The Minneapolis journal., 1903-03-10
People Resembling Human Torches
Run Down the Road Many
Bodies Cremated.

90HN 501IN Nc MeTkEAnY, sEap -.
MICHAEL DR1scoJ.I o.
WALTER JACKSON, 49,
RICHARD CONNELL, 10.
HERMAN -BoL,.MAN, is.
RAFELO QuARINTo.
CARMEN <SITLIANO. s=-r
MARTIN GALLAGHER, all of Oean.
HENRY GOMDER, Is years old, Boardmans-
INJURED.
The injured at the general hospital are:
James Mcdonald. 1e years old; limbs badly
burned. ,...
Richard Mcdonald, his brother; badly burned.
leg fractured. .+ ~
James McCready, Is years DID, burned about
face and legs. ~ - - .. 1J-.-5
Walter jackson, il years old: burned about
back, chest, face and hands; inhaled flames; may
die. ~. @l% = ~sz
Son Of Yardmaster Sullivan. .-....@
Glen Cole, East Clean, struck by flying splin-
ter. burned
Two Blackwell boys of Bordenville.
Eert Miller of Bordenville. seriously burned.
Three men badly burned; did not leave
at hospital: sent to their homes.
Dozens OF others were burned. but none se-
riousy. ....-z- Is
The First Explosion.
About 8 o'clock in the evening the train
was wrecked. An Erie freight train,
west-bound broke in two on the hill two
miles north of the city. At first the for
ward part of the train, released of all the
weight of the cars behind, shot forward
with increased speed. Brakes were ap-
piled and the front portion of the train
was brought almost to a standstill at the
iron bridge across Olean creek. The rear
cars gathering momentum as they came Z
down the Hill, crashed into the. forward
part Of the train. Most Of the cars In
| the train were tank cars filed with re-
.fneds oil or gas6lene. They weighed
thousands Of tons and the impact was
fo.vs Sf4 n ofs fos,,1-5 yrrrIaf
| fire soon after the collision. The exact
cause Of the fire is not known, but it is
| supposed to have started from a spark
| struck from the grinding pieces of iron:
| in the Wreckage. In a few minutes an
other car Of gasolene caught fire and burst
| into flames, with a terrific report. Por-
| tions of the iron domes of the cars were
! hurled a distance Of several hundred feet.
The flames shot high up in the air, pre-
senting a brilliant spectacle. In this
| early accident, SO far as can be learned,
| no one was injured.
| A large crowd quickly gathered. Hun
dreds Of people from Olean North Olean
land the surrounding country side gath
| cred to watch the brilliant play Of the
| flames.
The Second Explosion.
For two hours the people stood nassed
together, and as the heat became less in
! tense. the crowd began to edge a little
o'clock some Venturesome boys ap-
preached to within a few hundred feet OF
the burning debris. -.
II Suddenly there was terrific explosion.
Great masses Of white flames shot hun
dreds of feet into the air and literally
rolled down the banked sides of the track
into the gully, where the spectators were
standing. Men and boys fell before the
) wave of white light to rise no more. Huge
r pieces of iron were hurled through the air,
I>S, 1,r1s$
score. Some managed to scramble to
their feet and get away, but others lay
; still in death. ..
The scene Of agony and horror at that
moment was indescribable. veritable
rain of fire came down upon the crowd.
Men and boys with their clothing mass
of flames ran shrieking down the track,
some of them falling to the ground I'M
conscious, while others grovelled In the
ditch or jumped into the creek in an en-
deavor to put out the fire that was con-
| suming them. Many Of those over
wheln1ed by the flames dropped where
they stood and did not move again.
Attempts at Rescue.
AS soon as telephone could be
reached all the doctors >in the city were
summoned and the ambulances were called
out Express wagons and other vehicles
were pressed into service. In the mean
time those in the vicinity Of the wreck
who escaped injury made valiant Efforts
. | to rescue the wounded who were still y-
ing within reach Of the flames. Boys
, were burned to death before their fathers
| ewes while the latter stood helpless to
save them. Men SO badly injured by the
fytne pieces Of iron that they could not
move, laid In the gully with the flames
> rolling down upon them until they per-
ished.
2 Nothing could be done to check the
flames which began to die out about mid
night A short distance west OF the iron
:. bridge line was established beyond
(which no one was permitted to pass as one
of the burning cars was still thought to
: be in danger of exploding.
It was about o clock in the morning
when Deputy Sheriff Osterhout called for
volunteers to remove the dead and ln-.
. jured Three times as many as were
, called for stepped forward and the grue-
: some work was begun In a short time
:. fifteen bodies had been recovered and laid
beside the track. Some of them were SO
badly burned and distorted as to lbo
scarcely recognizable. Several bodies
= were found in the ditch. The body Of one
- hoy was seen too close to the flames to
. be approached and In a short time it was
= burned to ashes. 1t is believed others
: were also incinerated. When the last body
had been rescued the stretcher bearers
formed a procession and started down the
: track toward the ambulances. The
: crowds fell back as they approached and
opened a passage for them. The only
( sound that broke the stiffness while the
6 head of the procession filed past was an
occasional sob or shuddering Oh
!. Dead Are Hard to identify.
The dead arrived in the city about 8
to'clock and we're taken to undertaking
s establishments to be prepared for burial.
It will be impossible to identity some OF