River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1893-10-26
SLAIN In THE NIGHT.
Passenger Trains Collide Near
Battle Creek, Mich.
Twenty-seyen Persons Killed. Most OF
Them Being Roasted to Death and
burned beyond Identification
Two Score Injured.
WORST OF TIE YEAR.

east-bound special train from Chicago
collided with train No. ., the Pacific
express. going west, at 1852 o'clock Fri
day morning in the Yards Of the
Chicago & Grand Trunk railway.
Twenty-seven persons were killed
and burned and two score in
iured Two of the Pacific express
coaches were telescoped and three
burned. The express was made up of
thirteen coaches and from the remains
of coach No. IS twenty-five charred
bodies were taken. The accident was
mile and half from the city fire sta
tion. The imprisoned passengers were
burned with the wreckage, while
scores of people stood about unable TO
lend any assistance Most of the bodies
recovered are formless eiDders.
The train crew on the special, il is
said, disobeyed orders in passing
Nichols Station, where there We're
| orders TO wait on siding for the Pa
cific express. No element of horror
was absent from the scenes about the
wreck. In the great crash the seats in
the flimsy day coaches closed up like
an accordion. So the imprisoned pas
sengers were burned. Many of the
charred remains win never be iden-
titled.
Following will be found list of the
known dead:
Mr.. Archbell, Ripon. Wis. not fully idenu-
fed; J. w. Beardsley, Watkins n Y. Mrs. L.
B. Hayes; W. H. Crawley, Port Huron, Mich.
not fully identified; Rev. Father Bradford,
Yorkshire not fully indentihed John c. Green
wood; Horton Little, Bradford, Yorkshire. not
fully identified; WV Henry, WOonsoeket. II L.
i. J. Magau, Providence, r. L. Mrs. f. II Me
kenzie. Middletown. Conn: r. a. Carney, On
taro, Can; Frank II. Smith. died at hospital;
William Thompson. Woodstock, Ont, not fully
identified: Charles Van Dusen and wife. Sprout
Brook. y. y: w. L. Wilson Evanston, ILL.,,
Charles Verde. New York city.
The bodies of ten persons, baby,
boy, three men and five women were
recognized, but they cannot be identi-
fed principally because the bodies were
so terribly burned.
The names of those most seriously
injured are as follows:
Harry J. Archbeil, New York; C f. Adams,
No. go Main street, Buff;so, y. Y, left hand
injured and four fingers badly cut; James :.
Archben. Evanston, Ill, ankle and arm
crushed; :. IL Baldwin, Milford, Conn, right
leg cut badly, head bruised: c. y. Beardslee,
Springfield, Mass, ankle crushed and badly
bruised; Alb ert Bradley, SarEia Ont. left leg
cut of aud body bruised; Albert Bradley, To
ronto. Ont, right leg cut of and back bruised;
John Burke, conductor train No. Q, badly
bruised and ankle dislocated Mrs. Hen
ry Bushnell, Broclport, Monroe eoun-
~, n Y; Gil Cranshaw, engineer train
No 9, slightly injured in jumping from cab;
Henry Canfleld, clerk Of Grand Trunk, injured
in helping al wreck, slight; w. =. Clark, Sar-
mia, Ont. badly bruised; II. &. Crawley, Port
Huron Ont. slightly injured Ezekiel David
son Fairport ~ Y, back bruised and
shoulder dislocated; NJ +. CASTOR, Web
ster, Monroe county, n Y, shoulder
bruised; Thomas J. Monroe, Auburn, y. y;
Maggie OGrady Oswcgo, n. Y. right limb
broken and internal injuries. Frank Rogers,
Woodstock Ont, arm crushed w 4. Ryerse,
Port Dover Ont, leg and shoulder fractured;
George ShakcltOn. Albany, y. y, fingers OF
right hand badly cut and bruised; +. II. Smith,
Fort Plain, y. Y, left leg crushed and was am
putatcd below the knee, right and left legs
fractured, injuries probably fatal; James
Smith, IngersOll, Ont, back and head injured
hurt internally. squeezed aud wrenched. con
tinued his journey vest Mrs, James smith,
Ingersoll Dat, leg broken; Nellie y
smith, % years. daughter OF J. H. Smith.
