The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-09-11
ANOTHER RAWFUL WRECK
Fearful Result Of a Conductors At
tempt "Steal d Station"
DEAD AND 1856 INJURED

THIRTY DEAD AND 1856 INJURED,
TO Add to the Horror OF the Catnstro-
phe the Wreck Caught Fire From
the Explosion OF a Gas Tank-En-
gine and Cars Demolished.
New Castle, Colo, Sept 1.-THE worst
wreck in the history of the state of Col
orado occurred early yesterday morning
on the tracks of the Denver and Rio
Grande and the Colorado Midland rail-
ways, one and a half miles west of
here After ~ hours incessant work
by the wrecking crews in clearing away
the debris and recovering the dead
bodies Of those who perished It is Inn
possible to more than estimate the loss
Of life, and not even those known to be
dead have been identified The names
Of many Of the unfortunates viii never
be known, and 1t is possible that the
number killed viii always be in doubt.
From the best information obtainable
now fully 30 persons are believed to
have perished, while 1856 have been
taken out of the wreck suffering from
serious injuries.
The wreck was caused by a head end
collision between a Denver and Rio
Grand passenger train, running at the
rate of 40 miles an hour, and a special
Colorado Midland stock train running
at a speed Of probably 80 miles. So
terrific was the collision that both en-
gines, the baggage and express cars.
smoker and day coaches and two stock
cars were totally demolished and the
track torn up for several rods in both
directions. To add to the horror of the
scene the wreck caught fire from the
explosion of a gas tank on the passen-
ger train, and burned so rapidly that
many passengers pinned beneath the
debris were burned to death before help
could reach them.
The most generally accepted theory
Of 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
a station" and beat the passenger into
New Castle. Burbank escaped unin-
jured, and upon orders from Coroner
Clark has been placed under arrest by
the sheriff. Midland Engineer Ostrander
Is missing, and a thorough search fails
to reveal any vestige of his remains.
1t is thought that when he saw the
threatened danger he jumped his en-
gine and realizing his negligence, took
to the hills.
Mr. and Mrs. e. II. 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 the noise was heard and the shock
felt in New Castle.
General Superintendent Sample, of
the Denver and Rio Grande, was in
the vicinity of the 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, apparently
clasped in each others arms, were
found. Their heads and lower limbs
were burned off. In the dress bosom of
each was found a ladies' gold watch,
upon one of which was inscribed,
from Mother to Mamie"
Frank p. Mannix, a newspaper man
Of Victor, Colo, who was in the smoker
and escaped with some painful bruises
and burns, said: Words fail to ex-
press the horror of the scenes. The
crash came unexpectedly. Suddenly all
was darkness and confusion. The air
was filled with cinders, splinters and
heated gases. Then flames darted UP
on either side. The scene was simply
indescribable The flames were in
sense a godsend, for with their aid the
windows were located, even though the
passengers had to jump through fire."
OF the dead only nine have been posi-
lively identified. The recognized dead
are: F. ]. keenan,, mail agent, Den
yer; Robert S. Holland, fireman. Sa-
lima; Mrs. Alexander Hartman and two
sons Herscher Ills. James Errick,
Chicago; Charles Leeper, Clarion, Pa ;
William Hines, fireman. William Cor
don, engineer.
The injured are: Rev. Alexander
Hartman, Herscher, Ills. both legs
broken, face cut and burned and bruis-
ed; Miss Pearl Cornell, Alciet Ore
hip dislccated; j. c. Yeager, Toledo, O.,
injured internally; ]. Logman, Whit
tier Cal, slightly wounded; Miss Mary
Israel ST. Paul, slightly injured; ]. f.
Snyder, Independence. Kan. slightly
burned; d. II. McAneney Victor, Colo,
face burned; o. V. Titson, Cooker
Mo, badly cut about the head; r. h
BriclSley, Chicago, back injured; ], G.
Young St. Louis, cut in the forehead; /;
Thomas Nash, Mohab, Utah, left arm
broken, badly burned in face Frank
P. ManniX, Victory Colo, bruised and
slightly burned; r. w. Shot, Leeper
Pa, badly bruised; Brakeman Knapp,
leg crushed: James c. Foley express
messenger, bruised; William s. Misse-
mer, express messenger, bruised.
Charred fragments of limbs and
bodies OF a number Of persons have
been taken from the ruins, but It is
not likely that any more bodies viii
be positively identified, and 1t seems
certain that the number killed viii re-
main in doubt.
Constipation is the cause Of all sorts of