The herald., 1893-10-21
A MOMENTS NEGLIGENCE
The Cause of the Loss of
TWenty-Six Lives.
An Additional Twenty-Seven
Persons Injured.
One of the Worst Railway Disasters
Ever Recorded.
An Engineer Who Disobeyed Orders
Held Responsible for. the Awful
Catastrophe-Thr Sc Fatal
Collisions.

--------s--
BY the Associated Press
BATTLE CREEK. Mich, Oct. 20.-An
error of one humaya bsing-one man
who crouches affriikhted in prison cell
to the greatest railroad
holocaust in the history Of Michigan to.
day, and 26 human lives paid the
penalty Of moment's negligence. Two
trains, both laden with passengers, met
in direct head-on collision on the
Grand TRUNK railroad at 3:45 O'Clock
this morning in the suburbs of this city,
and that th 3 number OF dead and injured
is not fourJiold greater is due to the
circumsta'nce that the collision occurred
in the suburbs of this city, where the
trains slilckened their speed.
Twenty-six charred, disfgured and
unrecois snizable bodies lie in the morgue
tonight, and 27 charred and bleeding
victims are groaning in agony in the
Charity hospital. How many Of these
won nded may be in the death list to-
morrow none can tell. fer the injuries
in many cases are quite unfathomable
to- the medical examination that ia
possible now. All that surgical science
can do is being done, and the officials of
the railroad are doing all possible to
alleviate the sufferings OF the victims
OF the dreadful disaster.
DIsoBEYED ORDERS.
The two trains met face to face. Both
were regular trains, although each was
considerably behind time. One was a
Raymond & Whitcomb special train re-
turning from the worlds fair and the
other the regular Pacific express bound
west. The engineer OF the Raymond &
Whitcomb train had positive orders to
sidetrack for the express at siding
mile east OF this city. He ignored tina
orders, and 600 feet beyond the siding
he met the east bound train full ON.
Both trains were wrecked and halt the
train of the Pacific express demolished
and burned. The Raymond & Whit
comb train, being composed almost en-
tirely of heavy sleepers, escaped serious
injury, and none of the excursionists
lost their lives. The engineers and fire.
men of both trains jumped in time. but
26 passengers of the Pacific express met
almost instant death. The day coaches
in the front part of this train were tele-
scoped and burned, and of 26 human re-
mains at the morgue tonight conjectures
can only be made as to the identity of
six. Twenty remain entirely unidenti-
fed.
THE IDENTIFIED DEAD.
The identified ave as follows:
O. @. Vandusen. Sproutbrook, N. Y,
died in the hospital.
Mrs. G. G. Vandusen, Sproutb.ook,
N. Y, burned to death after the wreck.
and before she could be extricated.
burned to crisp.
Mrs. F. r. Mckenzie, Middletown,
Conn.,, burned to a crisp.
T: A. McGarvey. Ontario, Cam, man
gled and burned.
J. W. Beardley, Watkins. NY, burned
and mangled.
UNIDENTIFIED CoRPsEs.
The coroner numbered each OF the
bodies now in the morgue consecutively,
and noted the articles found on each
body that might lead to Identification.
On one body a pSper marked f. j.
Mogon, Providence, R. l., was found.
On another statement from John
Monroe, 9 banker of New York, to
Charles E. Verde; also note in Gtr-
man from Charles E. Wensele to DR..
Howard Evance. An unknown baby
was burned to crisp.
The following articles were found in
the debris, but it is impossible to con-
meet them with bodies: A book, League
of American Wheelmen, with the name
inside of William Louis Wilson, North
western University, Evanston, H., 832
Sheridan road; cards and envelope
marked Miss L. B. Hayes cards bought
of George Muir, Evanston, ILL.,. q box
OF pills marked Bradley, Evanston, Ill.
A bible, thoroughly wet and partially
burned, gives the following title page:
emblem for St. Clements clase, an
anchor, Hebrews 6:l0, teacher j. s.
Arch -, Easter, 1888" The name is
so near the edge that only Arch" can
be deciphered.
There are in the morgue Is bodies
eight males, seven females and three
corpses burned beyond means of identi-
fication or ascertaining the sex.
Immediately after the accident the
manned and injured were conveyed to
the Nicholas Memorial hospital in this
city.
THE LIST OF INJURED.
The complete list of the injured as re-
ported at Assistant Superintendent
Clsssford's Office at Detroit is:
II. w. Williams, Toronto.
w. A. Byeree, Port Dover, Ont.
William Henry Bushnell, Brockpors,
N. Y.
s. H. Smith, Port Plain, N. Y.
j. II. Smith, Port Plain, N. Y.
Israel Smith, Port Plain, N. Y.
Berry Smith, Port PLAIN, n. Y.
Mrs. Smith. Port Plain, N. Y.
Miss Belle Williams. Brockport, n. Y.
Frederick WeFtz. Rochester, N. Y.
Mrs Wertz and Miss Wertz, Roches-
ter.
Frank TurnweiRi, Biissiield. Pa.
Jennie Stewart and j. s. Stewart, Dali
ton station, Ill.
@. @. Vandusan, Sproutbrook. ~. Y.
(since died.)
W Thonnuou Woodstock ONT