Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-09-23
Worlds Far Flyer Crashed Into
a Freight Train.
ELEVEN PERSONS WERE KILLED


uat u S@tty kAtn t-sti ht1@tf e"ADtat
compete wreck.
Freight train No. Al east bound was
due al this point at ia5 a. N. II was
under orders TO take the siding and
await the arrival u the west bound pas.
senger express No IS. which according
10 the schedule should have passed the
Kingshury depot at 40. The express.
however, was an hour and twenty
minutes late. and owing 10 the heavy
travel going to the worlds fair. II was
divided into two sections. the second
section running twelve minutes behind
the iirst Both SECTIONS were made up
at Buffalo: the passengers including
people from that city as we'll rs from the
various lines centering in II from
Canada ana the east
The switch Thrown Open
With the knowledge that under the
schedule he bad twenty minutes TO
spare. Engineer Whitman % the freight
train proceeded up the siding 20 the
main line 10 take water. the switch be.
ing thrown open by Herbert Thompson.
the head brakeman 81 the freight.
After the engine had taken water, the
Thompson closed the switch. Regard
ing this latter fact there is no room for
question. for al 5:lo the first section Of
the express, thirty minutes late. swept
past ON the main track, giving tho usual
signal-long and Two short blasts 10
intimate TO the freight that second
section was following close behind
What were the movements of brakeman
Thompson in the next few moments re-
mains TO be developed Certain il 10
that when twelve minutes later the sec
ond section OF the west bound express
came laundering along at speed Of
forty miles an hour. the switch was
open.
Crashed Into the Freight
Like fash OF lightning therefore the
train took the siding. and almost before
the engineer and fireman realized that
they had missed the main track they
had crashed into the waiting freight. A
second later and the air was filled with
shrieks, groans, means and piteous ap-
pcals Tor help and assistance. The pas
senger train consisted or baggage car,
three ordinary coaches and two sleepers,
and the force OF the collision was such
that only the rear sleeper escaped in
jury.
The locomotive Of the freight was
driven half way into the meat car In its
rear, the baggage car OF the passenger
train was thrown TO one side, while the
passenger coaches partially teicscoped
each other, and the third. a Grand Trunk
coach. cut into the sleeping car Kan
sas.' carrying away the smoking com
partment and sections one and three as
clean as though they had been trimmed
with razor edged axe. The two for
ward coaches were completely wrecked
and the occupants buried in the debris.
The sleepers in the rear palace car
poured out and. aided by the traibmen
and those Of the passengers that had es
capped injury. set themselves 10 the task
Of rescuing and aiding the injured.
bringing Out the Dead.
In the meantime the residents of the
farm houses Immediately adjacent 10
the track had been awakened and men
aud women. boys and girls, hurried to
the scene and lent what assistance they
could Most OF the dead and injured
were in the two forward day coaches
and these were so completely wrecked
that the work OF extricating the dead
and dying was comparatively easy one.
Ia the meantime news Of the catastrophe
had been wired to La Porte. Nestyille.
Union Mills and Michigan City and
other points within a radius ~ score
of miles. and within "a comparatively
short time scores Of buggies. wagons
and vehicles of every description were
at the scene. In these the injured were
conveyed To the farm houses and reel
dences II the neighborhood. the doors OF
which were thrown wide open by the
occupants, the ,Tttor devoting them
selves 10 the temporary relief Of the suf.
fercrs. pending the arrival OF medical
assistance.
Dead and injured.
The revised list II dead and injured 10
as folloas: j. H. Nc kenna. butcher.
HYDE Park. Massachusetts,; Harry
French. IA years old. of the London
charity school. London. England: Charles
Birbec. san Francisco: Alice Reed. East
Boston. Massachusetts. Miss Nellie Il.
Tucker. Boston. Massachusetts,: Warren
g.. Ryder. PhUnix. Arizona: III. G. Zellc.
tiernany. l.. ID. Rouudy. La Moille.
Iowa, John Green. engineer passenger
train. Ashley. Iowa, J. G.. Coulter. con.
ductor passenger train. Detroit Michi-
gan. ". ~ Lyon. baggagemaster passcn
ger train. Detroit. Michigan.
Injured. Frank L. Dow. fairhaten.
Washington. scalp wound; Miss May
Kelly. Brooklyn. Massachusetts,, head
cut and badly bruised; Otto Huck.
Hamburg. Germany. bruised and ankles
spfainei: q. g. Ho.sson, Dover. New
Hsmpehire. chin gash~d and back IN
juTed. Mrs = A. scayey. Somerswofth,
Nee Hampshire. back injured. general
coniueions and nervous prostration.
Mrs &. ". Burbank. New Oflesns rigkt
arm and both legs broken. condition
critical: urs ". ". Ryder. Phoenix
Arizona. face and hody cat, right leg
broken. simon CsnReid. Ifonwood,
Michigan. confueions ~ iiml~ and ts7dy.
/ Mrs Garfield, Vife % stsse. EFT arm
broken. tontusions On hesd. Mrs u.
+ DugAn. Audurcnd fenney issnia siiRht
bruises. ~. s. Askins. rrsidsnce un.
knovn. left iee fracfsred. internal iniu
mes. unrsbnee ioes, Edward knsh- Ion.
doB. EhRland. aresl & f,Dth legs l'rokss:
/ Asbert Nilion. youth. lssndoa. hnGianti.
right sFsa ininresi. Hattie liutrblns
+ fcksldl pho~nir. kfizoaa. inferbsl ina
rlce. Ms. n. &. hitl. SBrneFss ogth, NeW
E Hasntehffe itft fhseh trekeo, Annie
Hil. eamn stl6rees. slightly hfufeeds
H<rrt taikine. hrssnaa - freight iraft.
neal.s ana sorfussous: Frefn-ef Wait
nan ~ ffrfekf tfefn right afn f.fr<en.
/ heef il t.ek. 1dAn Bertef Hregaen pas
senwer trsta. ssaise sri epntnsiens
u.akrunsn = rss.~lne.
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