The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-10-27

lost in Sundays accident on the New
York Central railroad and eighteen
bodies have been found. The body of
an unknown man was recovered to-day
as well as that OF the fireman. The
day coach OF the ill-fated train was
raised to-day and In It was found
body not hitherto included In the list OF
the dead. The engine was also brought
to the surface and with 1t the body of
the fireman, John O. Tomplsins, tightly
wedged between two masses Of iron In
front.
For some hours and prior TO the rails
ing of the day car, 1t was believed that
no more bodies would be found. Short
ly after o'clock the large derrick
brought up the day coach from the
bottom OF the river where 1t had lain
completely submerged since the day of
the wreck. Slowly the great mass rose
out OF the water and It was seen that
but for the mashed-in rear end and a
hole In the roof, the car was intact, and
II seemed hardly possible that any large
| number of occupants could have es-
capped. When the water had drained
out OF the car those watching the oper-
alton saw at one OF the windows hui
man hand and Just beyond the feet
| sticking out from under one OF the
seat tops The wreckers tore aside tho
debris and soon had the body out. No
| more bodies were found.
SEVENTEENTH BODY FOUND.
The body removed, the seventeenth
since the wreck and the twentieth
known victim. was that OF n man thlr-
ty-five years of age. dark, with n dark,
short mustache. He was dressed in a
gray wooden outing shirt, dark blue
vest and trousers, black neck-tie and
yellow socks, The shoes had been re-
moved and SO had the coat. and It was
evident that the man had been sleeping
in the seat when death came. Whether
he was killed by conclusion or whether
he was drowned will never be known
In one of the pockets OF the vest was
wallet containing sixteen dollars. six
ten dollars bills, two dollar bill and
casualty insurance company ticket,
such as is sold nc railroad stations. II
was made out for the usual sum oi
S2,500 In cash in case of death. but very
curiously the name. or rather the las.
names OF both payer and beneficiary
are missing. The card read. so far os
could be deciphered: IKE r." as the
purchasers name and Mrs. E." as the
person to whom II was TO be paid. The
railroad officials are OF the opinion
that the man boarded the train at
Rochester, as the hour Of the purchase
OF the insurance card Is marked nine
o'clock, and Rochester is the most prob
l .I.N -. ltat, en Nnl, In,
II could have been purchased at that
hour. The body was taken to the
coroner's Office at Cold Springs.
The contents OF the car, other than
the body, showed that the people had
made a rush for their lives, There
we're women's shoes and hats, six mems
hats, a woman's coat, eight grips of
various kinds, two mems coats and
many small garments.
Another interesting event OF the day
was the raising of the express car, from
which II was alleged that large sum
of money had been lost by the drop
ping to the river bottom OF a small
safe. General Superintendent Van Val
kenburg, of the American Express
Company, was present. When the car
came to the surface 1t was seen that II
was the most badly damaged OF any
that had yet been taken out. One-half
Of the car had been entirely demolsh-
ed and washed away. AS soon as pos
sible the car was searched by inven-
tory, and then Mr.. Van Valkenburg
gave out this statement:
EXPRESS vALUABLEs SAFE.
None Of the valuables In the car
we're lost The big dynamite proof
safe was intact and fastened 20 the
wall in its proper place. The small
safe. which It was thought might have
dropped out Of the broken car, we
found in n corner, and the only thing
OF value known to be missing Is a
small pncknEe OF jcwclry. OF course.
all OF the merchandise In the car had
been destroyed, but we have luckily
found most OF the bills OF ladlng, and
settlement will be easily made The
wonder to me Is how Agent Miller ever
got out Of the chr the way Il was
smashed up"
The engine wns dragged out Of the
river tonight Just before dark, nnd
President Chauncoy NJ. Depew and the
three rallroud commissioners with as
slstnnt secretary McEntec saw the OPP
Grafton. The divers had located tho
tender carly IN tho afternoon md
brought II up without lls trucks. The
engine was worked upon for several
, hours, the divers ilndlng II almost Inn
possible TO ret the heavy chains under
= Il as II had gone 10 far In tho mud
= when, Bhortly nftcr o'clock, Il cana
10 the aurfncc Of the river, II was Hccn
that the trucks were missing and that
the front Of tho boiler and tho guards
were smashed Into an unrocorulzablq
mass As tho great machine came IN
sight one OF the mon on the lighter Bnw
, clothes dangling from the front ANA
: when the lanterns could he brought to
bear II wnH found the rags covered u
human body Tho body was wcdrOd in
frunt of Tho boiler where the pnglnc
humber plate In, and II mad TO bN
drdRRed oHt II was pHt on q train at
. once ana Hcnt 60 cold SPRINGS to tho
coroncr's oiIlce. Tompklns was drcHs-
cd M his WORKING suit There In some
speculation ~ to how Tompklna came
Y 10 be on tho front OF the machine,
! FIREMAN wEDdED IN MUD.
. The engine must have gone many
I yards through tho wutcr at ttrlnc
speed and The hurnositlon In that tho
engineer and fireman were both to the
rear Of the engine. The theories TO.
/, ! nlthi nrc either thai De nfal terrific
lurch rom the banks threw Him ior-
ward through The cab window und
4 that the head ot The engine caught him
nHd rhrtlod HIN down Into tho wnlrr
, aud mud or else that ho was ON tho
font OF the engine attending to tho