head. eyes, limbs ami feet bruised, bad
ly injured, some bones broken ana taken OUT Of
left foot; / G. Stewart, Dalton Station, Cook
county, Ill, seriously bruised; Jcnnic Stewart,
ii years Old, daughter OF the above named. left
arm nroktns FRANK lNfOs M4lHit SiultuNcUt,
Pa, back bruised and arm crushed; George
Vance. Lincoln Ont, left leg bruised and in
ternal injuries; Mrs Robert Vance, Lincoln,
Ont. both limbs crushed ana internal injuries;
| Clinton II. Ward. Mooretown, Vi, rigat hand
slightly cut; Miss Belle Williams, Brock.
port n. y. right ankle broken Il.
W. Williams. No. Il Ulster street, Toronto,
right foot slightly cut, both hips badly in
iured; Evalyn Wurtz, Rochester, " Y. shout
der broken aud internal injuries; Mrs. Fred
Wurtz, Rochester, n. Y, body bruised and
ankle disloeated: Henry Wooley. engineer
! train No. q SEX injured Fred Wurtz Roeh-
ester n. y. left side bruised, botfi legs injured.
The wreck occurred at place called
Nichols, otherwise the yards and round
| hou~e Of the Chicago d Grand Trunk
road, in the west part of town. There
is only one main track running past
the shanty called Nichols and upon this
track, right at the depot. the two trains
met with terrible force. Que was u
/ Raymond q Whitcomb special. full
of passengers returning from the
worlds fair and going to their homes
| i'm New York and Boston Conductor
Burt Scott. of this city, Mad charge and
the engineer was an old employee
named Henry Wooley. The Pacific
express was made up of thirteen old
coaches, bound for Chicago. John
/ HurlI was conductor and Gil Cranshaw
engineer
| Conductor Scott aud Engineer
| Nooley, of the Raymond and Whitcomb
| special, received orders To meet at
Nichols No. ., the Pacific express GO
ing to Chicago. Practically the same
orders we're given to the trainmen of
the Pacific express This train was
due at 1888 a. m. but was nearly three
hours late. The disobedience of orders
upon the part of one crew, if not both,
caused the trains to leave the double
track here and meet upon the single
track in the company's wards
When the trains met in the deadly
crash the Pacific express was going at
the rate of so miles an hour and the
special was somewhat slower, though
Engineer Wooley says that he had
stopped. The engineers and firemen
when they saw collision was inevita-
ble shut off steam. reversed engines, put
on brakes, and all jumped and escaped
without serious injury. The conductor
of the Pacific express was badly hurt
by being caught in the car.
/ men bilt crash d nv wv VI
gines were driven into each other and
wrecked, the one on the express being
a new Cook engine in use two weeks.
| The people in the crowded cars We're
/ sleeping at tho time (3:40 o'cloclSl, and
/ everything was dark with the excep-
ton of the switchlights and the head
lights of yard locomotives. OF the
special train the engiue and baggage
car were wrecked, but The coaches, be-
ing sleepers and the train moving slow
/ ", escaped serious injury and no one
on this train was injured.
The Pacific express was made up of
! thirteen old coaches and four of them
te'eseoped and We're burned all up,
catching fire from the lamps in the
cars. The passengers in the four
coaches were more or less injured and
in one of them, No. Is, called 1.-The un-
lucky coach, which has been in sew
eral accidents before, there were TWEEN
ty-five dead bodies taken out by the
firemen.
The shock dazed while it woke the
occupants of the ears Then cane the
shrieks of the injured and the r oans OF
those more seriously hurt Will
ing hands pressed forward, and
in the darkness hands We're torn
ms pieces OF wrecIsage we're strug-
IL,