The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1897-09-10
WORST WRECK
! In the History of the Santa Fe Road Near
Emporia, Kan.-Ten or Eleven Persons
Killed and Fully as Many Injured.

says.
One of the worst wrecks in the his
tory of the Santa Fe railroad occurred
three miles east of here at about 1880
o'clock Wednesday night. Ten or
twelve persons were killed and as
many more were badly hurt. The fast
mail train going east, and the Mex
leo & California express, west
bound, collided head-on. The Mex
leo e. California express was pulled
by two locomotives, and when they
struck the engine drawing the fast
mail, the boilers of all three engines
exploded and tore a hold in the ground
so deep that the smoking cars of the
westbOund train went in on top of
three engines and two mail cars and
balanced there, without turning over.
The passengers in the smoking car es-
capped through the windows. The
frOnd end of this car was
enveloped in a volume of sitting
smoke and steam belching up from the
wreck below, and the rear door was
jammed tight in the wreck of the car
behind. The wreck caught fire from
the engines. The cars in the hole and
the smoking car burned to ashes in no
time. In elm bling out of the smoking
car several men fell through the
riffs in the wreck below, and
it is impossible to tell whether
they escaped or were burned to
death. The west-bound train carried
seven or eight coaches, and it's pas
sengers included many excursionists
1n1 10
speak at the county fair at Burlingame.
Mr. Bryan himself was on the train,
but was riding in the rear Pullman
some 400 feet from the cars which were
wrecked. He states that nothing but
heavy jolt was experienced by the
passengers in his coach.
Mr.. Bryan was one of the noblest
men in the crowd of rescuers. He
helped to carry out the dead and
wounded and gave the greatest atten-
ton to their care. One poor fellow
who was badly MANNED called to Mr..
Bryan and said:
Il went to hear you to-day; 1 am dy-
ing now and want to shake your hand
and say God bless you. If you pos
sibly can, Mr.. Bryan, get me drink of
water"
Mr.. Bryan went into the fast mail
car, one end of which was burning, and
came out with the drink of water,
which he gave to the suffering passen-
ger. He brought out cushions for 9TH
ers of the injured, and was every
where present to minister to the wants
of the suffering.
The engineer of the ryeStbOund train
had received orders to meet the fast
mail at EmpOria, and was making up
lost time. These two are the fastest
trains in the Sante Fe system, and the
westbound train must have been run
ming at speed of at least 40 miles an
hour. The westbound express was GO
ing around slight curve, and met the
fast mail probably within 200 feet.
Of the seven or eight cars making up
the Mexico and California express only
the mail, baggage, express and smok-
ing cars were destroyed. The coach
following the smoker was badly splint-
cred
There were not more than dozen
passengers on the fast mail, all in one
seriously injured, their shaking up was
terrible. Every seat in the coach was
torn from the floor and many floor
planks came up with the seats.
One man, John Sweeney, was thrown
over three seats, and through a win
dow, but escaped with only scratches
and bruises. The other cars of the
fast mail train, baggage and an ex-
press, were totally wrecked.
1t is stated that the wreck was caus-
ed by miscarriage of oders from the
trainmaster. AT Emporia the cast
bound fast mail train received orders
to pass the California express at Lang,
seven miles east. Another order was
sent to Lang for the California express
to take the siding there.
But this order was not delivered, and
the westbound train passed on, the
trainmen expecting to pass the fast
mail at Emporia.
At midnight it becomes apparent
that the earlier estimates of the num-
Der of dead were exaggerated, and it is
now apparent that the number of dead
will not exceed ten or eleven. During
the excitement early in the evening it
was reported that nearly all of the six
postal clerks on the two trains were
killed or missing. Two of the clerks.
were killed All of the others, save
one, are more or less seriously in
jured.
The mail clerks who are hurt are w.
f. Jones, r. o. McGee and Claud Hol-
liday. The latter may die, as both his
legs are broken and he is otherwise
badly hurt. Clerk E. c. Letcher es-
capped serious injury.
The dead were brought to Emporia.
At midnight special train left En-
poria bearing II of the injured to To
peka where they will be cared for in
the railroad hospital.
Massachusetts Prohibition Ticket.
Boston, Sept. 9.-The following tick