The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1902-06-27

Passengers Narrowly
!. - Escape. IA.
The Heavy Train Was Speeding
Along at the Rate of Seven. (
ty Miles an Hour.

The Chicago, St. Paul, Mime
apolis and Omaha railroad, fast
train, the Kansas City-St. Paul
''FIyer'' which left Saturday night
at 1 80 o'clock in the morning dash
ed into a broken switch point at
Ashton while running at a speed OF
seventy miles an hour.
The dead:
Clinton W. Bassett, of 800 Iowa
street Sioux City, fireman ;scalded to
death; lived four hours.
Cal J. Robinson of Council Bluffs,
mail clerk; crushed beneath his car
dead when found.
The injured
F. E. Weston, of St. Paul mail
clerk; scalded, probably fatally.
James A. Erskine, of St. Paul
scalded probably fatally.
Alvin Garfield SIS Virginia street
Sioux City, engineer; head badly
cut right arm broken, severe shock.
U. S. Thompson, of st. Paul mail
clerk; back hurt head cut; serious
CA. Hall, of St. Paul, clerk in
charge of mail car; hurt about back
and head; serious. u
A. z. Poole, of Minneapolis,
American Express company
messenger; hurt about the back,
badly shake up ;serious.
The accident occurred at a point
even with the station water tank.
This train never stops at Ashton.
which is town II miles north OF
Sheldon and z miles south OF
Sibley. The track here is straight
for six miles and it is nothing I'M
common for the FLYER" to make
the time it was making yesterday
morning. The train had been late
coming into Sioux City from the
south, and it lacked only a few
minute of midnight when it left the
joint Office, when it should have
pulled out at II :O5 O'Clock. Ashton,
according to schedule should be
reached at /. 10 o'clock. The time
Of the accident was 1870 o'clock.
Engineer Garfield had made up all
except twenty minutes Of the time
he was behind when he pulled out
of Sioux City. He was going like
the wind when his engine struck
the broken switch point.
The big machine turned complete
~ over so that it's front faced the
train it had been pulling. The mail
car was thrown into the air 80 that
it fell crosswise of the engine. The
express car, which was second in
the train, was hurled nearly clear
off the right of way. The third car,
a heavy composite smashed into the
mail car which was lying across the
engine, and split it.
The locomotive was stripped OF it
Jacket and dome, and it lays on it's
side a shapeless mass.
Behind the composite car were
two sleeping cars a chair car and
two day coaches. All of these ex-
cept the rear coach were thrown
from the track. The lights went
out and there was dire confusion.
AS soon as George Irteon, con.
ductor of the train could recover
from the shock he had sustained,
he ran ahead to the engine. Steam
was issuing in clouds from the
bursted boiler, and from the wreck
age of the mail car he could hear the
moan of the injured and dying
trainmen. Fireman Bassett was the
first man found. The poor fellow
was pinioned to the ground by a
side of the mail car. With one free
hand he was scratching away the
gravel SO that he could releae his
body. Ireton assisted him to get
loose.
Where's Dad9" Bassett asked, his
first thought being Of the veteran
engineer, Canfied. =
Before he could be restrained
Bassett in his awful agony and with
the flesh scalded off the the bones
in his arms, ran up to the little
depot, calling for dad" AS his
shirt was removed the flesh dropped
in chunks from Bassett's body. He
died in terrible pain upon cot in
the waiting room of the station:
Just before he died he said, "Boys,
I've made my last "trip" Several
l 1-l C;h1oV,