The herald., 1894-08-11
A HORRIBLE HOLOCAUST,
Details of the Disaster at
Lincoln, Neb.
The Number of Fatalities Now
Placed at "a.
Most of the Bodies Burned Beyond
Recognition.
The Catastrophe Undoubtedly Caused
Inv Train w Wreckers-Storios re Of
Tho Catastrophe Undoubtedly Caused
by NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OF
6urvivors-A Frightful
Macs Of Debris.


LINCOLN. Neb., 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 sufi-
ciently to enable the large crowd gath
cred at the place in the hope OF learning
something of the fate OF friends or rela-
tives to inspect the charred mass in de-
tail, but any hope that may have been
entertained OF securing from the great
ash pit information as to the identity oil
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 combustlble
matter from being destroyed, OCCASION
ally charred skull or a partially burned
human bone was raked from the bed OF
the furnace, but nothing more remained
to tell the tale of those who went down
required to determine just how many
persons were lost in the wreck.
The list OF killed and injured, a. fur
the fatalities to "a, and is as follows:
KILLED.
DR.. G. FL. Pinney, Council Bluffs.
J.D. Matthews, a commercial man,
Omaha.
Harry Moore, Kansas City.
Ike Depew, engineer, Council Bluffs.
w. o. Hambell, lawyer, Fairbury.
Neb.
@. D. Stannard, conductor. st. Joseph.
John Munger, grain dealer, Omaha.
II. r. Peters, merchant, Council
Bluffs.
+. H. Zerncke. lawyer, Lincoln.
Two unknown farmers.
Five unknown men.
Charles Unruh, mother and son, Jsn-
sen, Neb.
A. B. Edlee, merchant, Pawnee, Neb.
| M. Beaver, Pa nee.
| Two unknown farmers from Jensen.
Those marked as unknown were pas
sengers known to be on the train and
unaccounted for.
Injured:
Col. G. ]. Bliss. Second regiment Ne.
braska National guards, Fairbury, deep
flesh wound left leg.
Henry G. Foote, brakeman, Council
Bluffs, leg broken.
jaw Mcdowell, Fairbury, legs cut,
@. H. Henry, mail cldk, Kearney,
Neb., badly bruised and cut.
F. F. Scott, express messenger, in
iured internally.
Mrs. Fish, badly bruised.
o. S. Bell, travelling man, Lincoln, in
ternsl injuriea
J. L. Puetz, travelling man, Lincoln,
internal injuries.
A passenger named Somerhill, hurt
about head.
Mrs. Fritz and sister.in.law, Lincoln,
bruised.
The body OF DR.. Pinney was found in
the wreckage this afternoon, and al
though fesrfully burned and merely
mass of charred flesh, it was recognized
by papers which escaped destruction.
He was prominent physician.
From the confused tangle of conflict
ing stories told by excited eye witnesses,
it has been definitely sscertained thst
only one man met his death in the
! flames. The low moaning which had
been heard ia the ruins of tine smoker
had ceased before the flames reached it,
and the presumption is that all it's ,un-
fortunate occupants were dead.
One victim whose name will never be
known, lay under the tender, the upper
end OF which lay across his thighs,
crushing them into the hard gravel. As
Colonel Bills approached he begged pit
eously to be released and saved from
the flames. Colonel Bills is man of
nerve and decision, but he was con-
fronted by terrible alternative. 70
move the tender was impossible, and
| ~ oS
reaching out greedily for their victims.
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
be paused for moment, gust OF wind
drove the flames and smoke on him,
blistering 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 Ialsnd has offered re.
ward OF $1,000 for the apprehension OF
the wreckere, the county and state will
be asked to add to the reward.
Col. j. @. Bills, treasurer OF the Ma
tional Guard association of the United
States, was one OF the fortunate passen-
gers. and hiB story is as follows:
"Jay McDowel and myself were
seated in the middle of the car, and, as
we discovered the train was likely to go
over the treatle, Mcdowell started down
the aisle. | called to him to sit down,
and the next inetant 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 we're forced along the
backs OF seats in front of us and all but
Mcdowell snd myself were horribly
mangled. Az coon as possible we
climbed through window, and in Is
minutes succeeded in extricating nine
persons who were jammed in the deb.
ris. 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. 1
mad Warden Beemer telephone the po'