The Minneapolis journal., 1903-12-28
PERE MARQUETTE WRECK
WORST DISASTER IN THE HIS
TORY OF THE ROAD-WIND
BLEW OUT SIGNAL LIGHT.

Grand Rapids, Mich, Dec. 2S.-
Careful revision to-day Of the list of
the dead in Saturday nights wreck on
the Pere Marquette railroad at East
Paris show a total Of nineteen VIC
TINS instead of twenty-five, as re-
ported last night. To-day's investi-
cation and revision shows that Allen
H. Well of Big Rapids, Peter W. Vie
rengo of Grand Rapids, and a man
named Peterson, or Thompson, of
Sioux City, Iowa, who were included
in the list of the dead, We're not killed.
A mistake was also made in the name
of F. M. Gillett of Portland, one Of
the victims 1t should have been Will
liam G. Smith Of Portland. The mis-
take arose from Smiths middle name
being Gillett. The death list Of nine
teen is declared to be correct by the
Pere Marquette officials who have
charge of caring for the bodies. There
We're no further deaths up to noon
to-day among the injured in the hos
pltals and all were reported to be
doing as we'll as could be expected.
There were no further deaths at the
hospitals last night among the in
jured, and it was said to-day that
there was no immediate prospect Of
any of the injured succumbing. Only
one Of the twenty-five dead still re-
mains to be identified. man with the
Initials A. ]. X. on his cuff. but With
~ oIlA0A 4llal Wy NAleiA W Aueli'1AS
him.
The Dead.
Mr.. and Mrs. J. L. Baldwin, Multi
ken, Mich; Louis Baldwin, their son;
Lester Williams. Lansing, Mich; Mrs
Daisy Giles, Lowell Mich: Burt N.Y.
ers, Grand Vile, Mich; Walter Jordan,
Grand Rapids, Mich; Joseph Hulm,
colored, Windsor, Ont; Austin I. Wag-
er, baggageman, Detroit, Mich;
ri
No. 6: Charles A. Devine, Grand Rap
ids, Mich; William Heinrich, Detroit,
baggageman; William G. Smith,
Portland. Mich; Frank Burns. De-
troit, Mich, fireman No. 5; George
Palmer, Detroit, Mich, American Ex-
press agent No 6; William Smith, Sar-
anac, Mich; E. F. Coykendall. Lake
Odessa, Mich; A. F. May, car repairer
Grand Rapids, Mich; one unidentified
man.
Details of Disaster.
1t was the most disastrous wreck
IN the history Of the Pere Marquette
system, and, instead Of being caused
by mans carelessness or mistake, 1t is
charged to the high wind which ex-
tinguished the red signal light in the
order board at McCord's station, where
the west bound train was expected to
stop and receive new orders.
Two minutes before the train rushed
by McCOrd's station, the light was
burning, says the operator, but in that
brief interval the blizzard which was
raging extinguished it and Train No.
flashed by the station to crash into
eastbOund Train No. near East Paris.
The trains which were two Of the fin
est on the system, were reduced to a
pile Of broken and twisted timber and
metal, with dead and injured pinned
down and crushed by the fragments.
AT Terrific Speed.
The westbound train was travelling
down grade at the rate of sixty miles
an hour. The eastbound train was
climbing the hill at speed of forty
miles an hour. The former carried
probably seventy-five passengers, while
the latter is believed to have been
carrying at least 1875 persons. The
two trains collided at about the middle
Of long, sweeping curve, three-quar-
ters Of a mile west Of East Paris. On
the inner side Of the curve is a high
embankment, which prevented q view
Of the track ahead. 49, --- ~
When the engines met one turned
completely over and lay with its nose
in a direction opposite to that in which
1t had been travelling. The other
climbed the wreckage, it's boiler torn
from the trucks, standing erect in the
center Of the debris.