Iron County register., 1897-09-16
A FRI0HTFuL WRECK.


State of COlOrndO-The Number OF the
Dead Not Known After Twelve H0zrs'
Work of Recovering Bodies from the
SmOuIdering Debris-MRny of the vIc-
Tins Burned Alive.
New CASTLE. Col. Sept. l0.-The
worst wreck in the history of the state
of Colorado occurred at 1928 yesterday
morning on the joint track of the Dem
yer & Rio Grande railway and the Col
orado Midland railway, ~ miles west
of here. After IL hours ineessant
work by the wrecking crews in clear
ing away the debris and reScuing the
bodies of those who perished, it is yet
impossible to secure more than an esti-
mate of loss of life, and not even those
known to be dead have been identified.
Many of the unfortunates never will
be known, and it is possible that the
number killed will always be in doubt.
From the best Information obtainabie
now fully so persons are believed to
have perished, while 1S5 were taken
out of the wreck suffering from seri-
Gus injuries
The wreck was caused by head-end
collision between a Denver e Rio
Grande passenger train running at the
Colorado Midland stock train running
at speed of probably so miles. So
terrific was the conclusion that both
engines. baggage and express cars,
smoker and day coaches and two stock
cars were totally demolished and the
track torn up for rods in both direC-
tionS.
To add to the horror of the scene the
wreckage at once caught fire from an
explosion OF Pintsch gas tank on the
passenger train, and burned so rapidly
that many passengers, pinned beneath
the debris, were burned to death be-
fore help could reach them.
The most generally accepted theory
as to the cause of the wreck seems to be
that Conductor Burbank, of the Mid
land special, anticipating the time of
the passenger train, undertook to
''steal station" and beat the passen-
ger into New Castle. Burbank es-
capped uninjured and, upon orders from
| Coroner Clark, has been placed under
arrest by the sheriff.
Midland Engineer Ostrander is miss
| ing, and thorough search all about
his engine fails to reveal any vestige
of his remains. 1t is thought that
when he saw the threatened danger he
jumped from his engine and, realizing
his negligence, took to the hills.
Mr.. and Mrs. Z. HI. Strouse, who live
a quarter of a mile from the scene of
the accident, report that when the
| trains met the shock was SO great as
to literally hurl them out of bed.
| Some say that the noise was heard and
the shock felt in New Castle.
AS sooh as the news reached Glen
wood relief train was sent from that
| place and this afternoon the more seri-
ously wounded were sent to the Dem
YER & Rio Grande Co.'S hospital at Sa-
Ida.
General Superintendent Sample, of
the Denver & Rio Grande, happened to
be in the vicinity of t; Q disaster, and
soon reached the scene, taking charge
of the work of removing the bodies
Ten bodies were found in the ruins of
one car and four in another. The
charred remains of two women, appar-
emily clasped in each others arms,
were found. Their heads and lower
limbs were burned off. In the dress
bosom of each was found a lady's gold
watch, upon one of which was in
scribed From Mother to Mamie"
| kilograms from all parts of the
country inquiring for friends and re-
Iatives are pouring in constantly.
| Frank P. Mannix. a newspaper man
of Victor, Col, who was in the smoker
and escaped with some painful bruises
and burns, said to-day:
Words fail to express the horror of
| hn
pectedly. Suddenly all was darkness
and confusion. The air was filed with
cinders, splinters and heated gases.
Then flames darted up on either side.
The scene of horror was simply in
| describable.
1.-THE flames were in sense god
send, for with their aid the windows
were located, even though the passen-
gers had to jump through burning
i dames."