The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-12-22
LATEST ACCOUNT.
List of Victims Growing Larger Each
Hour.

Hour.
San Francisco, Dec. 21.-The list of
fatalities attending the railroad COLI
sion at Byron Cal, last night is re-
ceiving frequent additions at the
Southern Pacific hospital in this city.
where twenty-five of the victims were
| brought. At 10 o'clock tonight eight
deaths were reported, beside those
killed outright. A telegram from Fres-
no announces the death tonight of d.
J. Vernon, another of the injured. This
made the total list of fatalities nine
teen.
Other patients are reported in criti-
cal condition. Tonight Richard Post,
medical student at the Affiliated col
leges. died of his injuries. He was
on his way to Fowler, Cal. to spend
the holiday vacation when he received
the fatal injury.
Mimi MagOWa, a japanese girl. was
SO seriously burned that death came
tonight TO her relief.s Every care and
attention is being given the unfortu-
mates at the hospital by the surgeons
and nurses but few are permitted to
receive friends or relatives.
Placing the Blame.
| As inquiry is progressing into the
cause of the collision new complex
ion is given to the origin of the dis
aster. Immediately following the meet
/ ing of the trains the superstition was
advanced that Engineer Mcguire of
the Stockton flyer was largely at fault.
/ Today's developments place the burned
and bruised engineer in a different
/ light. 1t is acknowledged that the leak
/ in the boiler of the "owl" engine de-
/ layed the progress of the train and
/ when it reached Byron there had been
/ considerable schedule time lost. When
Conductor William DOlan of the "Owl"
! stopped at Byron he found a freight
/ train standing on the other track and
/ he sought to secure its engine to sup
I plant the faulty one of the owl" 1t
I is asserted that considerable time was
/ lost in trying to arrange the transfer
! before the plan was found unavailing
/ and then it was decided to send a flag
man back to signal the approaching
/ local.
/ A significant statement is made by
/ w. NJ Moore a fruit merchant of San
/ Jose, who was in the neighborhOod on
/ business. At the time of the collision
/ Mr.. Mooae was on a wagon road near
/ the station at Byron. Across the open
/ field lying between him and the rail-
road tracks he had a clear view Of the
] local and the station.
Signal Came Too Late.
/ He saws that he saw man swinging
/ a lantern on the track and there was
| just about the distance of two tele-
/ graph poles between the lantern and
! the headlight of the fast moving en-
CINE Taking Mr.. Moore's statement as
! correct, there was a very limited dis
lance in which the flyer could be
stopped. 1t is reported that it was
/ travelling sixty miles and hour and
would require more than a quarter of
( a mile in which to come TO a halt. Both
/ Engineer Mcclure and Fireman Joyce
/ have made statements in which they
| declare that the brakes were put on
| and the engine reversed so that the
flyer slid along the tracks until it
! crashed into the standing passenger
/ train.
! The railroad company last night
made every possible arrangement for
the comfort of the injured and this
morning all of the sufferers were placed
on a train and conveyed to the COM
panys hospital in this city. On the
way here Miss Mabel Vezey, Miss
Mayer and Len Irwin brea tined their
last. and Robert Renwick and w. F.
Temple succumbed almost Immediately
after passing within the doors of the
! hospital. Tung Tai Gong. a Chinese
maid, was the next to be placed on
the fatal list. and later in the night
Richard Post and Mimi Aagowa passed
away.
AT IL p. m. Carl Mayer aged I. ex-
pired, making the twentieth victim.
D. ]. Vernon, who was taken to his
home in Fresno. died at tonight. His
son, who was also among the injured.
was reported to be in state of col
| lapse and pulseless.
AT the hospital at Il o'clock tonight
the statement was made that several
deaths were likely to occur before
morning Mrs. Mayer. whose little son
and daughter have died. is very low,
and her other son. about 20 years old,
is in a critical condition.
The condition of Stella Howard of
san Francisco is also exciting the ap-
prehensiOn of the physicians.
Sorrow at Fresno.
Fresno cal mo- o. rau - 80