The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1897-06-30
DISASTROUS
Accidents to Trains Which Cost
Many Lives.
NINETEEN PERSONS INJURED.
A Train PIunges into a Gorge
Through Which Rushed a
Raging Torrent.
NINETEEN PERSONS INJURED.
CONDUCTORS AWFUL BLUNDER

KANSAS Cry, June 49, - The Sc.
Louis express on the Wabash railway.
which left here at O go Saturday even
ing, plunged through trestle at Mis-
souri, City, Mo-, at Z ;05 o'clock, carry
ing down the entire train with the eX-
ception of the rear car, Pullman. The
gorge, which few hours previously
was practically empty, had become a
raging torrent because Of tremendous
downpour Of rain, and the structure
weaked. Seven persons were killed
and 10 injured.
A list of the dead is as follows
w. s. Mills, postal clerk, st. Louis.
o. M. Smith, postal clerk, st. Louis.
Gustave A. Smith, postal clerk, st.
Louis.
Charles Winters, postal clerk. st.
Louis.
Il. w. Brink, postal clerk, st. Louis.
Edward Grindrod, baggagoman, st.
Louis. -
Charles p. Greasley, brakeman, st.
Louis.
Nineteen people were injured, though
none Of them seriously except one. Fol-
lowing is list of those most seriously
hurt:
G. g. Copeland of st. Louis, conduct
or of the train, fractured skull and sew
eral ribs broken. He is Mt the hospital,
where he fingers between life and
death, but the surgeons express hope
that he will recover.
Mrs. s. @. p. Rathor, Columbia, Mo,
head. shoulders and neck very badly in
jured
Artelia Prather, Columbia, Mo-, 8
years old, head and face cut.
w. II. Wilkinson, Kansas City, shout
ders injured and head and face covered
with cuts.
Mrs. w. H. Wilkinson, Kansas City,
right arm broken, head and face cut.
Miss Alice Darcy, Kansas City,
head badly cut, both arms spraincd, side
injured.
Miss Nellie Merrick of Carrollton,
back badly hurt.
Mrs. Sallie Matthews, Kansas City,
side hurt
Edward Dillon. Holiday, Kan. head
bruised and cut, knee sprained.
DR. Sol Gray, Prairie Hill. Mo-, right
knee and both elbows injured.
J. w. Hinnon, Mexico, Mo, both legs
badly bruised.
Conductor Copeland was supposed TO
be dead when taken from the wreck
and his body, with handkerchief
down over the face, was ranged i'll a
row with the seven dead eorpses. A
few minutes later some one observed q
sign of life and he was quickly trans
ferred to stretcher and given every
possible attention.
All 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 III
an unconscious condition. The remains
of the four were carried from the
wreck and were recovered some dis
lance down the stream. There were
signs of life in the body of the fifth
mail clerk, when rescuers dragged him
from the wreck, but he died a few min
utes later on the bank Of the creek.
IL was feared there were more bodies
In the stream. but careful search
proved that the fatalities were limited
to those already named. There is now
but small stream flowing beneath the
trestle where the wreck occurred. In
ordinary weather II is dry creek bed.
The storm of Saturday night. which
was almost a cloudburt, had swollen
the little stream to torrential proper
tions. The food carried away wagon
bridge a short distance above the Wa
bash trestle. The wreck of this bridge
was hurled down upon the railroad
trestle and carried away row OF wood.
en- supports in the center
A neighboring farmer noticed the
perilous condition Of the trestle and re-
solved to flag the passenger train which
he knew to be about due. For nearly
an hour he stood there in the terrific
downpour of rain, only to fail at last in
his good intentions for when the Wa
bash oompany's New York fast mail
came laundering on, the storm was al
most binding and the engineer evil
IDENTIFY could not see che signal which
the farmer SO frantically waved across
the track.
The locomotive struck the trestle a
moment later the disaster was pre-
sented in all its horrors. The. engine
passed over but the tender went through
with the tumblinR bridge. The bag
gage car toppled of 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, followed. II was in this car
that Conductor Copeland was riding.
The other occupants escaped serious in
injury.
The chair car next behind also
plunged In upon the mass OF wreckage
end first and all its passengers were
thrown TO the forward end in an indie
scribable heap. How they escaped with
no more serious injury is a mystery
which all the passengers In this coach
are puzzled over.
The front end of the sleeper, next in
tho rear. jammed into the protruding
end OF the chair car, and was thus pre-
vented from following the others into
the chasm. The two Excelsior Springs
coaches In the rear remained ON the
track.
The postal authorities report that prob
ably nearly all the mail carried ON the
train was lost or destroyed. When the
wreck occurred the five postal clerks are
supposed to have had all Of their pouches
open and TO have been at work distrib-
uting the mail The car was so broken
and splintered that most OF the mail
hoated of, probably 20 drift into the
Missouri river and DO lost. The Wabash
train each evening carries all OF Kansas
City's afternoon mail for the east, ana
Il Is always heavy and valuable.
ONE KILLED AND SEVEN INJURED.
| An Exourslon Train Da.hes fnto = stand-