The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-10-05
WRECKED THE TRAIN
At Least Seven Passengers Killed
Through Gross Negligence.
EXPLOSION OF THE BOILER
In Order to Make Up Time the En-
gIneer Didn't stop to FIJI His
Water 1ank-A Suicide In
the Excitement.
EXPLOSION OF THE BOILER

Usage City, Kas.. Oct. "A frightful
wreck, attended by serious loss of life
and made more terrible by the self
murder Of one OF the terrified passen-
gers, occurred at o'clock this morn
ing on the Santa Fe road. two miles
from this station. Seven dead bodies
have been recovered from the wreck
and II 10 feared that other victims are
buried beneath the debris. The wreck
ed train was the eastbound passenger
No. 2. the same that had such thrill
ing experience with bandits In New
Mexico on Friday night last.
The wreck was caused by the ex-
plosion of the boiler Of the locomo-
tive. The engineer had stopped for
water at Usage City, but being behind
time he endeavored to run to the next
tank. Though II Is not positively
known, the engineer and fireman hav-
Ing both met death in the wreck, II Is
surmised that this neglect was the
cause of the disaster. The train had
proceeded but two miles beyond this
place when two terrific explosions
were heard, one following close after
the other. The locomotive was COM
pletely shattered. lie express. bag
gage and passenger coaches came
crashing upon the wrecked engine and
the coaches that were ahead we're
piled up In a heap Of wreckage. The
coaches In the rear were all derailed.
but the passengers riding in the rear
escaped serious injury.
The wreck was marked by scenes of
the widest confusion among the ter
rified passengers. The nerves of many
were at high pitch as a result of
their experience with the road agents
of New Mexico. and when the crash
came the first impression of nearly all
was that the train had been attacked
by robbers. One passenger, William
Beckler of Los Angeles. CAL. en- route
to Chicago, seemed to lose his reason
entirely. When the crash came he
drew a single-barreled pistol from his
pockt and. In the presence Of a car
full Of passengers. took his own life.
sending a bullet into his brain. Beckler
had been drinking heavily. He was
about 55 years of age.
Owing to the excitement and confu-
sion little could be done to rescue the
injured and remove the bodies until
the mornings sun appeared. Seven
bodies were finally recovered. The
dead are:
Engineer Strump, Topeka. Kas.
Fireman Harry Hollister, Topeka.
William McAdams. tramp, riding on
baggage car, and supposed to be from
Chillicothe, Iowa.
Three tramps. names unknown, all
Of whom were riding on the baggage
car.
Among those injured are: Mrs. EN-
ma Maxwell. an editor on the Evening
Telegram, Colorado Springs, Col.
hands and arms cut and bruised; Will
lia1 Burns, tramp. legs and arms cut;
James Coleman, tramp, cut and badly
bruised. None of the expressmen or
mail clerks were seriously injured.
The force of the explosion broke the
locomotive entirely In two and the
front trucks crashed into coal chute
SO feet from the tracks. The explo-
sion blew a hole In the ground four
feet deep. The mail car. which follow
ed the tender. plunged into the hole
and rolled over on its side. The bag
gage car next behind was torn from
its trucks and also rolled over on its
side. Third from the locomotive was
the express car. which telescoped the
baggage car and also rolled over on
its side. The smoking car. a chair
car and tourist sleeper, which were
behind the express car, were also de-
rallied and overturned. and their occu-
pants were very much shaken up. as
the train was running probably 40
miles an hour when the accident oc-
Cured. At 1 o'clock this afternoon a
track had been built around the wreck
and traffic was resumed.