Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1901-11-29
ABOUT EIGHTY ARE nan.
Appalling Accident ON Wabash p.,,
road in MICHIGAN ail'

IOdu Ill mlCnlGdn
Detroit, Mich, Nov. 2s.-Two Ia.
lily loaded passenger trains on a.
Wabash railroad collided head-on
full speed one mile east Of Sal. ~
the second station west of Ad.;S
The westbound train of two
loaded with immigrants and bnrnas'
with the result of awful loss 90 ~
and fearful injuries to a ma ioritv !.
it's passengers. The eastbound ~. y
the Continental limited, suffered -
scarcely less degree. The traoi. ~
the vicinity of the wreck was strsn. ~
with dead and dying. 'ie"a
The track at the point where A..
collision occurred was straight ana
at first the officials could not unaa
stand how the accident could ban-
happened. No. 10, which ordina ::
due to leave Detroit at $3.50 o,c,o,i'
was two hours late, leaving at 10"
The two trains met at Montpelier n
according to schedule, but No. 4 bs,s
orders to meet No. 3 at Seneca. rha
blame is therefore placed on the cna
ductor or engineer of No. f.
Had this train been held at Senaoo
the accident would not have occurrs5
The train was due at Seneca at 6.4a
according to the change in the scbeS,'
ule, but apparently orders to ws;.
were disobeyed and the probablit;as
are that the true story will never ha
told, as the train crews undoubtedI,,
met instant death.
The trains came together one mill
east of Seneca, under a full head ~
steam. All but the two rear coacbes
on No. 10, the westbound train, wera
demolished and the coach on No 4
was telescoped. Five of the cars -
train No. Is caught fire and are st1
burning.
The loss of life is estimated at Inn
on this train. The loss of life on No
4 is said to be twenty-five. Engine
No. SO of train No. 13 exploded and
engine 600 on No. turned over into
a ditch.
Detroit, Mich, Nov. 29.-When night
fell over the scene of Wednesdays
awful calamity on the Wabash rail
road near Seneca, Mich, those who
had been Investigating the disaster
had found nothing to altar the esti-
mat of about eighty lives lost as a
result of the collision.
Superintendent George M. Burns Of
| the division on which the wreck oc-
Cured insists that the estimates are
too high.
II do not consider" said he, chat
the total death list will exceed
twenty"
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 it is
considered that the fragments Of
other bodies, now in the morgue at
| Adrian, will account for many more
| han the twelve dead necessary to
make up superintendent Burns es-
| innate of twenty. In addition to the
comparatively few fragments recov-
| cred and sent to the morgue, those
| Who were early on the scene say that
| many more pieces were discovered
which crumbled to powder while they
we're being removed.
| The Detroit newspaper men who
were at the scene of the wreck ani
loaded with immigrants and other
say that the official list does not beal
out the statement of the passengers
| nor evidence of the horrible loss O
life which they witnessed at the spo
| where the accident occurred.
The Free Press say that the loss O.
life was in round numbers 100 ane
! that the statements made by the
italian immigrants on train No. !;
bear out this claim. These immi
grants say that there were about 12j
of their nationality on the train and
that only about twenty-five of them
escaped. While there are only ten
of them known to be dead it is as
serted that the other ninety were
&nmo2ete1S i<.e-ioecsstess ,ssasa That %aSs
| the removal of the wreckage the
bodies crumbled to dust which was
scattered by the wind which swept
across the country. If the names OF
| these dead are ever known it will be
when friends make inquiry for them
and in many instances this seems
highly improbable.
AIRAN MARCuEC IN C0I On