The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1901-12-04

but It was too late. The two trains
crashed together and the cars on the
the aid OF the injured were extremely
inadequate. AS soon as news of the
disaster reached Superintendent Burns
at Detroit relief train was dispatch
ed with a score or more surgeons
Farmers from near by and those who
escaped from the wreck alive made
heroic effort to rescue the less
fortunate. The condition of the wreck
was such that darkness made 1t almost
impossible to render Immediate aid.
Immediately after the collision the
six cars crowded with immigrants
burst into flames. The unfortunates
fought madly In their attempt to crawl
out of doors and windows, thus him
dering each other SO that the bulk of
them were unable to escape, and
those In the cars were slowly roasted
to- death. There was absolutely no
means at hand to fight the fire and the
agonized ,shrleks of the unfortunates
was appalling.
"It was veritable hell of fire." said
Victor @. Greenbaum of New York
city. who escaped with slight injuries.
"People who came hurrylng to the
scene from farm houses in that local
ity stood about the wreckage helpless
1y and held their hands to their ears
to shut out the frightful screams and
turned their eyes away because it was
more than they could bear"
HorrlfyIna Spectacle.
All of the cars of train 10 but two
were smashed or burned. OF the
eight coaches of train 4, only one car
was destroyed, q New York Central
day coach. From 10 to 20 of that
coach's passengers were killed. Two
died after being taken out None of
the occupants of the other coaches of
the east bound train were killed.
The scene Immediately surrounding
the wreck was terrible. In the semi
darkness illuminated by the glare OF
the flames, men stumbled about corps
es which fell from the ruins and
which after the fire were hurled nom
the debris. They lay along the track,
some covered by blankets which had
been brought by farmers who had
focked to the scene from the sur
rounding country. People came hurry
ing from the nearby villages and
these with the help of those who es-
capped on train No. did what they
could. The immigrants who were
lucky enough to get out alive We're I'M
able to speak English and could give
no idea approximately of the number
of people in each car
When the relief trains arrived, as
many of the injured as could be car
ried were taken to Montpelier, o.,
Peru, Ind, and to Adrian hospitals.
'EshT People Flock to the Scene.
People for miles around drove to
the scene of the collision Thursday, in
majority of cases bringing their fam
lilies with them.
When the first relief train arrived
from Adrian, six of the cars in train
No. 10 were burning so fercely that
the relief party could not get within
several hundred feet of them. These
were the baggage car, the emigrant
cars, two coaches and a chair car
There was nothing to do but stand
back and wait until the fire burned
itself out. 1t was past midnight be-
fore a search of the ruins of the burn.
ed cars could be begun. AS soon as
the heat subsidized sufficiently scores
of men began delvlng in the mass.
AS it was slowly turned over small
found. The largest portion of any
body found was a terribly burned
trunk Inside of two hours the iron
work OF the cars had all been hauled
into the ditch at either side of the
road. The first relief party on the
scene arrived from Adrian 55 minutes
after the accident and Immediately
began work on the second coach of
train No. 4, which was telescoped by
the collision and reduced to splinters.
The wreck of this coach was damned
into a space IA feet square. From
the ruins of the car the bodies of four
men and one woman were removed.
Victims Removed.
Train No. 8, which was waiting on
the side track at Sand Creek, having
followed No. 10 from Detroit, was run
up to the scene as soon as the acct
dent was reported there and on this
train practically all the injured from
the west bound train were loaded and
started for the company's hospital at
Peru, Ind. A relief train from Mont,
pelier, o., took more OF the injured
from the eastbound train and also
started for Peru with them. Pending
the arrival of these ambulance trains,
the injured as fast as they were extri-
Gated, were placed in two sleepers at
tached to train 10 which we're not
wrecked or taken to the house OF Ben
Huss, which is within 100 yards OF
where the collision occurred. At 3
o'clock. The bodies of the dead, to-
gether with the few awful fragments
recovered from the burning cars were
loaded aboard a car and removed to
the morgue at Adrian.
At 2 o'clock, the wreckers removed
the last piece of wreckage from the
tracks. 1t was engine 151. Although
considerably warped and bent its
wheels were still true enough, so that
they kept the track and 1t was towed
to the Seneca sidetrack.
NARROWING SCENES
Witnessed Among Those Awaiting tho
Homecoming OF Loved OnOs.
Detroit, Nov. 2TS.-At the Union
station in this city were many cpl.
sOdes. Relatives and friends of pas.
sengers who were known to have been
on the wrecked train besieged rail-
road officials with entreaties and in
quiries. One little girl waited for her
sister, Vida Degas of Tupperville, Ont,