The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-10-26
REGARDLESS OF ORDERS.
THE ENGINEER RAN HIS TRAIN PAST
THE SWITCH.
A Head-End Collision Resulted and Twenty
Six Burned and Manglsd Bodies Lie
in the MOrgus, and the Hos
pital Full Of Wounded.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich, Oct. 20.-Th,
error of one human being,-a man VIII,
crouches affrightened like hunted
animal in prison cell tonight-led tt
the greatest railroad holocaust in tn,
history of Michigan today, and 90 hu
man lives have paid the penalty of 6
moments negligence. Two trains
both laden with passengers, met in 6
direct headend collision on the Crane
Trunk railroad at 3:45 this morning in
the suburbs of this city, and that the
number of dead and injured was moi
four fold greater is due to the fortunate
fact that the collision occurred in the
suburbs of the city instead of the open
country, where both trains would have
been running at full speed.
AS it is 26 charred, disfgured, I'M
recognizable bodies lie in the morgue
tonight; 81 MANNED and bleeding VIC
tins groan in agony in the charity
hospital. How many of those wound.
ed may be in the death list tomorrow
no one can tell, for the injuries in many
cases are internal and quite unfathom
able to only the superficial medical ex-
animation possible now. All that sur
gical science can do is being done and
the officials of the Chicago and Grand
Trunk railroad ere doing all possible
to alleviate the condition of the suffer-
ers and care for the victims of the
dreadful disaster.
The two trains which met face to
face while going at a rapid rate this
morning we're both regular trains,
each considerably behind time. One
was the Raymond g. Whitcomb special
train returning from the Worlds fair,
bound for New York and Boston, and
the other was the regular Pacific ex-
press westbound train. The Ray mond
" Whitcomb was running as an extra
section of the regular train and was
therefore regular" in the phraseology
of railroad men.
The engineer of the latter train had
positive orders to sidetrack for the ex-
press at the siding mile east of this
city. He ignored the orders and 600
feet beyond the siding met the east
bound train full on. Both trains were
wrecked and half of the Pacific ex-
press demolished and burned. The
Raymond 81 Whitcomb express
being composed almost entirely of
heavy sleepers, escaped serious injury
and none of the excursionists lost their
lives, The engineers and firemen of
both trains jumped in time to save
their lives, but 26 passengers of the
Pacific express met almost instant
death. The day coaches in the front
part of this train were telescoped and
burned, and of the 26 human remains
at the morgue tonight conjunctures
can only be made as to the identity of
six. Twenty remain entirely uniden-
tilted.
Those identified by letters or arti-
cles in their clothing or by other
means are: Vandusen, G. c., Sprout
brook, N. Y, died at hospital; Vandu.
sen, Mrs, burned to death in the
wreck before she could be extricated;
Henry, W. W., Woonscoket, r. l.,
burned to crisp; Mckenzie, Mrs. F.
R. Middleton, Conn.,, burned to a
crisp; McGarvey, T. A., Ontario,
mangled and burned to
1eath; Beardsley, j. W., Watkins. N.
z, burned and tlangled. The coroner
mas numbered each of the 26 bodies
now in the morgue consecutively and
noted the articles found on each body
that might lead to Identification.
The coroner's official list of remains
now at the morgue is as follows;
No. 1, male-Hunting spectacles,
oocketbook containing 1914 in money,
paper marked E. J. Mogon, Provi
lence, r l., silver open-faced watch.
No. 2, female-Burned to crisp; no !
clothing.
No. 8, boy-Red hair, pocketbook,
,hatelaine watch, short pants, long
No. Nv. W. Henry, Woonsocket,
r. l.
No. 5, male-Silk handkerchief
marked 1T" statement on paper from
Tohn Monroe, banker, New York, to
Jhas. E. Verde, note in German from
Jhas. E. Wensele to DR.. Howard E.
lance.
No. 6, male-Jackknife with horn
landle, silver watch, 80 English gold
oins, handkerchief with III. g." in
Id English letters.
No. Z, male-170 pounds, charred be-
'ond recognition.
No. 8, woman-165 pounds, chain
racelet. handkerchief with name F.
/. Mckenzie, red plush cloak, letters
ddressed to Mrs. G. r. Kenzie from
IRIS. M. Parker, Stamford, Conn.
No. 8, female-Burned beyond recog-
ition.
No. 10, supposed to be 7. A. Nc
tarvey, Ontario; gold open-faced
latch.
No. II, Mrs, Chas. Vandusen, sprout'
rock, N. Y
No IL, baby-UnkDown, burned to
crisp. =. o
No. 10, male-No Identification,
urned to a crisp.
No. IA, male --186 pounds, silk hand
erchief, burned to crisp