The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-09-13

The woman came out of the horror hero
inc. Men died with good words for her
and her clothing was sacrificed to impro-
wise bandages for the wounded. When it
was all over the railroad men voted her
their heartfelt thanks and manly bless
ing.
The couple arrived in the city yesterday
morning and registered at the st. Nicho-
las. They were passengers on the ILL
fated Rio Grande express that left Denver
at O'Clock last Thursday morning only
to collide with stock train a short dis
lance this side OF Newcastle the following
midnight and bring death to scores OF
human beings. The death rate of hat
holocaust will probab bly, never be known,
for ali that remains of passengers and
cars IS heap OF ASH s, some charred
bones and a pile of scrapiron.
OF the noble part she played in the
catastrophe Mrs. Stuart does not care TO
talk. Her trousseau went up in tue flames
and the garments that she wore she sacri-
feed that the wounded might have banda
ges for their in urles, yet Mrs. Stuart be-
iieves she did nothing more than any
| other woman would have done under the
circumstances. In such a carnival of
death the Rio Grande train people and
miners say she won a medal. Just now
partial suit but she does not regret what
she lost.
Il am thankful l am here" is the way
she puts it. Ut was awful. The wreck
occurred shortly after midnight. | had
not yet gone asleep, but Was gazing from
window of the Pullman car at he N oun-
! tain scenery when | ielt what led to
me ike TWO little bumps or jolts. told
my husband the train was off the track,
but he replied that he thought it was a
'head-on' collision. We had hardly said
| thewords when the conductor came into
| thecar and said, Every body get up; the
train is on fire. Mr.. Stuart and myself
dressed hastily and got ont OF the car.
Ahead of US the train was all on fire, and
shrleKs and groans were issuing from the
flames i'll way that | will never forget
Il then realized just what had hap
pened. The moon was shining as brightly
as before, but III the foreground the fam es
threw weird and unearthly glare on the
mountain sides. The lowing of the fright
ned cattle in the stock train we collided
with could be heard down the track as if
! the poor beasts realized the appalling d s.
aster that had overtaken us.
Jack and | went forward to help res
cue those who were in the burning cars.
By the side of the track we found Fire
| man Ostrander of the passenger train. Mi
| husband ran back 10 get bottle of brandy
we carried In small satchel iii the Pull
man. AS he reached for the bottle the
| flesh fell from the hands and arms of the
! poor man from his finger tips to his
shoulders. As it Tell in flakes upon the
ground he or ed, My God, isn't that
awful?' He died in Jacks arms the next
morning. His last words were, On, God,
let me d lie easy His throat was so badly
scalded that We could not force the brandy
down II.
Jack found the engineer of the passen-
ger train almost 100 feet from the track in
hedge where he had been thrown by the
shock OF the collision. He was badly in
| jured and will probably die.
There was minister OH the train, the
Kew. Mr. Hartman of Herscher, ILL.,,
whose back and two legs were broken. AS
J he was carried into the Pullman car he
asked about his wife anu two children.
We had not the heart to tell him the
| truth. We replied that they were only
slightly wounded. He died the next
morning without knowing that they had
been cremated IN the cars. 1t was a
strange thing that families were not sep
srated. They either all persisted or else
all escaped without serious injury.
I'm all | don't think over three people
were rescued from the burning cars. One
of these was Miss Florence Coraeil of
Portland. The men dragged her mead
hrst through an ouening IN the side of The
car and literally tore every stitch of cloth
ing of her body in their efforts. She was
obliged to cover herself with a blanket.
In another instance travelling man
| crawled through window only TO hang
by the feet on the sill. The MAJ beside
him had to push him out or he would
have burned to death, so stunned was he
| by the disaster"
Mrs. Stuart and her husband speak good