Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1903-12-17

propped up by pillows in a room at the
Monroe hotel, he gave an account OF
the wild scene when thefcars were
thrown from the track and crashed
against the bridge over Cedar Creek.
II was sitting near the center on the
north side of the first chair car. d.
rectly in the real of the smoker said
MI. Browning, when without the
slightest warning I felt the jar of the
cars running on the ties, and the next
moment heard a d%eafening crash as
the bridge was struck. l grasped the
seat behind me when the cars left the
track. and was braced for the terrific
shock, but even then l was thrown into
the aisle, and saw the seat directly in
front of the one I was sitting on
smashed into fragments. l crawled out
to the door, avoiding the flames,
which at once sprung up, caught my
clothing while / was trying to escape,
and I did not know that / was injured
until l attempted to leave the burning
car.
ct was an awful sight. The rear
cars Immediately caught fire and soon
almost the entire train was in flames.
The thought that helpless women and
children were imprisoned in the burn
ing coaches while we were powerless
to help them make the scene more ter
rible.
Passengers Rescue Injured.
The passengers who were not injur-
ed Immediately set to work in an at
tempt to rescue those who remained in
the burning coaches and the Pullman
car porters Joined in this work. 1t
was almost impossible, however, to
get to the burning cars, lying on their
sides against the bridge and surround
ed by a sea of flame. That so many
escaped from the smoking car and two
chair cars is no less than a miracle.
The occupants of the Pullman sleep
ers and the dining car did not suffer
much from the wreck. All the passen-
gers had finished breakfast and had
retired to the Pullmans when the crash
occurred and although all were thrown
from their seats none were injured
but the two cooks and two porters who
were eating breakfast in the diner.
This car felt the shock harder than
did the two Pullmans in the rear and
the Pullman crew were thrown to the
floor in a shower of table ware. None
of them were seriously injured, how
ever.
Within a short time after the wreck
physicians at Ottumwa, Abba and
Charlton had been notified and special
trains were secured to take them al
once to the scene of the wreck. The
physicians who were at the scene OF
the wreck yesterday working nearly al
day with the injured are: Drs. D. G
Brockman, A. o. Williams, S. A. Spill
man. M. Bannister and S. L. Hauck
Burlington Voluntary relief physician
of this city; Drs. H. G. Eschbach, S. t
Gar, G. B. Powell, Jr, DIR. T. e. Clutch
Lessinger, of Mt. Pleasant.
Fatalities Exaggerated.
AS is usual, when a wreck occurs
the number of fatalities was great,
exaggerated. 1t was reported on TIL,
streets Sunday that there were from
five to nine killed in the wreck. Will,
the list of injured, according to report
was a long one. There was goot
grounds for the belief that the repor
that but three were killed and nine in
jured was under-stated, as the repor
that five OF the cars were in flame,
gave reason for this belief.
An Unfounded Report.
A man named Franklin, who ha,
been employed on the same extra gan.
with Thomas Beatty, who persisted II
the flames, was thought to be amoni
the dead, but 1t was later learned tina
he was not on the train. A. j. Davis, o
Lucas. the foreman of the extra gam
in which Beatty and Franklin were EN-
49,