The age-herald., 1897-09-11
AN APPALLING DISASTER
Freight and oasSenseF Trains Come To-
 gSfat High Speed.
FIRE FyS HE'S THE BLOODY WORK
Cars I Into Holocaust and Many Vc- | of the Conductor and Engineers
 ,s Carelessness Are Burned and e BIackened Corpses.

Newcastle Col. Sert 1J-The worst
 wreck in the history of Colorado occurred
 at 1920 this morning on the Denver and
 Rio Grande and the Colorado Midland
 railways, one and a half mles wess Of
 here.
 After twelve hours incessant work by
 wrecking crews tn clearing away the
 detr,s and in conveying away the bodies
 of those killed and injured to places of
 shelter, it is impossible to estimate the
 loss of life, and some of shcse recovered
 have not bsen id-utfisd Many will never
 be recovered from the wreck. From the l best information obtainable thirty per-
 sons are believed to have perished, while
 15 were taken out of the wreck suffering 1 from serious injuries. The wreck was caused by head-end l collision between a Denver and Rio Grande passenger train running at .he rate of forty miles an hour and special | Colorado Midaand stock train, running at thirty miles.
 
 both engines, baggage and express cars, smoker and day coaches and two stock, | cars were cosally demolished, and the l track torn up for rods i'm both directions. | To add to the horror of the scene the l wreck caught fire from an explosion of Psntsch gas tank on the passenger train, and burned so rapidly that many | passengers pinned beneath the debris | were burned to death before help could | reach them. l The most generally accepted theory as 1 to the cause of the wreck seems to be | that Conductor Burbank of the Midland 1 special, anticipating the time of the pas senger, undertook to steal station and beat the passenger into Newcastle. | Burbank escaped uninjured, and upon | orders from Coroner Clark has been placed under arrest by the sheriff. Mid- | land Engineer Ostrander ds missing, and | a thorough search about his engine fails | to reveal any vesige of his remains. | It is thought that when he saw the | tnrea tened danger he jumped from his engire, and, realizing the result of his negligence, took to the hills. THE DEAD. The dead as far as recognized are: | F. J. KEENE, mail agent, Denver. ROBERT $. HOWARD, fireman Den4 yer and Rio Grande, Salfda- MRs. ALEXANDER HARTMAN and | TWO SONS, of Herscher, III. JAMES TTERRICK, Che go. CHARLES LEPER, CIa1don, Pa. ger train.
 1 WILLIAM HINES, fireman. | THE INJURED. Rev. Alexander Hartman, Herscher, l H., both legs broken. | John H. Stander, Blackfoot, Ala, leg | broken, face cut and bruised. 1 Miss Pearl Cornsll, Alcett, Ore, hip 1 dislecated
 J. c. Yeager, Toledo. o. injured inter- nally.
 l J. Logman, Whittier, Cal, slightly
 wounded.
 Mrs. Mary Israel, St. Paul, Minn.,
 slightly injured internally | J. F. Snider, Independence, Kan,
 slightly burned. 1 D. H. McAney, Victor, Col, face
 burned.
 o. Y. Titson, Cooker, Mo-, cut about l head.
 R. H. Berkley, Chicago, back injured. B. D. Young St. Louis, cut in fore- i head; not serious. T. w. Nash, Mohab, Utah, left arm broken and burned in face. Frank P. Mannix, Victor, Col, bruised and slightly burned. R. W. Shot, Leeper, Pa, badly burned. Brakeman Knapp leg crushed. James c. Foley, express Messenger, bruised.
 The case of Engineer Ostrander of the freight engine is still in doubt. Charred
 fragments of limbs and bodies of a number of persons have been taken out
 of the ruins, but it is not likely that any more bodies will be positively identified | and 1t seems certain that the correct number killed will remain in doubt. As soon as the news of the wreck reached Glenwood a relief train was sent from that place, and this morning the more seriously wounded were re- moved to the Denver 6 Rio Grande Railway companys hospital at Salida. Ten bodies were found in one car and four in another. The charred remains of two women, apparently clasped in each others arms, were found. Their arms and lower limbs were burned off. In the dress bosom of each was found a ladies' gold watch, upon which was inscribed Prom Mother to Mamis.'
 Telegrams from all parts of the coun- try inquiring for friends and relatives are pouring in constantly.