Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-07-08
AN START
CHRISTIAN ENDEAvORERS DIE
IN A WRECK.
Three Killed and Fifteen Hurt In
Crash on the Northwestern at West
Chicago Wednesday Morning-Tre-
mendous Crush of Travel.



An awful rear-end collision occurred at
West Chicago, ILL.,, at 12:45 Wednesday
morning. Section No. 3 of the Christian
Endeavor excursion to San Francisco ran
into section No. 4. Three were killed and
fifteen seriously hurt. Courtney, engineer
of section No. g. was fatally injured.
Limbs and flesh of unknown people were
taken from the wreck. A tramp was
caught between the baggage car and en-
gine and crushed to death.
Details of the Horror.
A rear-cnd collision on the Chicago and
Northwestern marked the departure of
the Christian Endeavor delegates for the
convention at San Francisco. AS soon as
the wreck was reported to the Chicago
offices OF the Chicago and Northwestern.
Superintendent j. G. Stewart of the Ga
lena division ordered special train and
proceeded to the scene.
Other officials dispatched messengers
for the company's doctors, and ut o'clock
Assistant General Superintendent w. A.
Gardner and corps of surgeons left for
West Chicago.
The various sections of the Northwest
ern specials were crowded with young
Endeavorcrs from all over the United
States, hut the presumption is that the
majority Of the passengers were Eastern
ers.
Running without Schedule.
Owing to the crush caused by the rush
of Christian Endeavor business all sched-
ules were abandoned and trains were sent
out as fast as filled. Nine sections left
the Northwestern depot at intervals of
~
nothing of trains sent out earlier in the
evening. Sections Nos. 1, . and 3 got
through West Chicago safely. Section
was made up of baggage car, day
coach ana seven sleepers, containing
about 100 passengers.
Inasmuch as there were about 400 peo-
pie to Il section the blockade is serious.
Sections Nos. and were unable to pro-
ceed, and sections Nos. q, Z, 8 and are
blocked between Chicago and West Chi
cago. thus delaying nearly $500 people.
Superintendent Gardner Talks.
Assistant General Superintendent VIII
liam A. Gardner said he could give no
tangible reason yet as to the cause of the
accident.
''The road is run on a semaphore block
system all the way to Turner Junction"
said Mr.. Gardner. This blocks train
every 1,60O feet, and in addition we were
using what we call the positive block
system. This consisted in the operators
at haywood, Wheaton and Turner run
ming the trains by wire and keeping
close tab with the dispatches as to the
time each passed a station.
"Then the dispatcher regulated the
speed and distance between trains. OF
course, he was compelled to rely entirely
on the accuracy of the time checking done
by the operators at the stations named.
and unless one of these made a mistake
and transmitted the wrong check time,
either to the next station or to the dis
patcher, l cannot imagine what could
have caused the wreck.
'We had taken every possible precau-
tion to guard against delay and accident.
and, as l said, worked the positive block
as well as our regular semaphore sys-
tem."
Great Crush of Travellers.
The Northwestern road took out over
1000 passengers, bound for the conven-
tion at San Francisco. The depot was
crowded all day Tuesday and the excur-
sionists were in the best of spirits ut the
prospect of pleasant trip across the con-
tinent. AT q o'clock the first train went
out. 1t was of nine sleepers, filed with
Chicagoans. Immediately following was
another of ten sleepers, also filled with
Chicagoans. Then came the New York
delegation in train of eight sleepers.
This left at 6:15, and then at . the Penn
sylvania crowd followed in train of
nine slenpers. Two trains of nine sleep
ers each went out at 10 with the Massa-
chusetts delegation, and then came the
regular train in three sections Of eight,
nine and ten sleepers respectively. These
went out at 1870. Eight sleepers were in
the train that took the Farm, Fire and
Fireside party at the same hour, and two
trains Of eight sleepers each took out the
Michigan people Immediately after Nine
sleepers were i'm the Wisconsin train that
followed ut once.
Every car was filled to overflowing. and
the depot master had all he could do to
find the proper accommodations for the
immense throng. The scenes in the depot
as the trains were being filed were excit-
ing, and only experienced men could know
how to properly handle such crowd. All
the preliminaries passed off without a
hitch, however, and the road officials were
congratulating themselves on the success
with which they had handled big job,
when the news of the accident came.