Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1893-01-28
LIVES LOST BY FIRE.

Killed-The Ruins Take Fire.-while
Hundre1s ~ Spectators Are Viewing
the Scene, Tank Cars Explode, Drench-
Ing Bystanders with Blazing Oii-Fif-
teen Die of Their Burns and Scores
Were Seriously Hurt.
ALTON, ILL.,, Jan. 23.--As result of
q terrible accident at Alton Junction
| Saturday sixteen dead bodies are lying
| in the temporary morgue in this city,
| fourteen people are so badly injured
| that they are expected to die within a
! few hours and thirty-on others are
dangerously hurt.
Alton Junction, or Wann, is located
miles east of this city, and is transfer
station for the Cleveland, Cincinnati,
Chicago & ST. Louis and Chicago, Bur.
lington & Quincy railroads. The latter
road joins the Big Four at this point,
running into st. Louis over the
same track The fast through train
known as the southwestern limited
| was coming out from st. Louis at Q
o'clock, thirteen minutes late, and
making up lost time at AZ mile an hour
| speed, when it ran into an
open switch and collided with
n long freight train consist
ing mostly of loaded Union Tank line
cars. Engineer Webb Ross, of Mat
toon, saw the danger too late, but he
threw on the air brakes and staid with
his engine, being buried in the wreck
and burned to crisp.
The shock of the collision was such
as to split two loaded tanks wide open
and the oil Immediately caught fire,
the flames shooting 80 feet into the
air. the locomotive and baggage
car were totally wrecked, but
the remainder of the passenger
train was removed beyond the
reach of the flames. Hearing of the
wreck, hundreds of people from this
city and vicinity were attracted by
curiosity to the scene. And then oc-
Cured one of the most awful disasters
on record.
few minutes past 12 O'Clock there
was q light explosion of one tank
which scattered the debris on all sides,
setting fire to the stock yards inclos-
ures. This one blow-up caused the i'm
preston that the danger from explo-
sions was past, and the throng of by
ISLANDERS rushed in to save the stock
yards from destruction.
A minute later there was deafening
| TepOTG lHdJ SHOOh uHc caFlu lOF nall d
minute and spread sheet OF seething,
! burning oil in all directions. For those
within the circle of a hundred yards
there was no escape. Some of them
were struck dead by pieces of
flying iron and scores of them
We're knocked fiat on the
ground Their clothing caught fire
from the spreading flames and was
burned from their bodies. Those who
could rise did so and ran hither and
thither making frantic appeals for help.
Some of the sufferers ran to the near
est water and plunged in. Others ran
through the fields, and few of them
are missing yet
Of the following list of dead all but
the first six and Utt, Miller and Montz
died of their injuries after being re-
: moved to the hospital The dead
: bodies of the last-named were found
near the scene of the wreck Sunday
morning. The deaths were as follows:
! Webb Ross, Mattoon, ILL.,; Hiram Cornelius,
Iowa; Edward Miller, Alton Junction; two
unidentified men; William Shattuck, Upper
| Alton, H.; Henry Penning, Wann, ILL.,; Willie
MCarty, Alton; John Locke, Alton; Edward
Mauhin, Alton; Daniel Harers, Alton Junction:
| William MantZ Fosterburg, Ill: Charles Utt,
: Alton; w. H. Miller, Atom Charles Paris,
, | Alton John Wilkinson, Alton.
Of the injured the hospital physician
said that fourteen cannot recover. They
are:
Otto Hagwan, Alton; John Fred, Alton;
] Joseph Herman Alton Henry Pilgrim, Alton;
John Luttrell Alton; William b. Richardson,
Alton; David Richardson, Alton; a. T. Frazer,
: st. Louis: Frank Barth, Branford, Can: Frank
Scullin, Alton; John Burke, Alton: William
L | Miller Alton .Tunctiln. Murray Inner AL
ton; ROTOR; Upper Alton
Probably forty others received Sc
we're injuries but will likely recover.
e All the dead were burned to death by
flaming oil. Of the fatally injured all
n are more or less seriously burned about
e the limbs and body. All are also in
: jured internally from inhaling the
:, burning flames, which scorched anc
!. parched their throats to such an eXten
a that their escape from instant death il
d almost miraculous.
s The scenes in the wards at st
d Joseph's hospital occupied by the in
. jured were even more heartrendins
}, than Saturday. Lying on cots
s wrapped and swathed in cotton ant
s. bandages until they almost lost sem
O blance TO human beings, and surround
II friends, the injured people formed
l. picture that brought tears tt
It the eyes of even the physicians, ac
f customed as they are to such sights
1t was not until visit was made tt
the morgue back of the hospital tina
the horrible reality of the accident be
d came apparent. Here awaiting the un
dertaller We're the bodies of fiv,
Is of those who died during th
n night. The bandages had beel
10 removed from the bodies and TIN
d fearful ravages of the burning oil wer
n plainly apparent Scarcely one of tn
J. five could be recognized by relatives
J. The oil wherever it had touched the ski
It had burned deep into the flesh, Will
d such portions of the cuticle as escape
,e entire destruction We're blistered an
. in many places blackened by the in