Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-08-06

on the throttle. was taken out early
this morning. 1t was with much diff
Guilty that bis rigid fingers were un-
clasped from the lever. His head and
face were untouched and his eyes
looked Hkyward with ghastly glare.
lie had been pinned down by the chest
aud apparently met instant death.
Almost every bone in tho body 6f one
male victim was broken and many per-
sons were SO frightfully mangled as to
be beyond recognition. BY O'Clock
this morning the greater part of tho
debris had been cleared away, and it
Is thought that all the bodies have
boon recovered. Hanged along either
side OF the stagnant pool which marks
the scene were stacked, in little heaps,
the hats, caps, gloves ard other articles
OF clothing found on the ground, pitt
ful mementos of the disaster. They
were guarded by Il small force of rail-
road men and city police.
From early morning excursion parties
from this city were travelling to the
scene of the wreck and conveyances
were almost at premium. The larger
number Of these excursionists were
women, who seemed to reye in the
horror Of the situation, and wore disap-
pointed at not being able to witness
the removal OF some of the mangled
corpses. The dead have all been re-
moved from the various hospitals and
undertakera' shops to the old excur-
sion house, once the scene of festivity
and frolic, but now morgue. There
the corpses were ranged side by side
upon the floor and the place guarded
by a corps of police. Coroner Nc
I,nttahIsn mil al ,,f
ternoon and inquire into the cause of
the accident. The arrest of William
Thurlow, the telegraph operator at the
signal tower, confirms the theory that
mistake in the display of signal was
the first cause Of the disaster. This ia
purely coniectural, however, as the ar
rect may have been in the way of
formality. Tho excursion train was
due to leave here at 6.30 O'Clock, but
it was some moments later when it
steamed out to meet death and destruo-
tion, and the delay Of five or ten min
utes on the Meadows, where 1t came to
q full stop, is yet to be explained.
The West Jersey train was an excursion
of the Improved Order of Red Men, and
five tribes were well represented. The
first car Of the Reading train and the
second on the West Jersey were upset,
but the third car on the latter caught
tho full force uf the impact and was
literally cut in half, and each half was
sbivered to splinters. When it is re-
mombered that this car, as well as every
other, was iammed with human freight
the horror of the situation can be
realized.
A TERRIBLE SCENE.
The sight of the searchers for the
dead working among the wreckage was
most terrible one in the flickering
light of the huge bonfires which
spouted sheets of yellow flames into
the night. Tho gang of men went
crawling over the debris. hacking at
the cars with axes, straining to raise
heavy timbers with crowbars and peer
ing by the light of their apterns into
the heaps of wreckage. A great part
of their work had to be carried on in
the midst of uiiry ground, and often
while they labored they slipped from
wet board and fell into the foul mud
of the meadow land, but, still clam
beriDg over uncertain passageways,
clinging to piles of wreckage and
risking their necks on slippery timbers,
they worked steadily ON to find the
bodies of the injured and the dead.
Every now and then number Of Ian
terms clustered around one spot. In
the freight the spectators could see
the grimy. sweating, working men
straining on their crowbars swinging
their axes into the splintered wood,
and then one or two would stoop, lower
their lanterns and, cropping in the
debris with their hands, while their
comrades stood by leaning on their
tools. draw out a black, shapeless mass.
Sometimes it was man, sometimes a
| child, and sometimes woman, whose
long hair, broken loose. hung in strings
and tangIes from her head. Then the
cry would go up. "Chief, chief, and
burden, its face covered with bloody
handkerchief, passed through the
crowd. Chief EldretIge. who looked
at the body, gave orders for it's disposi-
tion. Then it was carried to where
| the corpses lay and the men with their
lanterns. looked like great fire flies
flouting about in the ruins.
While this was going on the crowd
was lined seven or eight deep around
the splintered cars and interfered con-
siderably with the gang of laborers.
Word had been sent Immediately on
the occurrence of the accident to the
city for police aid and IA patrol appeared
| almost as soon aB the vanguard of the
crowd. They took charge of the entire
affair, but Notwithstanding their excel
lent management the crowd persisted
in pushing through the watchmen.
The use of commands and even of clubs
was wholly vain, and it was chiefly by
the exertion of brute force that protec-
tion was secured for the searchers.
The crowd pushed through to sec but
as soon as body was unearthed the
horror of the sight SO appalled, them
that they rushed off regardless of con-
| sequences to escape from witnessing it.
Men shouted and fought to get away,
women shrieked at the top of their
| lungs, or turned sick and vomited, and
children ran off sobbing with terror.
| A man in blue coat came pushing
| through to watch body being carried
| from the ruins, hut az soon as he saw
| the distorted face and twisted limbs of
the searcher's buruen he gave shriek
OF horror and rushed away into the
| darkness, blubbering like chilu. A
woman, on witnessing one of her own
sex, soaked with blood and torn beyond
! recognition by the cruel splinters,
| tainted dead away, falling apparently
| lifeless in the meadow mire. A
woman whose husband had been killed
was standing dazed and wild-eyed in
tho light of ono of the big fires, with
her little child cinging weeping 10
her hand. Mother, mother. - sobbed
tho little one, where's father?'' ;
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