, 1899-01-26
TUPELO ACCIDENT
LIEUTENANT KNADLER REVIEWS
THE HISTORY OF THE
DISASTER.
Colonel Torrey's Narrow Escape-In-
cidents Which Happened and How
the Men We're Cared for by the
Commander Of the Rough Riders"
Collection of Damages.

Collection of Damages.
IL Will be remembered that Colonel
Jay l.. Torrey spoke at the great meet
ing held in Cheyenne at the close of the
late campaign, and in that speech told
the story of the organization and ser
vice of Torrey's rough riders, including
the ccOun with dramatic effect of the
Tupelo wreck, in which six members
of the regiment were killed and many
injured; the fact hat nowhere in the
recital of the awful railway accident,
either in his speech at Cheyenne or his
recent addresses in this city, did he re-
fer to himself, though he received in
juries at that time which will remain
with him through life, was noted by
many at the time. as an incident illus
trating the mOdesty of the true SOL
dier. The writer heard the address and
was curious to learn that part of the
story which related to the colonel him
self. Speaking of this to First Lieu
tenant Morgan F. Knadler of Trook c.,
the soldier of two wars was quite will
ing to talk on the subject and he with
out hesitation related the incident
which the colonel had neglected to tell,
as follows:
Our troop was on the train hat was
run into. Our officers occupied, in COM
mon with the officers of two other
troops, the sleeping car Immediately in
front of the car occupied by Colonel
Torrey and his staff. When the train
stopped at Tupelo many of the boys
went out on the platform for a little ex-
ercise. At the time Of the collision /
There was a terrible noise attending the
collision and a roar of escaping steam
from the engine. The caboose, which
was Immediately behind Colonel Tor
rey's car, disappeared as if it had been
a doll house, and the train plunged into
the sleeper and tore two-thirds of 1t all
to pieces. The timbers of this sleeper
were broken and mashed and stacked
up and scattered around in all sorts of
indescribable shapes. AT the time l
was in doubt whether or not there were
any officers in the car; just while l was
wondering, Colonel Torrey appeared
right out of the thickest of the debris,
scrambled up the bank and sank down;
he was just rising up on his hands when
those of us near by seized him and car
hand. We saw from the blood on his
face and hands, the torn condition of
his clothes and the crushed condition
of his shoes, that he was badly injured.
Although necessarily suffering great
pain, he did not utter a sound. After
being laid on the bed and undressed he
said, Were any of the boys hurt?' At
ter learning the facts about them, he
inquired further, Will l lose my feet?-
| would rather die than not ride with
the boys!'"
Concerning the wounds Of Colonel
Torrey, Lieutenant knadler said:
There were three wounds just beneath
the edge of the hair over the right eye
and one in the right eyebrow; If any
one of them had been half an inch deep
1t would have meant death. He was
cut across the nose between the eyes;
If 1t had been half an inch deep he
would have lost both eyes. There wac
a bruise under the right eye which If t
had been half an inch deeper would
have crushed his face in. There was
a puncture Of his left arm. There were
two wounds OF his left wrist; If either
of them had been half an inch deep they
would have cut all the cords in his arm.
The fingers of his left hand had been
severely cut, evidently by glass, as
there was a piece of glass under h
skin of one OF them. | did not see his
back. but from his knees down II was
not a question of what was injured, u
what was not. 1t appeared as though
the timbers had crushed both OF his
feet backward. with the result of
straining, if not breaking, all of the
homes. tendons and flesh of ZACH or
them. One toe was dislocated.'
zone would ordinarily think that the
colonel had enough to do with MS
wounds" said Lieutenant Knadler, con-
tinuing, but not so with lin; he a
the guard dismissed which had been
nut at the door to keep members OF the
regiment out of the house and said
pleasant words to the men as they call
cd I'm turn to make inquiries as to MS
condition. He sent for a local lawyer,
drew his personal draft for his retain
ers and Immediately put him to Work
looking up the evidence Of carelessness
of the railroad employees. He had the
two trains which were being held back
at other stations brought forward and
sent on to Jacksonville, and gave per-
sonal attention to the details OF provid-
ing a hospital for the wounded n car
ing for the dead, and the getting Tor
ward as soon as possible the TWO trains
involved in the wreck.
THE next day the c%olonels eyes