The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-07-16
THE DREADFUL RESULTS OF
THE WRECK SPREAD SOR-
ROW EVERYWHERE.
EARLY TRAINS BRING IN THE DEAD
Twenty-Eight People Killed and Over
Fifty Injured-The Agony of the
Bcreaved is Pitia ble-List of
Dead and Injured.

which twenty-eight lives were crushed
out and many others were terribly in
iurad occurred on the Northwestern road
near this village yesterday evening.
Only meagre details of the disaster could
be sent to the outside world until long
after the wreck had been cleared.
An excursion train bearing Il large
party from Omaha crashed headlong
into heavily loaded freight train soon
after having pulled out of Logan on the
return trip. The engineer of the eXcur-
sion train misunderstood his orders. hav
ing been instructed to remain on the
siding until the freight train had passed.
William Shaffer. the agent of the
Northwestern at Logan, saw the eXcur-
sion train pulling up. He was Mortified
to note that instead of slackening up at
the switch the train was rapidly taking
on more speed He rushed down the
platform and asked an employee if the
special had pulled out and received an
affirmative reply.
"Then God help them,' said Shaifer
"They have pulled out without orders
and No. SO is due in u minute
But it was too late to avert the catas-
trophe or even attempt it. The eXcur-
sionists were not yet out of sight when
the crash came. Freight train No. 3S
with full head of steam on, one
minute behind time, dashed around
the curve at a fOrty-mle an hour gait
and no human power could avert the
disaster. Two cars of the excursion
train were telescoped. The floor of the
baggage car was wedged so tightly into
the coach that all efforts to remove it
was futile, although thousand willing
hands were Joined in an attempt to lift
the cover that was cOncealing the dead
and imprisoning the living in tomb.
Finally an axe was procured and sec
ton of the floor cut away. AS soon as
Il little space was cleared the wreckers
cimed inside the coach and the work of
passing up the bodies of dead and in
jured progressed more rapidly. Twenty
five dead bodies were taken out and laid
in a row on the grass along the track and
the injured were at once taken to LO-
gan. Then the dead were removed to the
town undertaking establishment and
laid out for Identification. Twenty-Five
bodies were taken to that place. 1t was
after midnight when the work was
finally completed. Before daylight came
the dead and injured were taken to an
other train and sent to Omaha.
A SORROWFUL SABBATH.
Omaha, Neb., July 12.-Omaha is a
city of mourning today. The bright Sab
bath morning brought with it full reali-
cation of the greatest catastrophe that
ever wreaked death and desolation in the
hearts and tiresides of the city's people.
No part of the city was spared. There
are broken homes and bleeding hearts
everywhere and sorrow reigns supreme.
Never did Il day of pleasure end with
more awful disaster. Twenty eight peo-
pie were killed and tifty-one injured,
many of whom will die. in the wreck near
here last night. Twenty-four of the
dead are Unidentified and the others are
so badly mutilated that indentification is
hardly possible.
1t was not until after the morning pap
ers were out that the first authentic in
formation became generally known.
Then it spread with wonderful rapidity.
The early riser in the residence district
glanced at his morning paper and for the
hrst time realized the calamity. Long
before the. motor trains started hundreds
of men and women walked down town
to learn something more of the terrible
catastrophe. These were added to thou
sands to whom the story brought the fear
OF certainty of a personal bereavement.
The depot was the center toward which
they all turned, and when the morning
trains brought in their sad burden of
dead and dying, the approaches were
thlckiy massed with people who talked
in whispers and shuddered as they
thought of the bereayed ones to whom
they could offer only silent sympathy.
Very little was said by those who gath
cred to witness the next act in the
CHASTITY tragedy. The horror of the Gala
nifty was too new to find expression in
words.
Only those who had witnessed the pa
thetic scenes that marked the night could
fully realize the agony of these waiting
people. The list of injured is a lengthy
one. 1t contains twenty-eight or more
VI DtISDHS WHO were StTlOuSlN
hurt. dangerously so, to Il greater or less
degree In addition there were at least
fifty, If not Il greater number. who re-
ceiver injuries of a minor nature. These
consisted of bruises and cuts. or slight
Disbursements which practically amount
ed to nothing. A considerable number
also were shaken up severely, but be-
yond this were uninjured. This was eS-
pecially the case among the passengers
who occupied the cars Immediately be-
hind the one which was demolished. The
incidental fright, combined with the
shock. threw both men and women into
Mysteries, but owing to the work that
devolved upon the physicians in caring
for the desperately hurt, such individuals
were left without medical attention and
got over their attacks as best they could.
The condition, however, left its effects
upon great numbers of passengers, and
when they alighted from the trains they
were all of a tremble and many of them.
although their limbs were sound and
their general physical condition was I'M
impaired, required the assistance of
friends to lead them away to their
homes. 1t was a pitiable sight to see
strong men weakened to the point of
helplessness. 1t took much time to pre-
pare the injured for their journey to this
city. 1t was necessary to transport
them a considerable distance after the
wounds were dressed. Owing to the
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