The morning call., 1893-10-14
woman who was dying with her child al

"oHhdn WHO was dying Win ucI CAiiu az
her breast.
A woman whose name was unknown
lay on the side of the track suffering un-
told mental and physical agony. She was
the mother Of child two years old and
implored the bystanders to save the little
one. "Only let me see my babe before
die," said she. You who know mothers
love get my child, l beseech you" Her
child was dead.
The work OF removing the dead and in
jured was carried on with all possible dis
patch. Mayor Bennett and Sheriff Peck
took charge of the work of the towns
people and to them and the citizens gener-
ally is due the credit for the attention be-
slowed upon the sufferers. Though
thousands of splinters were scattered
about this morning. but few remained on
the ground tonight. They have been
carried away by the curious as mementoes
of the awful wreck and the cushions be-
spatiered with the blood of the killed
have been torn in shreds aud carried away
likewise.
The cause of the wreck Is mystery.
Some of the railroad officials say the only
responsible agent is Engineer Whalen.
held responsible for it. The air brakes
would not work, and nobody feels compe-
tent to explain why they would not. The
two trains were delivered to the Michigan
Central at Buffalo. one from the North
Central and the other from the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western. Both were
excursions. the passengers having been
picked up at local points in New York and
Pennsylvania.
Engineer Whalen was able tonight to
talk to representative of the Associated
Press. He said the engine was new one,
and in all particulars had worked beauti-
fully. On the run from Detroit he had
stopped at two points and slowed down
at one junction, and on these three
occasions the air worked perfectly. Just
east Of Jackson junction, one mile east OF
where the disaster occurred, he had
touched the air and found it all right. AS
the train crossed Elmer avenue he began
to slow down and applied the air. he
found that the brake held on the engine,
but would not on the train. He then
whistled for the hand brakes and reversed
the engine. The fireman jumped. but
Whalen stayed with the engine until he
was within three car lengths of the other
train. when he went out through the cab
window as he had not time to reach the
gangway. The only possible explanation
Whalen has for the failure OF the air to
work is that while lying at Ypsilanti some
miscreant may have turned the shutCff
cock between the tender and the cars.
This wreck was the first one of conse-
quence on the Michigan Central since
October 10, 1879, when the westbound Pa
cific express crashed into switch engine
and several freightcars about mile east
of to-day's happening, killing eighteen
people and injuring thirty-fve.
James A. Hyde of New York City. who
was standing near the wrecked train, on
the platform, as the other train crashed
into 1t, says the sight was the most awful
he ever witnessed. He saw Engineer
Whalen just before he jumped, and adds
that he never saw such an expression of
agony on mans face. All the passsn-
gers. both those who escaped and those
who were in the eating-room of the sta
tion at the time, had interesting stories to
ell of their experience. Tie tale of T.
n. Beardslee of East Canton, Pa, was
particularly sad one. He escaped injury
himself. but his wife was killed and his
daughter so severely hurt that she cannot
recover. II had brought some coffee to
my wife and daughter few minutes be-
fore," said he. "and had gone to the
smoker, near the head of the train. to
have cigar. [ had scarcely got seated
when the awful crash came. When l
rushed back 1 found the car in which my
folks had been seated in the midst of the
wreck. The first of the injured discov-
cred was my daughter, and a few feet
from her found my wife. dead. She had
been struck on the head and her body
forced through the front Of the car"
One OF the ghasily phases of the acci-
dent was the decapitation of Mrs. D. z.
Gibbs. She was accompanied by her hus-
band, who was out on the platform at the
time of the collision, and she was not
identified until tonight. Der husband was
one Of the most active searchers in the
wreck, but he did not recognize her re-
mains when taken out. He made a trip
through the different undertaking estab-
lishments tonight and was horrified to
find his wife's body headless.
There is an ordinance in jackson pro-
hibiting the running of trains faster than
six miles an hour inside the city limits,
and it is stated tonight that had this been
observed the wreck could not have oc-
CURED, for the train, according to compe-
tent witnesses. was running at the rate of