The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-08-01
And Forty Three Others known
to be Injured.
ATLANTIC CITY HORROR
There May Still be Other Bodies
Under the Bebris.
ResCUERs WORKED ALL NIGHT
The Telegraph Operator at the Signal
Tower and the Switch Tender
Are Now in Atlantic
City Jail

City Jail.
Atlantic City, n. j., July 31.-The
midsummer sun burst this morning
| upon a sleepless, horror-striclen com
munity. The gaiety which viii mark
| this resort from now until the end of
the season, will be but a faint echo of
| days past A death pail has fallen on
the city, as result of the railroad hor-
ror.
The list of dead. as revised now,
numbers 43, and this is thought to be
correct, although there is possibility
that more bodies are under ahe debris
in the pond beside the wreck. The in
iured, so far as known, aggregate 43.
The revised list of dead is as follows:
Charles Muta, Bridgeton; John Griver,
Bridgeton: Charles Eckels, Salem;
Charles z. McGear, Bridgeton; Mr.. and
Mrs. Trenchard, Bridgeton; 5. z. Muir
phey. Millville; Joseph Petus, Bridge
ton; ]. d. Johnson, Bridgeton; Charles
d. Burroughs, Bridgebon; body, sup
posed to be Charles Soly, Bridgeton;
II. +. BELL. Bridgeton; W. c. Looper,
Bridgeton: MIR. and Mrs. II. {. Gold
smith. Bridgeton; Samuel Thorne,
Atlantic City; Franklin Dubois, Clear
field, Pa; j. Earns,, Bridgeton; wo-
mans body, supposed to be that OF
Miss Jennie Sheppart, Bridgeton;
Mary Wentzell, Alloway, n. j.; Lidie
Carr. Bridgeton: Pearl Muta, Bridge
ton; Mrs. Elmermay, Palatine, \. j.;
Mrs. II. +. Bell, Bridgeton; Anna Fre!s.
Bridgeion: Edward Farr Reading
railroad engineer, Atlantic CITY; man,
supposed to be Charles Sebert, Bridge
ton: Charles May, Palatine, \. J.; ID. +.
Wood. shipping clerk, Camden, \. j.;
G.. B. Tavlor, address unknown; James
NJ. Bateman, Bridgeton; part OF a shirt
found with name stamped "A. Ii. Fox"
boy about 12 years old, supposed TO
be \. Peters; Reya NJ. I.ooper, II years,
Of Yorktown, n J.; Tillie Leeds,
Bridgeton; Mrs. Hattie Loper, Bridge
ton: Mamie Cheney, Bridgeton un-
known woman: unknown boy; Mich
ael May. Bridgeton; VIM. Spaulding,
Philadelphia Elmer Wentzel, Bridge
ton; Mrs. j. ID. Bateman, Bridgeton;
William Pricket, Bridgeton; Joseph
Cheney, Bridgeton; unknown man;
Samuel Thorne, Atlantic City; un-
known woman; unidentified arm of
unknown woman.
A ring was found on a finger of one
Of the unidentified women bearing the
inscription &c to H." Spaulding, Che
ney and Elmer Vented died at the
sanitarium this afternoon. 1t is prob
able that four or five others will die.
There are now nine bodies at the eX-
cursion house where the dead have
hppp cr9 tbprpd NOT identified.
The force of rescuers continued az
work throughout the night Engineer
Ward Farr, who died with his hand on
the throttle. was taken out early this
morning. 1t was with much difficulty
that his rigid fingers were unclasped
from the lever. His head and face
were untouched, and his eyes looked
skyward with a ghastly glare. He had
been pinned down by the chest and
apparently met instant death.
Almost every bone in the body of one
male victim was broken when taken
from the ruins, and may were so fright
fully mangled as to be beyond recog-
milton. BY o'clock this morning the
greater part of the bodies had been
cleared away. and it is thought all the
bodies have been recovered. Ranged
along either side of the stagnant pool
which marks the scene, We're stacked
in little heaps The hats, caps, gloves
and other articles of clothing found on
the ground. They were pitiful memen-
toes of the disaster. They were guard
ed by a small force of railroad men and
city police.
The dead have all been removed
from the various hospitals and under
takers shops to the old excursion
house, once the scene of fest1vlty and
frolic, and now a morgue. There the
corpses were ranged side by side upon
the floor and the place guarded by a
corps of police.
The arrest of VIM. Thurston. the
telegraph operator at the signal tow
err, confirms the theory that mistake
in the display of signals was the first
cause of the disaster. The competi-
tion between the West Jersey and
Reading railroads for Atlantic City
business in very keen and both roads
run "hyers" which average nearly a
mile a minute between Camden and
Atlantic City. There are frequent
races across the stretch Of open coun-
try a few miles outside of Atlantic
CITY. known as "the meadows" and
passengers on the rival trains, who
are not timid, regard the race on the
home stretch as one of the exhiliara-
tions of the trip to the seashore. The
timid ones, however, are always ap-
prehensiye that something will hap
pen as the dangerous grade crossing
is approached. Last night the long
looked-for accident occurred, with aw-
full results.
There is a difference of opinion as
to which of the Inflated trains had the
right of way last night, but telegraph
, operator, VIM. Thurston and switch
tender Hauser are in the Atlantic City
iail now and viii remain there until