The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1900-02-10
Fast Freight Telescopes q Pas
senger Coach at Ford
River Switch.
NINE PEOPLE WE'RE KILLED
Five Victims in Burning Car
Could Not Be Reached-S. o.
Green, of Negaunee, Killed.

BY all odds the greatest wreck
which has ever occurred on the
Peninsula division took place al
Ford River switch Thursday evening
seven miles south of Escanaba, kill.
ing eight people outright and injur-
ing six, two fatally, one-Miss
Seymour-having since died.
The dead we're: w. L. Hill, ex-
pressman, OF Felch; W. M. Dillon,
brakeman, OF Escanaba; Charles
Morton, landlooker, of Escanaba;
George Blake, landlooker, of Esca-
naba; S. o. Green, Negaunee; John
Hillin, Canada; Miss Seymour, Shat
fer, Mich; one unknown man and
one unknown woman. The injured
are: B. w. Brown, cedar dealer, OF
Escanaba, probably fatally hurt;
H. w. Reade, superintendent OF the
Pittsburg & Lake Superior Iron
company, Of Escanaba; Theodore
DeFord, OF Harwood, Mich; Mrs,
Seymour, Of Shaffer, Mich, badly
injured; Peter R. Legg, Gladstone.
Regarding the terrible disaster a
dispatch to the Mining Journal
gives the following particulars:
The catastrophe was caused by the
fast freight No. 2S9 crashing into
the rear of the Felch Branch ac-
comodation.
The accommodation train was late
and mad stopped at Ford River
switch to take on some passengers,
and from the facts reported en-
croached on the freight's time.
Just as the accommodation was
ready to pull out, the freight came
tearing along at a rate OF mile a
minute on straight piece of track
and in a binding storm.
The engineer on the freight did
not see the other train until it was
too late to avert the deadly crash.
Conductor Roberts, of the accono-
dation, saw the danger and in vain
attempted to signal the engineer Of
the accommodation to 20 ahead, but
too late.
Tie velocity Of the freight was SO
great as to telescope the passenger
coach, combination baggage and
smoker and a refrigerator car.
The train instantly caught fire
and four bodies were beyond the
power Of the rescuing party to save
and were literally burned.
A rescuing party, including every
doctor in Escanaba, was hastily des-
patched to the scene. and all the in
jured and dead were brought to that
city.
Engineer J. r. Green and Fire
man Thos. Powers both had very
narrow escapes from the freight.
The sight was most pathetic one
and nearly broke down the strongest.
has a great shadow OF sor-
row over it, after this occurrence
aud the big fire of the previous night.
Fast freight No. 2S9, bound north
from Green Bay to Ishpeming, was
about fifty miles an hour,
when it crashed into the accomoda-
tiOn train standing at the station. A
snow storm made it inn
possible to see the signal lights.
The freight telescoped the passenger
coach and the baggage car ahead.
A dozen or more passengers had
not moment S warning before the
crash came and a moment later the
cries Of the injured could be- heard
above the hiss Of the escaping steam
and the crackle Of the flames which
soon envelOpcd the wreck and made
The work Of rescue doubly hard.
As fast as the injured were re-
moved they were taken to a store
near by while the train crews, as
sisted by the uninjured passengers,
worked desperately to gain control
,f the fire.
At 10 o'clock it was announced
that all the injured had beeH re-