The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-11
TRAINS SMASH, HEAD ON.
FoURTEEN KILLED A6D FIFTEEN
MORE WOUNDED.

n1any Hnrnea 20 D~eath-nodies nisiGurea
Beyond ReesGni,sn-fhe Freight Supposed
% Hsvs Been ''stealis9 = staten " rren.
the Passenger Train-Couanctsr Arrested.
DENVER, Col, Sept. 1o.-Passenger train 1
Of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway, which
left Denver on Thursday morning for Salt Lake
City, and an eastbound stock train Of the Colo
RADIO Midland, collided on the Rio Grande juno
ton track u mile and q half west of New Castle
ct 1913 this morning. Both trains were
wrecked, eighteen persons were killed, and
many others were hurt.
The dead are: o. 8. Ostrander, engineer,
freight train; r. s. Hallnn, fireman. freight
train; Robert Holland. fireman, passenger train;
James +. keenan,. postal clerk; Charles Leeper.
Clarion. Pa; Mrs. Alexander Hartman. Heus-
cher. Ill: two Hartman children: ak uniden-
titled persons burned In the wreck.
The seriously injured are: William Gordon.
passenger engineer; the Rev. Alexander Hart
man, Heuschler, IL; J. II. Stander, Riverside.
Idaho: Miss Pearl Cornell, Atsel. Or; Thomas
Nash, Moab. Utah.
Ten other passengers received burns,
scratches, and scalds, but mono severe enough
to interfere with their continuing their jour
neys.
The junction road is o standard-gaues road
seventy five miles in length. On one side for
nearly its whole length runs O river. and on the
other side are high bluffs. There arc many
sharp curves on the line, and At one Of these
the accident occurred.
The Denver and Rio Grande passenger train
was reported to the Dispatcher at New Castle
en- hour late and he gave the east bound stock
freight orders to use an hour's time against
tAe regular passenger train
The passenger train left New Castle west
bound just an hour late and the freight was
supposed TO b on . siding six miles west Of
New Castle. 1t Is believed that tho Gre "
Of the freight train endeavored to steal . sta
ton" but the freight train had run tan minutes
over the allotted time whom tho collision 90.
CURED. Conductor +. L. Burbank Of the
freight train was arrested early this morning.
He refuses to talk The officials Of the Colora-
do Midland have nothing TO give out before the
Investigation. Both trains were running ut
full sp led when the collision occurred, the To-
comotives telescopins with . tremendous crash
and the passenger locomotive exploding Inn
mediately after striking.
A Pintsch gas cylinder under one Of the
coaches 10 supposed TO have exploded. Emitting
the wreck. and before the injured passengers
could be rescued the cars were o MAS Of flames.
The flames spread 30 rapidly that little work
in rescuing the passengers who were pinned
down oould be done. Ono man. shouting for
aid. was reached. but the rescuers were driven
back by flames before he could be extricnte6.
and he died.before the eyes Of the rescuing party.
+. P. Mannix of Victor broke open q window
in tho smoking car. but only to admit the
flames. He made his escape through q
window on tho opposite side. Miss Cornell
was found partly out OF . window with
her hip dislocated, and she was rescued
just in time 20 escape CREMATION. IT Rev.
Mr.. Hartman was dragged out Of q rear door,
but his wife and family perished in the flames.
The two express messenger chopped their way
throurh the side Of the car and escaped practi-
cally uninjured-
Few in the front coaches escaped. The
sides of the car pinned down the passengers,
and they persisted in the flames before they
could DO reached. No mail and but little bag
gage was saved.
As in all similar accidents the locomotive
men are first to lose their lives, Engineer
Ostrander went down with his hands On the
lever. Robert Holland. fireman on the passen-
ger, was 80 badly hurt that he died at 5 o'clock.
Engineer Gordon OF tho passenger train will
die. He was thrown over o barb wire fence
by tho force Of tho collision.
Neighboring ranch houses received the in
jured. The ranchmen did what they could to
help. The track win not b cleared before to-
morrow night, and the passengers viii have to
be transferred around the wreck. At least two
cars Of stock were wrecked. and the road Yves
strewn with bodies Of dead animals. Some ex-
element was occasionod by two Italians at
tempting to break open trunks taken from the
baggage car. MarshAl Pearson shot at one,
and he thinks that he hit him. Tho other. Nick
Flick, was arrested and sent to jail.
General Superintendent Sample Of the Ten.
yer and Rio Grande was on Q special train near
Il tha anAna ~ fha Urack and he annanHNd rxorn-.
ly on the ground. Physicians were taken t,
the wreck from New Castle and from Glenwood
Springs, and early in the day tho injured were
taken to the hospital at Salids.
The passenger train was made up Of Q mail
car, . baggage and express car, four coaches.
and two sleeping cars. The sleeping cars escaped
serious damage and wero not consumed in the
fire that quickly spread over the wreckase altar
The locomotives gas cylinder exploded and the
flying mass Of iron added 10 the destruction
caused by the collision.
P~rTrsBURo, Pa. Sept 10.-ChaFles Leepsr was
one Of the m 8, conspicuous mon Of Clarion
county. this Sta c. Fifty ears ago he wa ked
in o G arion Q poor boy. Hoe I'd worth $500, 600.
Before going west Mr.. Leeper stopped in Pitts
burg and was accompanied to the railroad sta
tion BY Florence Bradshaw. q local commercial
traveller. Mr.. Bradshaw tried TO induce Mr..
Leeper TO take out an accident insurance policy.
but Leeper r fused. saying that he had travelled
for forty years. but had never been in an acct.
dent on transportation lines.
Leeper was President of tho Clarion and
Marionville Gas Companies, President of the
First National Bank Of Clarion. chief owner
of tho Schuette &c Co. planning mill
Of Pittsburg. tho largest lumber com.
pany in western Pennsylvania. and was
interested in lumber plants in West Virginia,
Michigan, and Washington. Schott, another
victim OF the accident. was q friend and bust.
ness associate Of Leeper. Mr.. Bradshaw says
Schott was not from Clarion, but from Leeper.