The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-09
MADE A CRATER IN THE EARTH.
HORRIBLE WRECK CAUSED BY A
COLLISION OF TRAINS.


Occupants Crawl Out of the VIA
dows and Many Fail Into the
YawninE Gulf BeIOw-W. j. BryaM
Passenger But Is Unhurt.
Kansas City, Sept. S.-A special to the
Times from Emporia, Kan. says:
One of the worst wrecks in the history
of the Santa Fe railroad occurred three
miles east of here at about 7:3O o'clock to-
night Twelve or fifteen persons were
killed ana as many more badly hurt. The
fast mail train going east and the Mexico
and California express. bound west. col
lided head on. The Mexico and California
express was pulled by two locomotives
and when they struck the engine draw
ing 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 ran on top of the three
engines and two mail cars and balanced,
without turning over.
The passengers in the smoking car es-
capped through the windows. The front
end of this car was eveloped I'm a volume
of sitting smoke and steam, beching up
from the wreck below, and the rear door
was jammed tight in the wreck of the car
behind. The wreck caught fire from the
engines, The cars in the hole and the
smoking car were burned to ashes in
a short time.
In climbing out of the smoking car sew
eral men fell through the windows into
the wreck and it is impossible to tell
whether they were burned or not.
The westbound train carried seven or
eight coaches, and its passengers includ-
ed many excursionsts who had been to
hear Hon. w. j. Bryan speak at Burlin-
game. Mr.. Bryan himself was on the
train, but was riding in the rear Pullman,
some 400 feet from the cars which were
wrecked. He states that nothing but a
heavy jolt was experienced by the passen-
gers in his coach.
Mr. Bryan was one of the noblest men
in the crowd of rescuers. He helped to
carry out the dead and wounded and gave
the greatest attention TO their care. One
poor fellow, who was badly maimed, call
ed to Mr.. Bryan and said. l went 10 hear
you to-day; l am now dying and want to
shake your hand and say God bless you
If you possibly can, Mr.. Bryan, get me
drink of water"
Mr.. Bryan went into the fast mail car
one end of which was burning, and came
out with the water which he gave to the
suffering passenger. He brought out cush-
ions for others of the injured, and was
everywhere present to minister to the
wants of the suffering.
1t is feared that nearly all of the seven
mail clerks pershed in the disaster, but so
far only eight bodies have been taken from
the wreck. Those dead are:
Jim Brennan, engineer, Topeka.
Nate Holister fireman, Topeka.
j. F. Souders, Kansas City, express mes
senger, body almost consumed by fire.
VIM. Frisbey. engineer.
r. A Doran, Emporia, postal clerk.
- Gonzales, fireman, west bound
train.
Unknown man, tramp, Topeka.
- Bragman.
Among the seriously injured are:
Claud Holiday, Lawrence, express mes
senger, both legs broken.
d. c. Erler Kansas City. express mes
senger, 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
and arms broken.
- has
Phil schuer, Kansas City, hip crushed.
C. A. Van Welt. brakeman. Kansas
City, badly bruised.
William Patrick, Kansas City, leg and
arm broken.
c. D. Adams, City of Mexico. painfully
bruised.
Mike Sweeney, Gainesville, Tex, back
hurt.
Ben Walters, St. Joseph, Mo-, a fireman
on the west-bound train, is missing The
engineer Of the west-bound train had re-
ceived orders to meet the fast mail at
Emporia. and was making up lost time.
These two are the fastest trains in the
Santa Fe system, and the west-bound
train must have been running at speed
of at least forty miles an hour. The west
bound express was going around a slight
curve. and met the fast mail. probably
within 200. feet.
OF the seven or eight cars making up the
Mexico and California express. only the
mail, baggage and express and smoking
cars were destroyed The coach following
the smoker was badly splintered.
There we're not more than dozen pas
sengers on the fast mail, all in one coach,
and while none Of them was seriously in
jured. their shaking up was terrible Every
seat in the coach was torn from the sleep
ers.
One man, John Sweeney was thrown
over three seats and through a window,
but escaped with several scratches and
bruises.
IT is stated that the wreck was caused
by a miscarriage of orders from the train
master. At Emporia the east bound fast
mail train received orders to pass the Cali
fornia express at Lang, seven miles east.