Battle Creek fire
department did noble work. After putin
out the fire they assisted in the taking out
Of the dead.
The awful work of rescuing the dead an
injured was not completed til
. o'clock this merning when tn
last body was taken from ii,
wreck. Sufficient stretchcrs were not Il
be had and the workers nailed boards to
gether on which the charred bodies wer'
laid and carried away as fast as they wer,
extracted.
A temporary morgue was made of
freight car in which disfgurel bodies wor.
placed in charge of the local underts kers.
So horribly burned and charred are til,
b,dies that it is hardly possible tteir names
i'll ever be known.
As fast as the charred satchels, valses
pocketbooks, watches, etc. were rescue
from the debris they were turned over to
the police officers. 1t is hoped that some
of these grim relics will give clue to the
Identity of some of those ho met such an
awful death All the physicians in the city
we're aroused and were soon on the scene
doing what they could to easethe suferings
Of the injured.