The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-12-16
Eight Killed or Missing and
Eleven Injured
In a Collision on the Illinois
Central Railroad
ON THE OPEN PRAIRIE
With a High Wind and Temper
ature 90 Below.
Conductor Accused of DisObey
ing Orders.

Rockford, ILL.,, Dec. 16.-Failure on the
part of a conductor to obey orders is
supposed to have been the cause of a
head-on collision on the Illinois Central
railroad between Irene and Perryville
The two trains We're the eastbound pas
senger train No. and through freight
from Chicago, going west As a result
eight people are dead OF missing and
eleven injured.
The known dead are-
RICHARD ORMSBY, Chicago, engi-
neer, of passenger train.
JAMES REARDON, Freeport, fire.
man of passenger train.
ROBERT THOMPSON, Dubuque,
American Express messenger.
]. W. FUNK. Chicago, brakeman
passenger train
DAVID BEHAN. Freeport. freight
engineer.
EDWARD CAREY. Freeport. freight
fireman.
Missing and supposed to be dead:
Newsboy on passenger train, name
unknown
could be ascertained, are as follows:
Section foreman from Irene, name un-
known
H G. weIlman, Chicago. right arm
ford city hospital; condition critical
D. r. Ahrendt, Chicago, cut and
bruised by broken glass
J. H. Quinlan, passenger conductor.
cut and bruised. crushed about the
chest. taken to Rockford city hospital;
condition critical
W. B. Keefe, Sioux City. Ia, head
severely cut
Frank Stadleman New Athens Ill,
cuts about head and arms.
Thomas Hendricks, New Athens, Ill,
cut and bruised and hair Scorched off.
Slightly cut:
c. z. ShurtIeff, Genoa; c. M. Burch,
Kankakee; NJ. Z. Franklin Lake City,
Ia; A. L Boggs. st. Louis; John Hus
sey, Independence, Ia
The trains met in a slight bend IN
the track. both running at full speed
The smoking, express and baggage cars
were piled on the locomotives, penning
in the occupants of the smoker. Only
three of the half dozen persons in that
car escaped The others were shut in
and, If not instantly killed, were roast
ed to death and their bodies, along with
those of the engine crews, were entirely
consumed.
All efforts of the survivors to reach
the victims were unavailing. The flames
drove them back at every point
The temperature was 20 degrees be-
low zero and an icy wind was blowing
across the prairie. the point where the
wreck occurred being in a shallow cut,
affording no protection The injured
were without hats and wraps and suf-
fered terribly. By the united efforts OF
the survivors, the waycar was pushed
flames and the wounded were placed
on the hunks inside.
Two hours elapsed before any relief
was at nand- Then an engine arrived
from the east and pulled the waycar
to Irene, three miles distant.
A relief train was started from Rock
ford having on board Directors S. r.
Catlin, Henry RichingS, w. B. Helm
and Agent E. W. Brown. 1t arrived at
the scene of the wreck twenty minutes
later In the N meantime, the injured had
been brought back from Irene in the
Waycar and were transferred 70 the re-
lief train and brought to Rockford All
the injured are doing well except H. G.
Wellman. of Chicago, who is in a crit
1cal condition.
Conductor Quinlan, of the passen-
ger train, was able to talk of the wreck.
He said:
we were trying to make up lost
time when suddenly there was a crash,
throwing US all to the front of the car.
l managed to clear myself from under
the seat where was thrown, and, find
ing two men close by tried to release
them. This 1 was unable to do and as
lhey did not respond to my calls /
escaped through window. being
scorched by the fire as I crawled out
so quickly did the flames spread AS [
remember, there were eight men in the
car and I find that only two of them
got out The rest were doubtless burn
ed in the wreck"
peculiar circumstance of the acci-
dent was that all the killed and injured
were men. There We're four women
and little girl on the passenger train
put an OF them escaped without serious
injury
Mrs a. Williamson, of Elyria- O.
with her little daughter, 8 years old.
was asleep in the coach. She was
awakened by the collision. and grasp
Ing the little girl, plunged through a
window, sliding out over the wreckage.
Sne was not injured in the least nor
was the child They are here with rela-
tives
In their stories of the disaster all of
those who escaped from the wreck dwell
upon the horror of the fire and the ra-
pld1ty with which the Wreckage was
eaten up by the flames. Almost in
Stantly after the first terrific crash an
oil car close to the freight engine ex
ploded, the oil adding fuel to the flames
and causing a most terrifying spectacle
TO the horror of which was added the
groans and cries of the diving men who
were pinned down in the wreck 49,
met death in the flames that so o1licl<Iv
consumed nearly every vestiee of the
i'll fated trains.
Persons who were attracted - 49,
spot by the noise of the collision ana
the names OF the blazing cars were nm
able TO render the unfortunate victims
any assistance as the nre spread SO
rapidly tnat in less than fifteen min
utes the cars had been consumed
Chicago. Dec Isl w Higgins. GEN
eral superintendent of transportation of
the Illinois Central road. places the
blame Tor the disastrous wreck at
PerryV1ile. ILL.,. on the conductor and
engineer of the freight train They are
said by Mr.. Higgins to have disobeyed
orders, which were TO stop at Irene sew
erai nlies east OF Perryville- Mr.. Hig-
gins said of the wreck:
1T was bad wreck and a Iamentable
accident 1t was due to the fact that
the engineer and conductor of the
freight train failed to obey orders The