The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-06-28

KANSAS CITY, No.. June H.-seven
collins were forwarded to st. Louis to-
day from Missouri City. They contained
the remains OF victims OF last nights
wreck on the Wabash road. A correct
list Of the dead Is as follows:
W. S. Mills, postal clerk. st Louis
o. NJ. Smith, postal clerk. St Louis.
Gustave A. Smith, postal clerk, ST
Louis.
Charles Winters. postal clerk. St
F.W. Brink, postal clerk. st. Louis.
Edward Grindrod, bsggageman' st
Charles h. GrcasIeH brakeman. st.
Louis.
land, OF st. Louis, who was reported Iast
night among the dead, is still alive. Ae
was removed this morning 70 the rail-
road hospital at Moberly. with lrac-
tured skull and several broken ribs, ne
fingers between life and death, but the
surgeons express hope that he Will re-
cover. Conductor Copeland was sup
posed to be dead when taken from the
wreck, and his body, with a handker-
chief down over the face, was ranged in
q row with the seven corpseS, A teW
minutes later some one observed q sign
OF life, and he was quickly transferred
to a stretcher and given every possible
attention.
or the nineteen others injured not one
is in a critical condition. Among them
all there is not one broken limb though
many OF them were thrown three-quar-
- Of the coaches In
which they were riding. Mrs. w. II.
wilkinson, OF Kansas City, Is the most
seriously hurt Two small bones OF ner
left hand are broken. and she suffered
severe laceratlon OF the thigh as wen as
bruises about the face and neck. me
wounds Of most OF the others are trivial.
DEATH CAME INsTANTLY.-Al
indications are that death came to at
least four Of the five unfortunate mail
clerks almost Instantly. Their car
pitched end first through the break In
the trestle. and they must have been
drowned in the raging stream while In
an unconscious condition. The remains
Of the four were carried from the wreck
and were recovered some distance down
the stream. There were signs OF life In
the body of the fifth mall clerk, when res
cuers dragged him from the wreck, but
he died a few minutes later on the bank
OF the creek.
Last night It was fenred there were
more bodies in the stream. but a careful
search to-day proved that the fatalities
were limited to those already named.
To-day but n small stream was flowing
beneath the trestle where the wreck oc-
CURED. In ordinary weather It Is a dry
bed. The storm Of last night. which was
almost cloud burst, had swollen the Ut
tie stream to torrential proportions. The
fiood carried away wagon bridge a
short distance above the Wabash tres
lie. The wreck of this bridge was
hurled down upon the railroad trestle
and carried away n row OF wooden sup
ports in the centre.
A neiEhborlng farmer noticed the per-
ilous condition of the tresue and re-
solved to flag the passenger train which
he knew to be about due. Fot nearly an
hour he stood in the terrific downpour OF
rain, only to fail at last in his good In
tentlons. for when the Wabash COM
pany's New York fast mail came thun-
dering on the storm was almost blind
ing. and the engineer evidently could not
see the sIgnnl which the farmer 80 fran
tlcnlly waved across the track.
PLUNGED THROUGH THE TRES
TLE.-A locomotive struck the trestle;
e moment later the disaster was pre-
sented in all lts horrors. The engine
passed over, but the tender went through
with the tumbllng bridge. The baggage
car toppled on on Its side, while the mail
car, which followed, pitched Into the
stream end FIRST. Every life In this car
was lost The smoker, next behind, fol-
lowed. II was in this car that Conduc-
tor Copeland was riding. The other oc-
cupants escaped serious injury. The
chair car, next behind, also plunged in
upon the mass OF wreckRge end first.
and all It's passengers were thrown to
the forward end In Rn indescribable
heap. How they escaped with no more
serious injury Is mystery which all
the passengers in this coach are puzzled
over, The front end of the sleeper, next
I'm the rear, jammed into the protrudinS
end OF the chair car, and was thus pre-
vented from following the others into
the chnsm.
The scene OF the wreck. which Is but
tWenty-one miles northeast OF Kansas
CITY station, was visited to-day by many
persons. a wrecklng train worked there
ali day. repairing the trestle and saving
the shattered coaches, and tonight
trains are moving over the road as US
ual.
The postal authorities report that
probably nearly all OF the mail carried
on the train was lost or destroyed.
When the wreck occurred the five postal
clerks are supposed to have had all their
pouches opened and TO have been at
work distributing the mail. The car wns
20 broken and splintered that most OF
the mail floatcd on, probably to drift
into the Missouri river and be lost.