The age-herald., 1899-01-10

cal as it started on the curve With shriek- ing whistle and brakes grinding sparks rom the wheels the excursion train bore uoWn to what seemed certain destruct' on. The passengers alarmed at the continued Whlste, opened their windows, mothers snatched their children in their arms; men started from their seats, but before they had time to find out what was the matter they were hurled headlong, knocked sense- less and many killed outright. The two engines, from which both crews had Jumped, came together with an awful crash. The excurs on train was probably going ct about fifteen miles an hour. The local engine as if tripped in it's faster flight, turned a complete comersault and came crashing down beside it's now demolished obstruction.
 Fragments of Human Bodies
 But its career was not ended before it had damned the tender of the excursion train almost from one end to the other Of the first car from Shamokin. The tender stopped few seats from the rear door, The car, or what was left of it. rolled over. carrying with it the imbedded tender, the fragments of a dozen bodies and the inn prisoned wounded who had been carried | with the jagged iron on its relentless course | through the coach.
 It was in the first car of the excursion train that all the deaths and most of the casualties occurred. The other cars thoush their occupants were badly shaken, stayed on the track and were In condition to be hauled off. The baggage car in the front of the local train was rather badly smashed up.
 A few minutes before the trains crashed George Wiedman of Dunnellen had tethered his coal wagon to post at the crossing d few yards from where the engines met "I saw them comng,' he said, ''the east bound Whistling for mad and the local com- ing around the l waved my arms but before he saw the engineer of the local | saw what he was up against. People | were sticking their heads out of the win | dows The engineers and hremen jumped. Ane trains banged into each other and the local climbed over the other as if she was going right on. Then she turned clean over and came down on her smokestack. It was an awful crash. Then the other pas sengers and trainmen came running up." From Dunnellen, Bound Brook and other | points came physicians
 They came over the Central Road of New Jersey, whose tracks run parallel with the Lehigh at this point, about 400 yards dis tant Relief and wrecking trains were quickly on hand. As the dead were taken from the demolished car they were put in the rear cars of the excursion train and taken to Bound Brook, where coroner's inquest was held tonight. The injured were put in the cars of the local tran Twenty one were taken to Plainfield hospital, whfe t4-t lGSS StIlDuSly llJuItQ welt Ou u JEI- sey City and New York.
 Caught Under His Engine Engineer Prendergast, who weighs almost 300 pounds, jumped too late. He was caught under h s engine and for three hours lay 1 pinned in frightful agony.
 When at last a huge crane lifted the iron off his body he was found so badly in- l jured that he is expected to die. The loss of life inflicted upon his train would prob ably have been nothing Ike what it was had it not been for the fact that at Maunch- chunk the baggage of the excursion train was found to have hot box and was taken off, thus leaving the crowded day coach next to the engine. If this coach had remained the position it held when
 the train left Shamokin, probably only a few lives would have been lost. Engineer Rick of the local was found the tracks so badly injured that little hope
 was entertained of his recovery. Despite
 the blood that flowed from his mouth Rick gurgled out: ''Some one gave wrong or ders. I know how it happened, but can't speak now.'
 In this connection w. o. sprigg. the peritendent of the Easton and Amboy divi- sion of the Lehigh Valley, said:
 '"The accident is evidently due te.r blun- der of orders,
 The general passenger agent had no eX- planation to make.
 On this section of the Lehigh Valley the block system is not in The train de- spatcher at Easton who has charge of the territory is said to have wired to the oper ator at South Plainfield to let No. T, the local come through, but later there came message from Easton to hold all west bound trains
 The Message Was Overlooked
 It is alleged that the latter message was owe rlooked. Some say it was not handed to the operator, but whichever way it was, the yves tbound train was allowed on it's track and from everything that could be learned the collision was plainly due to a mistake in orlers and to no negligence of the train crews. Signalman Brennan, at West Dunnellen, who threw up his arms as the local passed. has no wire and nothing to do with the dispatching of trains Dr. Brakely, of Dunneen, was one of the first on the scene. He said:
 ''We got into the overturned car and grouped among the debris for the dead. Teeth, arms, brains, splintered wood and twisted iron were mixed up in inde- scribable mass. The wounded, most of them Suffering from broken legs. were all tanned together at the rear end. The dead we got out by pecemeal. Among the ruins we found baby about four months old in long clothes. We thought 1t was dead. and laid it on the bank beside the half dozen other mangled bodies we had extrcated. Just as I was leaving l noticed signs of life. The baby was alive and a careful examination showed it had sustained only bruise of the head We put it in the cars for Plainfield.'
 This baby belonged to Mrs. Mary Parrec, of Mount Carmel, Pa.
 Arthur Tregembo, of Platsburg, had both |, legs broken. When seen in Plainfield hos pital he said: q was in the first car of the fra in frot Ebap n nra faA