The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-29
EIGHTY LIVES LOST
TERRIBLE DEATH TOTAL OF THE
WABASH WRECK.
ONLY FOURTEEN KNOWN DEAD
MANY FRAGMENTS CRUMBLED TO
POWDER WHEN REMOVED.

| Supt. Burns Considers the Estimate
Too High-Says Death List VIII
Not Exceed Twenty, but All the
Evidence Is to the COntrary-Ex-
act Number of Italians Aboard the
Immigrant Train UnLnOwn-COr-
oner viii Begin Inquiry Into the
Disaster To-day.
| Detroit, Nov. 2S.-When night fell
over the scene of yesterdays awful
| calamity on the Wabash Railroad, near
| Seneca, Mich, those who had been in
vestigating the disaster had found
nothing to alter the estimate of about
eighty lives lost as result of the col
| lision. Supt. George NJ Burns of the
| division on which the wreck occurred
| insists that the estimates are toe
high.
II do not consider said he, that
the total death list will exceed twen-
| ty."
However, in support of the larger
estimate, it is pointed out that there
are now fourteen passengers known to
be dead. The bodies of eight of these
have been recovered and 1t is consid-
cred that the fragments of other bodies
now in the morgue at Adrian will ac-
count for many more than the twelve
dead necessary to make up Supt.
Burns estimate of twenty. In addi-
ton to the comparatively few frag-
ments recovered and sent to the
morgue, those who were early on the
discovered which crumbled to powder
while they were being removed.
Superintendent Burns said to the AS
sociated Press tonight that he was un-
able to tell the exact number of Ital-
ian immigrants aboard train No. 1S,
but thought there were not more than
fifty. Passengers on the train and
number of those who We're early ON the
scene, dispute this and say the num-
Der was nearer eighty.
Superintendent Burns has received
no report as yet from Ticket Collector
Eames of train No. 13 who probably
knows nearer than anyone else the
number of Italians on the train
Coroner Hamilton of Adrian this aft
erncon ernpanelled a jury and will be-
! gin an inquest into the disaster to-mor-
row morning
All the jurors are prominent in the
| business affairs of the little city of
| Adrian. No steps have been taken as
| yet toward the arrest of Engineer
! Strong, who, Superintendent Burns
says, is responsible for the disaster.
Scene of Desolatfon.
The scene of the holocaust presented
bleak and desolate appearance this
morning. Strewn along both sides of
the track for 500 feet were car wheels.
brake beams and such other parts of
the wrecked coaches as would not burn
Engines SO and 609 were lying in the
ditch on the right hand of the road,
veritable scrap heaps. Broken cars
some Of them daubed with the blood of
their last occupants We're scattered
about and being used as cushions by
those huddled around the open fires
about the scene. Farmers living in
the vicinity came to the scene, in many
cases bringing their wives and families
with them. After viewing the debris
scattered along the track they would
walk through the fields to the house
where Giovanni Folonora, one of the
immigrants who escaped from one of
the burning cars, was tossing on a bed
and muttering in his native tongue.
the scene last night from Adrian, six
of the cars in train No. 13 were burn
ing so fiercely that the relief party
could not get within several hundred
feet of them. They were the bag
gage car, the immigrant 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 had subsided sufficiently
scores of men began delving in the
mass. AS it was slowly turned over,
small crisp pieces of those who had
perished in the flames were occasional
ly found. The largest portion of any
body found was terribly distorted
trunk. The heat had been so intense
that the cars and their human freight
had been reduced to blackened pow
der that was blown about for hundreds
of feet by the wind.
Engineer Saw No. 13.
Although Engineer Strong of the
east bound limited saw the light of
the approaching train while yet some
five miles away and down a straight
track, he did not check his speed, be-
cause as he said he supposed num-
ber 13 was waiting on siding at Sand
Creek. After reaching Detroit to-day
Strong said:
II read my orders that ! was to stop
at Sand Creek. and evidently the other
crew read theirs to stop at Seneca. I
know that there were four Of us that
read my orders the same, the fireman.
conductor, brakeman and myself. /
lost my orders IN the confusion OF the
wreck, but the records will show what
they were and what the other crews
orders were.
when / first saw the headlight of
the other train IT was far enough away
so, / presume. / could nave stopped,
but you know how II Is with these eiec-
trio headNghts-you cannot tell any
thing about how far away they arc. II
was on a straightaway track, and
/ thought they We're waiting for me at
Sand Creek. They doubtless thought
we were stopped az Seneca, and so both
OF Us came on az fun speed.
I'VE must have been running nifty
miles an hour. When we saw that they
were on top o. an / saw ! must jump
There was a bridge right ahead and I
ala not want 10 fall in that, 40 ] wait
"a until we were past u and fell There
vas only "a slight embankmenf and the
crash came riElt after J lcf go !
rolled fully ~ rods. when 1 came 10
al 81