The sun., 1902-03-09

FIFTY MAY HAVE BEEN KILLED
DEATH Loss GROWS IN THE
SOUTHERN PACIFIC WRECK.

Most Of the Victims We're Burned to Death
They We're Pinned Down by the
Debris Gas Tank Exploded and Fire
Started Crowd Greets Relief Train.
I'll PAso. Tex. March s.-The list OF dead
who perished In yesterdays Cannonball
Express wreck on the Southern Pacific viii
probably foot up to at least fifty. The
names Of some Of the lost will never be
known. Wounded and pinioned In the
cars many unidentified passengers were
burned 80 that recognition will be impossi-
BILE Only two bodies, those OF Engineer
Mart and his fireman, have been recovered
up to this afternoon.
Wreck victims in this city are loud In
their praise OF Mr.. and Mrs. Thomas T.
Ryan Mrs. Ryan proved herself veritable
angel Of mercy to the injured. She
ministered TO the wants OF the stricken
sufferers as though they had been members
Of her immediate family, placing every
thing in her car at their disposal. She
supplied blankets to those who had lost
their clothing and furnished stirnulants
and nourishment to the injured.
Trains were running over the track
last night where the wreck occurred. BY
tomorrow the wreckage will be cleared
away. The theory now advanced is that
Engineer Mast lost control Of his engine
on the steep grade while running to gain
two hours lost time. 1t is thought that
the air brakes refused TO work when the
curve was reached and the great speed
Of the engine could not be checked
When the relief train left the scene Of the
wreck with seventy-five injured on board
the debris was still burning and any effort to
recover the bodies slowly being burned
would have been folly. The death list was
not compiled from names OF persons whose
remains had been actually recovered, but
from names OF missing furnished by rela-
tives or friends.
To-day Ell Paso is filed with wreck VIC
Tins The hotels are overcrowded and the
hospitals have all they can care for. A
few Of the injured are critically i'll, but
nearly all are expected to recover. -Four
thousand people awaited the coming OF the
relief train at the station. The Pullman
cars were crowded with the totally dis
abled and the day coaches contained those
whose were slightly injured. There was
hardly a complete suit OF clothing in the
entire crowd. Nearly all had lost their
hats and the ma jority OF those able to walk
had only blankets wrapped about them
Scarcely a man appeared but wore BAN
dages. Women were still hystericai and
several injured babes were to be seen.
dozen or more persons had to be carried
from the train OH litters.
j. W. Ramsey OF PEBBLES. Ohio, with his
wife and three children, occupying one OF
the tourist cars bound for Los Angeles,
succeeded in saving himself and entire
family by crawling through windows He
said the wreck awoke the people from their
slumber and the widest comnotion re-
suited. The cars were not smashed, but
remained intact. and few lives would have
been lost had il not been for the fire which
started quickly from the explosion OF a
gas tank He saw a babe burned TO death
IN one car and Judge White of Wisconsin
roasted in another.
At least nine injured persons in one car
were overtaken by the flames. The chair
car and smoker We're crowded and many
lives were lost there, for they were the
first 10 burn Nothing additional has been
learned as TO the cause Of the wreck, Pas
sengers think the engineer lost control of
his engine. The privs,e car belonging to
T. F. Ryan of New York and occupied by
himself family and servants. wos left last
night at Sanderson.