Waterbury Democrat., 1901-06-26

Bridge Gave Way and Engine Piung-
 ed to the Bottom.
 Peru, Ind, June 26.--Sixteen persons were killed and about fifty were seri- ously injured in wreck Of train No 8, the westbounds Wabash limited. nine miles west of this city, at 12:30 a. m., today The dead are all Italian immi- grants enroute to Colorado. Many of the injured undoubtedly will die.
 The dead:
 Sixteen Italian immigrants, names unknown, interpreter missing.
 The injured:
 Mrs William Cotton, wife of General Superintendent of the Ironmountain railway, badly bruised.
 Three children, names unknown, se- yerely bruised.
 David Agnew, Green Oak, Ind, right arm injured,
 John o'Mara, Denver, right leg brok- en.
 Unknown Italian, New York, right leg and right side mangled.
 Nicola Polasa, head and shoulder bruised.
 John Ickes. New York, head and body bufsed.
 Anna lube, St Louis, head badly buised
 Joseph Pozza, Trinidad, Colo, head and left foot injured.
 Herbert Menger, Hillsdale, Mich, face cut.
 Joseph Cruse. Italian. New York city, head, body and left leg bruised.
 Mrs Joseph Cruse, head and body bruised; will die.
 George R. Milner, Alton, III, left leg broken.
 John F. Williamson. Bowling Green, Ohio, news agent, both arms, both legs and right shoulderblade broken.
 E. P. Claugh, Toledo, O., head badly crushed, right shoulderblade broken
 J. B. Wood, Logansport, Ind, back bruised
 G. A. Thompson, Little Rock, Ark, head and body bruised.
 William Erode, Angola, Ind, face cut
 Clark Taylor, Logansport, Ind, head and body badly cut. Rev Father Wolsch. Loeansporf. Ind. right foot crushed. .......
 John Wilkins. Lafayette, Ind, right arm and shoulder broken.
 Walter Ladd, Wabash, Ind, right leg injured.
 Charles Flanagan, fagman. body bruised
 John Adams, fireman, head and shoulder lacerated
 J. S. Butler, head bruised.
 J. B. Lucks, Logansport, Ind, travel ing salesman, slightly bruised
 Twenty others whose names have not yet been obtained; severely cut and bruised.
 Two sections of train No 3, one com ing from Detroit and the other from Toledo, were consolidated in this city into train of eleven cars, making up the flyer for its journey 10 St Louis It consisted of a combination baggage and express, combination baggage and smoker, day coach, emigrant coach, three chair cars, three sleepers and the private car of General Superintendent Gotten of the Ironmountain railway. Having left this city one hour late, the train was speeding westward at high rate, when at point nine miles west, the engine plunged through a trestle which had been undermined by the re- cent heavy rains. The embankment on both sides of the little stream dropped at sharp degree, distance of forty feet Owing to the momentum of the train the engine appeared to leap near ly across the abyss, plunged into the soft earth on the opposite side ana fell back to the bottom Engineer Butler and fireman Adams were thrown from the cab but not seriously hurt. The express car and the first chair car were telescoped. The emigrant car followed by two chair cars. went down on the left side of the track and the first sleeper pitched forward upon the mass of debris. It's windows and trucks were broken, but none, of the occupants was injured. The remain ing cars also left their trucks, but were not badly damaged. 1t was in the emigrant and the day coaches that most of the deaths and injuries oc- cured
 Heavy foliage lined the banks on both sides of the culvert, the approach to which was over a reverse curve
 There was absolutely no means by which the engine crew could see the impending danger. In fact the engine Iau out uDOu tue lIcSlAc DGlOEt tue structure gave way. The night was intensely dark. For a few minutes after the fatal plunge and dreadful roar of crashing timbers, a deathlike stiffness prevailed which was only broken by the cries of the injured.
 Trainmen caught up their lanterns and rushed to the neighboring farm houses for assistance. Telephone messages were dispatched to this city. and every physician was hurriedly taken to a special train which carried them to the scene. The injured were piled aboard the cars and brought to the general hospital in this city, where everything possible was done to ameIiorate their condition. Many operations were necessary. The most notable of which was the one perform ed on John Williamson, the news agent, lad of 14 years. Both the boys arms and both his legs and the right shoulderblade were broken. Un- der the surgeons knife the lad bore up wonderfully dnd possibly may recover.
 For time after the resucers reach ed the scene of the wreck little could be done in the way of removing the | dead Hundreds of tons of twisted l iron and broken timbers rested uDoR