The San Francisco call., 1897-02-03
BABY PASSENGERS
IN WRECKED CARS
Narrow Escapes From
- Death in the Disaster
Near Wenatchee.
Crowded Emigrant Coaches Roll
to the Foot of a Steep
Embankment.
Women and Children Emerge I'm.
scathed, and But One Man Il
o Badly Injured.

SEATTLE, WASH, Feb. 2.-Though no
loss of life attended the wrecking of the
Great Northern overland train near We
natchee Sunday night, several scores of
passengers are wondering how they sue
ceeded in coming off unscathed and are
congratulating themselves and one an
other because ii was so. This was one of
the most remarkable in the history of rail-
way disasters.
Several coaches rolled down high en-
bankment, and one in which were a num-
Der of women and little children caught
fire, yet but one man was injured. The
passengers suffered much hardship, being
compelled to travel barefooled and half
clothed through the snow in leaving the
derailed cars, but they are quite satisfied
because it was no worse.
The overland was wrecked Just this side
of Wenatchee by the spreading of the
rails. The entire train was wrecked, some
of the coaches rolling over an EN- bank
nent ten or twelve feet high and landing
on their side. All of the coaches were well
filled with passengers.
The train. after leaving the track
plunged ahead fifty or sixty feet before it
went over the embankment. There was
on: the ground at the time from eight to
ten inches of snow, and to this is ascribed
the absence of any serious results.
The tourist coach, which is provided
with range at one end and a heater at
the other, caught fire almost Immediately,
but the prompt work of the porter of the
car and others in cutting away the wood
work and pouring water upon the flames
ho
two people, ten of them little babies and
tots from two to five and six years of age.
were confined in the tourist coach with
the gro wn people.
This coach contained special crowd of
people composed of five families from
Duquesne, Pa, bound for Port Angeles,
where they will probably work in the new
steel works to be built there as all the
men are steel workers from Pennsylvania
plants.
When the accident occurred all had re-
tired. AS soon as the train went over all
lights in the coach were extinguished by
the jar.
The coach was found to be lying on one
side. The porter knocked out part of the
roof and next assailed the windows on the
side lying in the snow. There was great
confusion and none of the passengers
thought of dressing. When the opening
was made they crawled out as rapidly as
possible-coatless, hatless, dressless and
shoeess-into the snow.
The engine, tender and baggage car
were derailed, but stood upright, and
when the wrecking train arrived it did
not lake great while to get them out of
ba ba nd
tourist car and dining car received the
full effect of the spreading of the rails and
toppled off the grade.
Some of the rear coaches, being only
partially turned over, were utilized by
passengers rescued from the overland
coaches for protection from the weather,
but the women and children had to under
go the hardship of walking back bare
footed in the snow, distance nearly the
length of the train, to reach cover.
The wreck occurred at place removed
from settlement, and some of the pas
sengers say that no one came to them
after the accident save couple of In
dians, who stood about stupidity staring at
the wreck. Word was sent by the train
men for assistance, and yesterday morn
ing about O'Clock the company physician
arrived at the scene from Leavenworth.
The wrecking train also arrived early
from Leavenworth and began opening the
road SO the trains could pass. After the
derailed engine and baggage-car were put
into shape to draw away they were re-
moved and a false track built around the
portion of main track torn up.
No relief Iraih was sent out, and it was
not until 2. NJ. Yesterday thar the passen-
gers got away, being taken by the east
bound train from Seattle and returned to
Leavenworth. They reached this city late
this evening.
Passengers arriving in Seattle to-day at
noon on the next overland say that their
train came to a halt at the scene of the
wreck. While the company is fast clear.
ing it away some of the coaches were still
in the position in which they fell and pre-.
sented remarkable sight, lying with
trucks in the air.
But one man on the entire train was in.
lured so badly as to need medical atten-
lion. He was the fireman, who bad a rib
or two fractured and probably fracture
of one of his arms. The coaches other
than the tourist-car were not SO crowded
with passengers, and suffered much less
in the shake-up.
ROSEBUkG'S TWO SUSPECTS,