The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-09-09
OVER A DOZIN EILLED
By Hoad-0n Collision on the Santa
Fe Railroad.
HON. WILLIAM. BRYAN ESCAPED

The PresiC ,tini Candidate Was n
Passenger on one Of the Trains, ana
Labored Zea1ously to Succor the
WOunded-Locomot Exploded.
Emporia, Kan. Sept. 9.-One Of the
worst wrecks in the history of the
Santa Fe railroad occurred three miles
east of here at 1880 o'clock last night.
Twelve or fifteen persons were killed,
and as many more badly hurt The
fast mail train going east and the
Mexico and California express, west
bound, colided head on. The Mexico
and California express was pulled by
two locomotives, and when they struck
the boilers of all three engines ex-
ploded and tore a hole in the ground
so deep that the smoking car of the
westbound train went In on top of the
three engines and two mail cars, and
balanced there without turning over.
The passengers in the smoking car es-
capped through the windows.
The front end of this car was en-
veloped in a volume Of stihing smoke
and steam, rushing 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,
and the cars in the hole and the smok-
ing cars were quickly burned to ashes
In climbing 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 westbound train carried seven or
eight coaches, and its passengers in
cluded many excurslonists who had
been to hear Hon. William ]. Bryan
speak at the county fair at Burlingame.
Mr.. Bryan himself was on the train,
but was riding in the rear Pullman.
He states that nothing but heavy jolt
was experienced by the passengers in
his coach.
Mr.. Bryan was one Of the most ener-
getic men in the crowd of rescuers. He
helped to carry out the dead and
wounded, and gave the greatest at
tention to their care. One poor fellow,
who was badly manned, called to Mr..
Bryan and said: Il went to hear you
today. am dying now, and want
to shake your hand and say God bless
you. If you possibly 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 pas
senger. He brought out cushions for
others of the injured, and was every
where present to minister to the wants
Of the suffering.
1t is feared that nearly all of the
seven mail clerks perished in the dis
aster, but so far only eight bodies have
been taken from the wreck,
The known dead are; Jim Brennan,
engineer, Topeka Nate Hollister, fire.
man, Topeka; ], F, Souders, Kansas
City express messenger, body almost
consumed by fire; William Frisby, en-
gineer; r. A, Doran, Emporia, postal
clerk; John Gonzalez, fireman west
bound train George Brag, Topeka; un-
known tramp.
Among the most seriously injured
are' Claude Holiday, Lawrence, ex-
press messenger, both legs broken; D.
g, Erler, Kansas City, express mes
senger, legs broken, will die John
Dagan, Topeka, face smashed; ]. Il.
Butler, county attorney Of Chase
county, hip broken, may die; William
f. Jones, Kansas City leg and both
arms broken; Phil Schuer Kansas City
hip crushed; William Patrick, Kansas
City leg and arm broken.
Ben Walters, of st. Joseph, Mo-,
fireman on the westbound train, IS
missing.
The engineer of the westbound train
had received orders to meet the fast
mail at Emporia, and was making up
lost time. These two are the fastest
trains on the Santa Re system, and
the westbound train must have been
running at speed Of at least 40 miles
an hour, The westbound express was
going around a slight curve when the
collision occurred
OF the seven or eight cars making up
the Mexico and California express only
the mail, baggage and express and
smoking cars We're destroyed, The
coach following the smoker was badly
splintered.
There were not more than a dozen
passengers on the fast mail and all
in one coach, and while none of them
was 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 window,
but escaped with only scratches and
bruises. The other cars of the fast mail
train; baggage and express, were tos