The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-27
i7 PERSONS ARE KILLED
Thirty-0ne Others Hurt. Some
 of Whom Will Die.
Officials Deny That Misunderstand- ing of His Orders by an En- gineer Was Responsible
 for the Collision.

Grand Rapids. Mich, Dec. 26.-Seyenteen persons are dead and s1 injured. sew eraI of them fatally. as the result of the collision early this evening of two pas senger trains on the Pere Marquette road one mile west of East Paris and six miles east of this city.
 The collision. which was head-on, was caused, according to statement issued 1 by the officials at the general offices in Detroit, by the high wind blowing out the red signal lamp at McCords, where the westbound train, No. 5, should have stopped and received orders to pass the eastbound train at Fox.
 The officials deny report that a mis- understanding of orders on the part of one of the engineers was responsible for the accident. According to the statement of one of the officials the trains were orig | inaIIy to have met and passed at Oak dale Park, but to help the eastbound | train. the dispatcher issued new orders, fixing Fox as the meeting place. Red Light Distinguished.
 The eastbound train received its orders to this effect and the westbound should have received this order at McCords. 1n- stead it rushed by this station and the operator there, after reporting this fact found. on going out to the platform, that his red signal lamp. which had been burn 1 ing two minutes before, was out. presum- ably extinguished by the high wind that was blowing.
 l Corrected list of dead: Engineer Charles A. Stoddard. Detroit; Willilm Heinrich, Grand Rapids; Charles A. De- vine, Grand Rapids; William Smith, farm CT, near Saranac. MiEh Allen H. Wells. Big Rapids, Mich; Peter ". Wierengo, Grand Rapids seven unidentified bodies of men: two woman and 2 boy unidenti- ned Fireman Edward Burns missing and supposed to be under the wreck. Thirty-one others, nearly all residents usg Michigan towns. injured. ~ 1s- 1 Among the injured are:
 i Charles West, Sarnac, Mich, skull frac- l tured, both legs broken, left hand torn of, probably fatally injured; George | Palmer, American Express agent east bound train. scalded badly, gashed on hand, injured about head and breast; Michael Malburge, Hart, Mich. badly | burned about legs, hands and breast by steam; Timothy Queley. Grand Rapids. | seriously injured about heck; J. T. Gould, Grand Rapids, injured about shoulders and hands: John Ross, Lansing, Mich, leg and arm injured; Lesler A. Williams, I lkg head and body; Rev. James Humphrey, badly cut about head; Mrs. H. R. Street. CT, Grand Rapids; Howard Miner. Grand 1 Rapids; w. J. Barber, Muskegon Heights, Mich; Henry Marcus, Presi- dent F. H. Marcus Company. New York city; F. B. Mood. Detroit, fireman; Mrs.
 H. Kent, Grand Rapids.
 The trains met with terrific crash the | baggage and smoking cars behind each l tnat ntl tn pile of kindling wood. The engines were completely wrecked. the boilers of that which had pulled the eastbound train be- ing torn completely from the running gear and standing perpendicuIarly in a ditch at the side of the track.
 Caught in Q Trap. Engineer Frank Waterman, who sur vived the catastrophe, says he and his fireman. E. M Moon, were caught like rats in a trap. He says he never saw the eastbound train. The crash and tine means of the injured were heard by near ! by farmers who rushed to the scene to lend assistance. No person occupying cars other than the baggage and smoking cars with very few exceptions was seriously injured. s
 Within two minute the uninjured male passengers and those of the train crews | who were not hurt had begun the work 
 itty of the Pere Marquette, who was on the train bound for Detroit and who es- capped with slight injuries, ran to the nearest telegraph office and telegraphed l for wrecking train and surgeons. Guid- ed by groans and cries from the wrecked cars, the reseuers by the light of lanterns delved into the wreckage and with fence rails and timbers tor levers pulled out the sufferers A special train bearing sur geons and officials was made up here in- mediately after the news was received and arrived at the wreck at 7:15 o'clock. Those | of the injured who had been extricated | were imediately taken into the train and given emergency surgical aid and the | officials joined in the rescue work. When all the injured had been taken out of l the wreck the hospital train was rushed back to Grand Rapids, where ambulances | were in waiting to carry them to hosplt- aIs. where all arrangements had beoD made for their reception. The uninjured passengers were also brought back here.
 Recovering Bodies.
 The first body recovered in the wreck age was that of Engineer Stoddard of the eastbound train. Close by was body so crushed that positive Identification was then impossible. but 1t was suppos- ed to be Stoddard's fireman. Edward Burns.
 Charles L. Chambers of Ionia, and John Post Of Clarksville, Mich. were found close together pinned down by tons of debris Chambers was conscious and urged the rescuers to extricate his unconscious companion. Post. The first efforts only succeeded in loosening the mass of debris so that it bore down heav- fer on Chambers who was suffering ago. nies. More powerful levers and more help CTS finally lifted the mass sufficiently so that the two men could be pulled out Post recovered consciousness only long enough to give his name and address on the hospital train.
 When the special train returned to Grand Rapids 1t brought five bodies in addition to It's load of injured. Rescuers claimed that they saw at least three more bodies under the wreclage but 1t would require derrick to extricate them. The Wreclrinng train ran fo Sha ucona aa