River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1903-11-05
ORDERS WERE
misunderstood.
as a Result, Terrible Disaster 0c-
ours Near Indianapolis.
COLLISION BETWEEN TRAINS
Special Carrying Players and spScta-
tors to Football Game Demolished
sixteen killed-Ten of ThesG
Members of Perdue Team.

sons were killed and two-score injured,
more than half of them seriously, in
the wreck of special train on the Big
Four railroad bearing nearly 1000 pas-
sengers, in the vicinity of Riverside
Park at II o'clock Saturday morning.
Ten of the dead were members of the
Purdue University football team, which
was to have played Indiana University
for the state championship here in the
afternoon, and nearly all of the people
on the train were residents of Lafay
cite. who had come to see the contest.
The disaster spread gloom over the
entire city and most of the state, and
for a time called to the scene OF chaos
all of the medical and surgical talent
of Indianapolis.
The Dead.
A list of the dead is as follows: J0-
seph Coats, substitute player, Lafay-
cite; G. S. Drollinger, beheaded; Wal
ter FUR, substitute, Corpus Christi,
Tex; w. H. CRUDE, substitute, Butler,
Ind. Jay Hamilton substitute player,
Huntington, Ind; w. ID. Hamilton,
center rush, Lafayette; N. r. Howard,
Lafayette; Patrick McClair Chicago,
assistant coach; r. J. Powell, Corpus
Christi, Tex; Bert Price, Spencer, Ind,
substitute; e. G. Robertson, assistant
coach: Walter Robertson; Walter II.
ROUGH. Pittsburg, substitute; G. L.
Shaw, Lafayette; Sam Squibb, Lafay-
cite; Samuel Truitt, substitute.
William Bailey, of New Richmond,
Ind, the sixteenth victim of the wreck,
died Sunday. Many others are in Sc
rious condition. There are "a in the
hospitals here, 33 of whom are stu
dents.
Fourteen dead bodies were shipped to
their homes to-day and the body of Jo-
seph r. Poyell, of Corpus Christi, Tex,
will be sent home this morning in
charge of Paul Sturm, an old classmate
living here. Bailey's body will be talven
home also to-day. H. o. Wright, of Pen
dleton, Ind, substitute player, has a
broken back and his recovery is not
thought possible. He is too weak to
permit of an operation.
Orders MisunderstOod.
A misunderstanding of orders is said
to have caused the wreck. The tracks
were not cleared for the special which
crashed into train of six loaded cars
while running at good speed in deep
cut near Eighteenth street and Holton
place. The sound of the collision was
heard for many blocks, and thousands
of people rushed to the scene of death,
suffering and frightful destruction and
disorder. The passenger engine and
the first three coaches were almost de-
stroyed. The first coach was crushed
to splinters, the second telescoped and
thrown down an embankment 15 feet
high, while the third was hurled
athwart the track. The coal cars were
commingled with the advance coaches,
and bodies of dead, dying and those
otherwise injured were lying about or
partly covered with wreckage, while
cries of agony resounded. The forward
cars were occupied mainly by the foot
ball players and other students. The
work of recovering the dead and in
jured was joined in by the passengers
of the rear coaches, aided by the peo-
Die who hurried to the scene in car
riages and afoot.
One Body Beheaded.
Fifty or more students were under the
huge pile of debris. One body was en-
tirely beheaded and others were SO mu-
tilated as to be hardly recognizable.
Two of the killed were brothers, the
Hamiltons. One lived at Lafayette, the
other at Huntington.
,.fr. IftNer Nf n
wreck were magnified, as there were
so many more mourners than ordinari-
ly Hardly a surviving passenger ON
the train but had relative or friend
among the victims, and not few citi-
Zens of Indianapolis on the ground
saw the mangled forms of those bound
to them by ties of blood or friendship.
Women tainted and men wept and
cried aloud as body after body of the
dead and dying was pulled from the
wreckage Many girls rolled up their
sleeves and knelt at the side Of the
stricken men and boys and bathed
their wounds until the services of
surgeon could be obtained. Dresses
donned for gala day were soiled In
the work or torn to shreds to make
bandages for the suffering. Several Of
those sorely wounded pleaded that
their names be not published because
of the anguish it would cause their
parents or relatives There were gen
uine heroes among the wounded Some
of these asked that the physicians first
attend to the others worse injured and
then return to them.
Bodies Badly MangIed.
The body of Gabriel S. Drollinger
was found almost beheaded under the
splintered remains of the first coach.
1t was rescued with difficulty owing to
the danger of the debris falling over
Under the overturned tender, and
crushed until they could with difficult
ty be recognized, were the bodies of
w. H CRUDE, substitute player, of But
Ter, Ind, and Walter Furr, of Corpus
Christi. Texas, member of the team.
The work of recovering these bodies
required The combined efforts of the
wrecking crew and many Ct the Guy
firemen and police.
MTCHETT AMEnTIC TTEMC