The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-01-24

Il
WEBB Ross, Mattoon.
HIRAM CORNELIUS, Iowa.
EDWARD M. MILLER, Alton Junction.
Two unidentified men.
WILLIAM SHUTTUcK, Upper Alton.
HENRY PENTING, Wann.
WELIIE McCARTY, Alton.
JOHN LOCKE, Alton.
EDWARD MAuRIs, Alton.
DANIEL HAREs, Alton Junction.
CHARLES Urn, Alton.
WILLIAM MANTLE, Fosterburg. Ills
WILLIAM S. MILLER. Alton.
CHARLES HARRIS, Alton.
JOHN WILLIAMSON. Alton.
GEoRGE RoLoFF, Upper Alton, Ills.
j. M. MURRAY, Alton.
CHARLES HALLER, Alton Junction.
There are a dozen patients at the hos
pital whose injuries are of such char
acter that their lives are despaired of.
Relatives Arriving.
The morning train brought to the
city many relatives of the victims of
the explosion and all day the hospital
was beseiged by anxious friends eager
to learn some consoling news about
their loved ones.
Coroner Kinder has been busily
engaged since the accident holding in
quests and arranging funerals.
The citizens of Alton and Wann have
freely contributed bed clothing and
wearing apparel for the sufferers.
Mayor Joesting has donated several
hundred dollars from the flood relief
fund to purchase articles necessary for
the comfort of the victims.
Monday was day of funeruls. the
following victims of the casualty being
laid to rest: Henry Penneng. John
Lock, Edward Miller, William Miller,
John Wilkinson and Charles Utt.
Other funerals win take place. Sew
eral bodies are lying in the morgue
awaiting Identification. They are so
badly charred and disfigured that recog-
milton is almost impossible.
Two More Victims.
Two more victims of Saturdays ex-
plosion--Charles Allen and Henry Jen.
nings, have died at Wann. This makes
the death total up to 2 o'clock twenty.
one. There are at Wann seven more
cases. the most serious of which are
John Henry, Jr., Henry Waigand, John
Philfort and son of G. Hermann. They
are severely burned and their chances
for recovery are small The doctors be.
ieve that the other sufferers win re-
cover.
How 1T Occurred.
Wann is flag station of the Chicago
and Alton and the Big Four railways
and is about four miles this side oI
Alton. There are no side tracks there
but about half mile beyond, at small
village known as Alton Junction, arr
several switches. The limited train
consisting of an engine and tender, /
combination baggage and buffet car
and three coaches, reached Wanr
| twelve minutes late 1t reached Alto1
junction running at the rate of fort,
miles an hour, the engineer being de
sirous of making up the lost time a
soon as possible. A switch was turnet
90 as to send the flying train onto on
of the side tracks. On this track only
few yards distant from the switch wer
seven tank cars filed with refinet
lubricating oil
| A Sea Of Flames,
The engine crashed entirely througl
two tank cars, splitting them in hal
and was then forced ON and entirel,
over the others. The oil from th
| wrecked tanks at once caught fire an,
| sea of flames instantly surrounded tin
engineer, who was burned to death.
In the baggage department. of th
| first car were the mails, eleven pieces o
baggage and a corpse, and these wer
| all burned in d few moments. TIL
flames spread to the other coaches an
| all were soon an ruins Three Of the oi
tanks which were broken open by tn
engine crashing over thew were ais
consumed in a brief space of time, to
gether with the engine and tender.
A Fearful Explosion.
1t was when a great crowd wa
watching the destruction of the railroa
company's property that the culmina
ton of the horrible affair occurred
Two of the tank cars were left unin
jured by the engine. The heat of burn
ing oil all around them generated a gas
the pressure of which became too grea
for the huge iron casks to withstand
Simultaneously and with fearful fore
they exploded, throwing pieces of thei
from sides far out into the adjacen
fields and showering upon the assemble
crowd of sightseers mass of fiaInin
liquid. For just one second after th
noise of the explosion there was n
sound save the whish of the seething oi