The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-09-03

SIX lives were lost and thirteen per-
| sons were injured in the wreck on the
Great Northern railway passenger No.
at Nyack, thirty miles west of Kalisp-
ell last night.
None OF the passengers was injured,
the fatalities having been confined to
employees of the railroad company.
The dead are: D. F. Downs, assfs-
tant general superintendent of the
Great Northern lines west OF Moneted;
Kirk Downs. his son, Henry Blair, cook
aboard the private car Of Mr. Downs,
and thirty-three Scandinavian laborers
! names unknown.
The injured are thirteen Scandina-
| Wan laborers. names unknown.
The wreck was caused by the break
ing In two of a freight train on the
steep grade OF a rocky mountain foot
hill. The rear end Of the freight tore
loose from the head end. dashed back
| ward down the mountain and crash
| ed into the rear end Of the passenger
| train which was just pulling out of the
| station at Nyack. The car attached to
eLS ASohi SIlO VI lllS pdSStHSSI was TIC
| private coach Of Superintendent Downs.
| He and his son, Kirk. and their cook,
| Henry Blair, were instantly killed. The
car just ahead contained forty-six
Scandinavian laborers en- route from
| Duluth, Mimi, to Jennings. They were
killed wholesale. Only thirteen were
taken from the debris alive.
|
lision, quickly destroyed the private
car, crematfng the bodies Of those with
| in The flames were quickly communf-
Gated to the car ahead. or rather to
what remained of it. and the bodies Of
| twenty-eight Of the unfortunate la
borers also were cremated.
| The third car from the rear also was
burned, but those within managed to
escape when the collision first occurred.
The fire continued to spread through
| the mass Of debris caused by the de-
struction Of the dozen or more freight
cars and their consignments of valu-
able freight.
Finally the passenger train was cut
| in two between the third and fourth
cars from the rear and the balance
| was drawn to a safe distance from the
fire. All telegraph wires on the poles
alongside the track were soon melted
and communication was thus cut off
soon after the collision. Physicians
| were taken to the scene from this city
and all traffic was, for a time, suspend
| ed while the wreck and train crews en-
deavored to rescue the bodies of the
dead and clear up the debris.
Spokane Washn., August 31.-Re-
ports indicate that the wreck on the
Great Northern, forty miles east of
| KaIispen, NJ 1ntana, was the worst
in the roads history, and one of the
most sanguinary in the annals Of Amer
lean railroading. Thirty-four lives are
lost and ten persons were injured.
Three of the injured will surely die,
and the others are in a serious condi-
tion. By heroic efforts, fifteen Of the
bodies were taken from the wrecked
cars. All the other victims were ere
mated. including Superintendent P. L.
Downs and his son T. Kirk Downs.
There is a heavy grade near the scene
of the wreck. Two engines had taken
a train of twenty-eight freight cars UP
this grade, and drawn off to take wa
ter. While doing this all the twenty
eight cars started down the grade
] The runaway train dashed down the
grade at frightful speed and crashed
into the rear of west bound passenger
No. 3. near the siding at Nyack, Super
intendent Downs private car was at
tached to the passenger, and next to
it was a day coach filled with railroad
laborers from Duluth. AS the runaway
train sped by the switch it struck a
caboose and day coach on the siding,
wrecking them. Fire Immediately
started from the oil lamps in the ca
boose. The point where the wild train
crashed into the passenger was several
hundred feet away and it was two and
half hours before the flames reached
the main wreck. Meanwhile frantic
efforts were made to take out the dead
and injured. The wreck was piled and
wedged into almost hopeless confusion
and in spite Of superAuman efforts the
flames burst through she wrecked cars
before the work was 03mpleted.
]. II. Blair, colored, cook, in Mr.
Downs car, was taken out alive, but
died in a few minutes. 1t was impos-
sible to get at the bodies Of Superin-
tendent Downs and his son. The run
away tore down the hill at lightning
speed, running the most severe curves
at speed of upwards of seventy miles
an hour. where regular trains barely
crawled along. With roar it burst
around the curve, jumped a split switch
which would have turned into side track