The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1895-03-08
FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT.
A Train Of Pilgrims Goes Over a
Precipice.
fhe Dead VIII Number One Hundred with
rs Many More Injured-The I'm
pardonsble Negligence OF
the Engineer.

CITY OF MEXICO, Mex, March 2-One
of the most frightful accidents in the
history of the Mexican railroads, re-
sulting in the killing of 1O4 persons
aud the serious, If not fatal, injury of
nearly 100 others. occurred on the In
teroeeanic railroad at a point not p
miles from this city. A few days ago
great number of persons left the
capital and the towns in the vicinity to
go on a pilgrimage to the Catholic
shrine at Sacre Monte. Thursday a
long train, aboard of which there
were 200 passengers, was returning
from the place of pilgrimage. 1t went
well until point on the line about
midway between Timamtla and Ten
ango was reached. On this part of the
road there is a steep incline. the line
at one place on il having a sharp curve
where it runs close to the edge of a
high precipice. As the train began to
run down the decline the speed began
to increase, and it was soon running
at a frightful rate. Steadily the
momentum of the train, which was
now swaying and bounding fearfully
increased, and soon the dangerous
high curve was struck As the pilot
wheels of the engine took the curve
the locomotive swayed outward and
then back. As the drivers went
on the curve the engine again
swayed heavily and then either
jumped the track or turned a rail.
1t dashed across the scanty space
between the rails and the edge of the
chasm, and then plunged downward.
One after another the three coaches,
filed with passengers, dashed after it
and piled up in mass of wreclSage at
the foot of the precipice. The next
two coaches also jumped the track,
but, most fortunately, did not go
over the edge of the precipice. As the
fifth coach left the metals it twisted
and broke the coupling connec ting it
with the coaches behind it. These
coaches kept the rail and passed safely
around the curve. After running con-
siderable distance they Were stopped
by the hand brakes
When the engine and the three
coaches fell to the bottom of the
ravine there was fearful crash, and
mingled with it were the shrielIs of the
affrightened passengers. In the mean
time number of passengers in the
other coaches had returned to the
scene of the wreck and devoted them
selves to the work of rescuing
those imprisoned in the wreck.
The sight here was a most grue-
some one. The carriages were shat
cred and a majority of the occupants
were lying beneath the wreckage. The
shriells and means of the injured were
heart-rending, while many of the I'M
hurt women and children moaned and
walled in an agony of terror. The
train hands were Americans. and some
of them as soon as possible telc-
graphed the news of the disaster
to this city. The railroad officials dis
played commendablc activity, and a
special relief train, with surgeons,
an ambulance, medicines, bandages,
etc. was promptly dispatched to the
scene. One hundred and four dead and
eighty-five wounded were taken out of
the wreck. Many of the dead will
never be identified, some of them being
so horribly mangled that it is impossi-
BILE to recognize the remains as those
of human beings.
So far as can be learned. the accident
was due to the negligence of the en-.
gineer. 1t is stated that when the
train entered the incline he made nc
attempt to check its speed by the use
of air brakes.