The morning call., 1894-08-11
WRECKERS DID 1T.
Great Smash-Up on the
Rock Island.
FOES OF THE RAILROAD.
Suspicion Falls on the People of
Oklahoma.
TWENTY-ONE PERSONS KILLED.
Several Others Missing Who Were
Undoubtedly Burned to Death
in the Wreck.
PERSONS KILLED.

LINCOLN, Nebr., Aug. 10.-1t was nearly
dark this evening before the frightful
mass of debris occupying the ravine where
the Rock Island express was wrecked and
burned few miles south of this city last
night had cooled sufficiently to enable the
large crowd, gathered at the place in the
hope of learning something of the tate or
friends or relatives. to inspect the charrtd
mass in detail; but any hope they may
have entertained of securing from the
great ash-pile information as to the lden-
tty of those who lost their lives was
soon blasted. The tons Of water thrown
on the twisted relics of the train and the
bed of embers had been insufficient to
prevent every vestige of com bustible mat
ter being destroyed. Occasionally a
charred skull or a partially burned human
bone was raked from the bed OF the fur
mace, but nothing more remained to tell
the tale of those who went down with the
Inflated train, and time will be required
to determine Just how many persons were
lost in tie wreck.
The lie: of killed and Injured, as fur
nished by the Coroner tonight sWells the
fatalities to twenty-four, as follows:
Killed: DR.. C. Il. PnDey. Council Bluffs.
J.D. Matthews, commercial man. Omaha.
Hairy Moore, Kansas City.
Ike Depew, engineer. Council Bluffs.
w. o. Hambel, lawyer, Fairbury. Ne0r
C. D. Stannard, conductor. st. Joseph.
John Munger, grain-dea!er, Omaha.
H. r. Peters, merchant. Council Bluffs.
E. ID. Zshncke. lawyer. Lincoln. Nebr.
Two unknown farmers.
Five unknown men.
Charles Unruh, mother and son. Jensen,
Nebr.
A. 8. Edlee. merchant Pawnee. Nebr.
NJ. Beaver. Pawnee. Nebr.
Two unknown farmers from Jansen,
Nebr.
Those marked as unknown were pas
sengers known 10 be on the train and un-
accounted for.
Injured: Colonel c. j. Bills, Second
Regiment, Nebraska National Guards.
Fairbury, deep flesh wound left leg.
Henry C. Foote. brakeman, Council
Bluffs. leg broken.
Jay Mcdowell, Fairbury. legs cut.
c. R. Cherry. mail clerk, Kearney,
Nebr., badly bruised and cut
f. F. Scott, express messenger. injured
internally.
Mrs. Fish, wife of the engineer, badly
bruised.
o. S. Bell, travelling man. Lincoln, in
ternal injuries.
j. E. Puetz, travelling man, Lincoln, in
ternal injuries.
A passenger named Somerell, hurt about
head.
Mrs. Fritz and sister-in-law. Lincoln.
bruised.
The body of DR.. Pinney was found in
the wreckGge this afternoon. and, although
fearfully burned and merely a mass of
flesh. it was recognized by papers which
escaped entire destruction. He was a
prominent physician.
From the confused tangle of conflicting
stories told by excited eyewitnesses it has
been definitely ascertaiDed that only one
man met his death in the flames The low
moaning which had been heard in the ruins
of the smoker had ceased before the flames
reached it. and the presumption is that all
its unfortunate occupants were dead.
One Victim. whose name will never be
known, lay under the tender, the upper
end of which lay across his thighs, crush
ing them into the hard gravel. AS Colonel
Bills approached he begged piteously to
be released and saved from the flames.
Colonel Bills is man of nerve and deci-
sion. but he was confronted by a terrible
alternative. To move the tender was an
utter impoSsbility, and the long tongues
of hungry flames were reaching out greed
lily for their victim.
For an instant he thought that only one
of the mans legs was pinned down, and
thought about amputating it. Then he
saw that both were fast, and while he
hesitated he paused for moment and
gust of wind drove the flames and smoke
on him, blisterng his face and scorching
his clothes. Before he could recover him
self the long fiery tongues of flames had
wrapped about the victim and stilled his
screams.
AS the Rock Island has offered reward
of $1,000 for the apprehension of the wreck
ers the county and State will be asked to
add to the reward.
Colonel j. G. Bills, who is treasurer
of the National Guard, was one of
the fortunate passengers, and his story
is as follows: Jay Mcdowell and
myself were seated in the middle of the
car, and as we discovered that the train
was likely to go over the treste Nc
DoweIl started down the aisle. l called to
him to sit down. and the next instant the
crash came. The engine went over first
and the smoker on top of it, and the rear
coach. in which we were seated. jammed
down on the other. The car was crowded
with passengers and we were forced along
the backs of seats in front OF US. and all
but Mcdowell and myself were horribly
mangled. AS soon as possible we climbed
through a window, and in fifteen minutes
succeeded in extrcating nine persons who
were jammed in the debris. Hearing the
shrieks and cries for help on all sides,
left Mcdowell and ran three miles across
the country TO the penitentiary without
making stop. l had Warden Beemer
telephone the police department. and they
responded promptly and nobly at the
patrol carriages and physicians"
Colonel Bills says that two men in the
front of the chaircar were killed and
burned. He thinks it would have been
impossible for single man TO have es-
caDed from the smoking-car. 1t fell head
foremost on the engine. and the chaircar,
which followed. flattened IL.
There ara two th00rjos as To tha wreck.