The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-12-06
FOURSC0RE lives
LOST IN MICHIGAN
The Latest Estimates Do Not
Change First Figures
IT, Materially.
FoRDERs misunderstood
Confusing of Two Names by One Of
the Engineers Led to the Awful
Catastro phe-Number of
Dead Unknown.

Detroit, Mich, Nov. 30.-When night
fell. over the scene of Wednesday
Evenings awful calamity on the Wa
bash railroad neal Seneca, Mich,
those who had been Investigating the
disaster lac found nothing to alter the
estimate of about eighty lives lost as
10 result of the collision.
Superintendent George M. Burns, of
the division on which the wreck &C.
'curred, insists that the estimates are
too high.
Il do not consider said he, that the
total death list will exceed twenty
However, in support of the largerses-
timate it is pointed out that there are
now fourteen passengers known to be
dead. The bodies ofeight of these have
been recovered. n it is considered
that the fragments of other bodies now
in the morgue at Adrian will account
for many more than the twelve dead
necessary to max up Superintendent
Burns estimate of twenty. In add
ton to the comparatively few frag-
% 1nents recovered and sent to the
1norgue, those who were early on the
scene say that many more pieces We're
discovered which crumbled to powder
while they were beng removed.
Superintendent Burns said to the AS
ISOLATED Press that he was unable to
tell the exact number Of Italian immi-
grants aboard train No. 10, but thought
that there were not more than fifty.
Passengers on the train n a number
of those who We're early on the scene
dispute this, and say the number was
nearer eighty. Superintendent Burns
has received no report as yet from
Ticket Collector Eames of train No.
10, who probably knows nearer than
. IA uona a1So the number of Italians on
the cars.
Coroner Hamilton. Of Adrian yester-
day afternoon }~impaneled a jury and
will begin an inquest into the disaster
this morning.
No steps have been taken as yet
toward the arrest of Engineer Strong,
> Whom superintendent Burns says is re-
lsponsible for the collision and holo-
lcaust.
Details Of Disaster.
Detroit, Nov. 30.-The latest estimate
of the victims of the Wabash wreck
near Adrian, Mich, IS between so and
400 dead and 1925 injured. twenty-five
of the latter will probably die, making
the catastrophe equal to the Ashtabula
horror. OF the dead, fifty are Italian
emigrants eastbound on train No. IL.
The identified dead:
WILLIAM D. DOWD, Detroit, fire
man of No. Is.
CAL BALDORF, Ashley, fireman No.
l3.
JAMES BROWN, porter.
ENNDELL, Detroit.
GEORGE N. YOUMANs, Kansas
City.
JOB MITCHELL, Detroit.
VIDA DECAS, Tupperville. Ont.
Among the injured are:
H. B. Whitney, Grand Rapids.
+. B. Richardson, Detroit.
Mary Dalman, Detroit.
sam J. Work engineer, No. 10.
n Mariana Ponetta.
Nicholas, Tioga county. N. j..
Frank Bieldor. Baltimore, Md.
Salts Rock, Burnside, III.
Louis Shoemaker, Adrian.
Victor Calm, St. Paul.
Jessie Williams, Detroit.
George F. White, New York.
Thomas Crehan, Buffalo.
Winifred aCrehan, Batavia.
D. Baneard. Logansport.
Mrs M. S.. Stringe, Belleville, Mich.
C. E. Smith Detroit.
Moulteris Gregg, Joplin, Mo.
IN. e. Gillen Fairburn, N. H.
IL. C. Whelney, Grand Rapids.
G. w. Sweeney, Detroit.
S. F. Carroll, Tonawanda, N. Y.
Alamile Coleon, Colorado.
Mrs. Joseph Jaksa, G~lobesville, Colo.
Fn.-t AAIN AAeA LIN / AeSy ONAt wv
Anna Krasov, Denver, Colo.
Sixty or seventy italian immigrants.
The Fatal No. 10.
The west bound train was known as
NO. 49,, and was a regular which, be-
sides it's regular coaches, had several
coaches filled with Italian immigrants
going west from New York.
The e~ast-bound train was known as
NO. 4. the Continental limited. 1t was
a vestibuled train, consisting of a bag
gage car, combination coach and
sleeper. Es !
The cause Of the wreck was the, mis-
reading of orders by Engineer Strong
of the Continental limited. The order,
1T is claimed, read: PASS at Seneca"
But Strong understoodit Sand Creek"
The conductor Of the train did not
kno the engineer had misunderstood
the order and supposed his train was
going 0 n a siding. Finding the train
running rapidly, the conductor put OIL
the air brakes himself, but It was too
late. The two trains crashed together
and the cars on the west-bound were
piled up in a heap Of ruins.
Engineer Strong stated in positive
terms to the Associated Press that his
order directed him to pass train No. 10,
and No. 8 (the latter closely following
No. 13 from Detroit) at Sand Greek.
Said Strong:
" t{3tl saw Ine IedOllBul Ol mo. lo IOuT
or five miles before the collision oc-
CURED, but I supposed the train was
sidetracked at Sand Creek, waiting for
us to pass. The glare of the powerful
electric headlight made it impossible to
see the exact location Of the other
train. My fireman n I both jumped
from the right-hand gangway."
Strong and his fireman were both
IA hurled 300 feet, but, although scratched,
cut and terribly Jared, they were not
seriously injured.
5Immigrants and other passengers on
train No. 10 were crushed between the
splintered cars. If any escaped with
a out injury it wilt be considered a mir
a# acle.
aa$ Wreck Catches Fire.
faTo add to horror the wreck caught
fire instantly and in a short time the
bodies Of the dead and those Of the in
dured who We're pinned down were be-
Ing burned
Farmers near by and those who es-
capped from the wreck alive made
heroic efforts to rescue the less for
tunate. The condition of the wreck
was il that in tho darkness 1T was
Impossible to render immediate aid.