The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-09-09
BRYAN HELPS TO SAVE LIFE
PERFORAES yALIANT SERYICEI AN
 APPALLING RAILROAD WRECK,

APPALLING RAILRO4D WRECK, Fast East Bound santa Fe and West Bound
 Mexico and California Express Collided
 Hcad-ou-Twelve to Fifteen Persons
 Killed and Many More Badly Injured
 Wreck Caught Fire and Boilers of All
 Three Ensines Exploded-Mr. Bryan Ex-
 Per'enced Nothing More Than n Jolt
 One of the Dying Men Blessed Him for
 Fetching Water.
 Kansas City, Mo-, Sept. S.--A special to the Times from Emporia Kansas, says:
 one of the worst wrecks in the his tory of the Santa Fe railroad occurred three miles east of here at 7:30 o'clock tonight. 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, collided head-on.
 The Mexico and California express was pulled by two locomotives, and when they struck the engine drawing the fast mail the boilers of all three engines exploded and tore a hole in the ground so deep that the smoking car of the west-bound 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 escaped through the windows. The front end of this car was enveloped in volume of stifing 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, and the cars in the hole and the smoking cars were quickly burned to ashes. In climbing out of the smoking car several men fell through the rifts in the wreck below, and it is impossible to tell whether they escaped or were burned to death.
 The west-bound train carried seven or eight coaches, and it's passengers in- cluded many excursionists who had been to hear Hon. w. J. Bryan speak at the county fair in Burlingame. MT. 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
 MT. 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 atten- tion to their care. One poor fellow who was badly maimed called to MT. Bryan and said:
 T went to hear you to-day; am dy- ing now and want to shake your hand and say, God bless you If you possi- ply can, MT. Bryan, get me drink of water''
 MT. 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 passen- ger. He brought out cushions for oth- CTS of the injured and was everywhere present to minister to the wants of the suffering.
 Of the seven or eight cars making up the Mexico and California express only the mail and baggage and express and smoking cars were destroyed The coach following the smoker was badly splintered.
 lICLC WCiC liOl illOIO llldIl d uOZtH passengers on the fast mail 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 blanks came up with the seats.
 One man, John Swecny, was thrown over three seats and through a win down, but escaped with only scratches and bruises. The other cars of the fast mail train, a baggage and express, Were totally wrecked. 1t IS sisted that the wreck was caused by a miscarriage of orders from the .ra!n master. At Emporia the east-bound fast mail train received orders to pass the California express at Lange, seven miles east. Another order was sent to Lange for the California express to take the sid- ing there, but this order was not de- liversd and tine west-bound train pass ed or, tfe trairmen expecting to pass the fast mail at Emporia.
 1t is feared that nearly all of the sev en mail clerks perished in the disaster, but 50 far only six bodies have been taken from the wreck. Those dead are:
 Jim Brennan, engineer, Topeka.
 Nate Edoiiister, fireman, Topeka.
 J. y. Souders, Kansas City, express body almost consumed by fire.
 William Frisbey, engineer.
 F. A. Doran, postal clerk, Emporia.
 - Gonzales, fireman of west-cound train.
 Unknown tramp.
 J. G. Bragman, Topeka.
 Ben Walters, St. Joseph, Mo-, fire man on the west-bound train, is miss ing.
 Among the seriously injured are: Claude Holiday, Lawrence, express both legs broken; D. E. Ce- ciler, express messenger, legs broken, will die; John Dagan, Topeka, face smashed; J. T. Butler, county attorney. Chase county, hip broken, may die: | William F. Jones, Kansas City. leg broken and arms broken; B. P. Metik Atchison, badly bruised; Philip Schuer Kansas City, leg crushed; H. P. Welt brakeman, Kansas City, badly bruised: William Patrick, Kansas City. leg and | arm broken; c. D. Adams. City of Mex ;co, painfully bruised; Mike Sweeny.