Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1903-11-11
Special Lafayette Train Strikes
Coal Cars Entering In
dianapolis.
Coaches Holding College Boys Are
Smashed and Hurled Down
Steep Bank.

.
more others in total Of 1900 players
or "rooters" on special train were in
jured in terrific collision on the Big
-Four Railway while entering Indianapo-
lis Saturday morning. The students
special from Lafayette ran into a coal
train at Riverside Park. crushing TO
splnters a coach containing seventy stu
dents and friends, telescoping a second
coach and hurting 1t down a 15-foot en-
bankment with its 100 occupants. and
upsetting aud smashing the third coach.
In the tangled masses Of twisted iron
and broken wood the victims were man
ged, beheaded or held prisoner till res
cpers could chop hem out. As fast as
the willing boys id men extricated the
eorpses the uncor ,eious and less serious
~ injured, and carried them TO adjacent
grass plots. the girls and women among
the excursionists lent their aid in minis
tering TO the sufferers. Holiday dresses
were stained with blood, but no one
thought Of them. Agonizing groans filed
the air aud these came no less from the
/ injured than from the more fortunate,
for all were close friends.
The collision took place Mt 1920
o'clock, while the students were enter
ing the cit5 for the football game be
tween Purdue and Indiana universities
for the State championship. y switch
engine was backin cut Of coal cars
on the main track at a gravel pit, where
deep cut obscured the track ahead of
each engineer Blame for the disastrous
collision has not get been placed
I'VE had no orders to vacate the
track" said Lon Akers, conductor of
the freight train. The fault If there
is any, cannot fall on our shoulders. We
have orders TO get out of the way Of reg
uIar trains. No orders were given US
that Il special was coming in"
Names Of the bead.
Following is the list Of the dead:
Coats. ]. o., Berwiu Pa.
Drollingcr. Gabriel S., Lafayette Ind.
substitute; beheaded
FUR, Charles, yeedersburg. Ind,
guard.
CRUDE. Charles, Butler. Ind, substi-
tute player
Hamilton. W. D.. Lafayette, center
rush.
Hamilton. Jay, Huntington, Ind. sub
stitute.
Howard, n r.. Lafayette, president
OF the Indiana Laundrymen's Associa-
ton
McClair. Patrick. Chicago, trainer
Powell. r. j., Corpus Christi, Texas,
end player
Price. Bert, Spencer. Ind. substitute.
Robertson, f. G.. Indianapolis, assist
ant eoacs and captain Of team TWO years
ago.
Roush. Walter l., Pittsbure, Pa, sub
stitute.
shaw. G. L.. Lafayette. Ind.
Squihb, Samuel, Lawrenceburg, Ind,
substitute
Truitt, Samuel Noblesville, Ind, sub
stitute.
Details of the Collision.
The special train bore the Purdue foot
ball team--professors. students and
''rooters altogether nearly
1900 1t consisted Of twelve coaches
and was running as the drst section at
high speed
In the first coach back Of the engine
were tie Purdue football team. substi-
tute players and managers. Three play
ers. the assistant coach. trainer and sew
en- substitute players OF the university
team were killed and every one Of the
ffty-three other persons in the car were
either fatally or seriously injured
From the twelve coaches were coming
the Joyous cries Of leo rooterS for Pur-
due clad in gala dress, with colors
streaming, while In the front coach sat
twenty grent muscular fellows. on whom
the hopes OF q brilliant victory on the
gridirou was confidently placed.
Around curve nj the Eighteenth
street cut Engineer ". H. Schumacher
found directly In trout OF him the freight
engine aud coal cars moving slowly from
4 switch leading out Of the gravel pit,
He reversed his engine and jumped.
The crash hurled the passenger engine
and three front coaches against the steel
freight cars loaded with coal that plowed
their way through and buried under a
PIE Of wreekage weighing many tons
fully sixty college boys
The frst ear, in which were the play
ers. was completely demolished. the roof
being torn away and landing scross a car
OF coal. while the body Of the car was
reduced TO kindling wood against the
side OF the steel freight ear. The second
coach. containing the baud musicians.
was partly teleseoped while the third
/ coach was OVERTURNED and hurled down
! the 15-foot emhaukmeut The other
/ coach g did not leave the track
/ President Stone OF the university. with
I has FAMILY, was in the 9Th coach and
was not injured.
Girls Assist the Dying,
Immediately after the shock the pas
{ sengers, men and women, began the
I frantic work of tearing away thc wreck
J age and pulling ont dead and dying class
mates snd fraternity brat, rs. The
/ young women, dressed in bright colors
I for the holiday. performed heroic work
A general alarm was sounded and ev-
/ cry assistance the city Coul3 afford was
( rush ID to the wreck, which was three
/ miles from the business center. Surgeons
I dashed up in automobiles, FIRE wagons.
+ anlbulanceS. express wagons, undertsk
I ers' vehicles, private conveyances and
/ even delivery wagons were sent 70 carry
/ away the dead aid injured. While these
| we're being ~ried TO the u,orgues and
I hospitals the work OF tearing away the
wreck and rescuing those pinned beneath
went on