The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-05-08
A Train Runs Away, Crashing
Into Depot at Lafayette.
DEBRIS FULL OF coRpsEs.
4angled Remains Of Ten Dead and
Eleven Wounded Taken Out.
Iho sseamboat Ohio Collspses . Flus
ut Belmont, Ao.-Twenty-Four Per-
sons scalded, Six OF Whom Die-The
Second Mate Blown Overheard.

LAFAYETTE, Ind, May 7-One Of the
most horrible wrecks in the history of rail-
reading occurred on the Big Four in this
city at LIS this morning, as result of
which ten men are now dead and eleven
persons injured. The dead are as follows:
MICHAEL WEIGH, engineer, of indianapolis
FIREMAN McISNrs. OF Indianapolis.
+. D. MYERS, of Logansport, mail clerk.
j. MCMAHON, of Cincinnati, mail clerk.
CHARLES MAYER. of Lafayette. hackman.
JOHN LENNON. of Lafayette, mail clerk.
JESSE H. LONG, OF Lebanon, Ind, mail clerk.
CHARLES scHAPILLs OF Indianapolis.
OTTO JERsELoN, OF Chicago
These were all frighfully crushed and
mangled, their limbs being severed in sew
eral instances and their bodies terribly
disfgured. The injured are:
JEFFERSON REESE, OF kempton.
RICHARD JONES, of Pontiac, Ill
LOUIS LEvFLER, OF Fowler.
SOPHIA BERGENHALE. of Milwaukee
WILLIAM PLACE, of Frankfort Ind.
CHARLES RoUsH, of Lafayette
WILLIAM BRECHTELL. of Lebanon, Ind.
Z. A. WIssELL, of CINCINNATI, mail clerk.
A. w. CoRNHAHAN, OF Cincinnati. mail clerk.
l. A. WERrGEL, OF Cincinnati. mail clerk.
J. n. VIcKERr. of Cincinnati, mail clerk.
The train was an east-bound passenger.
leaving Chicago at 9p. m. The accident
was caused by the failure of the air brakes
to work. The engineers desperate efforts
stop the train are shown by the large
amount of sand thrown by him on the
bridge through which the train came just
before the fatal crash and the vigorous
whistling for brakes. The ill-fated train
was almost q mile from the station when
it began running away, dashed around q
curve and tore across q long bridge,
although the man at the throttle had
reversed the machinery, and immense
streams of fire were flashing
from the driving wheels run.
ming in the opposite direction
to that Of the swiftly flying cars that fol-
lowed. The engine dashed out of the
bridge over the Wabash river at q speed
not less than sixty miles per hour. Just
after leaving the east end of the long
bridge the tracks describe q semi-circle,
at the midway point of which the Union
station is located. When the engine struck
the sharp curve it left the track, followed
by the cars i'll an awful swirl, and they
piled upon each other LOO feet away after
crashing through the train sheds and
bringing down tons Of structural iron.
The engine, when it Trft tho track, was
followed by the baggage car, two postal
cars and express car, piled in one promis.
cuous mass 100 feet away, total and CON-
plets wreck, burylng score or more VIC
Tins in pile of debris. The chair
car and two Pullman sleepers re-
mained on the track. To add to
the CONSERVATION fire broke out
from the stove in the baggage car, but the
fire department speedily extinguished the
flames. A large crowd gathered quickly
at the scene of the disaster and assisted in
rescuing the victims, and large force OF
local physicians gave the necessary atten-
ton to the wounded. Several victims of
the wreck were persons standing in the
depot waiting for the train.
Superintendent Bender arrived at an
early hour, and under his direction the
train wreckers had the track soon
cleared and ready for the resumption of
traffic. The injured were removed to their
homes or the hospital and no other fatal.
ties are expected than those noted. The
damage by property destroyed will be
fully $ou, ,0t0.