Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-11-04
Football Special, Carrying Team
and Students from Purdue, Meets
Disaster Near Indianapolis.
AWFUL ACCIDENT RESULTS FROM
COLLISION With Coal CARS
Latest Reports Place List Of Injured
at Over Fifty, Several of Whom
May Dfe-Team We're to Play Al In
diana University-SeveralP Players
Among the Victims.

cial train on the Big Four bearing 954
Lafayette passengers, including sew
eral hundred students of Purdue uni
versity, was wrecked at 1920 Saturday
morning near Riverside park, in the
edge of this city.
Fifteen dead have been taken from
the wreck and so passengers were in
jured, "a Of them seriously.
Among the dead are several men,
bers of the Purdue university football
team, which was to play Indiana uni
versity for the state championship
here in the afternoon.
List of the Dead.
The dead: w. H. CRUDE, substitute
player, Butler, Ind; Walter Fur,
member of the team, Texas; E. C.
Robertson, assistant coach; Walter r.
ROUGH, Pittsburg; L. E. Rush, Pitts
burg; r. J. Powell, Corpus Cristi,
Tex; w. D. Hamilton, center rush,
Lafayette; Gabriel S. Drollinger, be-
headed; Sam Squibb, Lafayette; Jay
Hamilton, substitute player, Hunting
ton, Ind; N. R. Howard, Lafayette;
Walter Robertson, Patrick MeClair,
Chicago, assistant coach, died at hos
pital; Samuel Truit, Noblesville, Ind,
substitute quarterback, died at city
hospital; G. L. Shaw, student, Lafay-
cite.
The injured at the hospitals, num-
bering over so, are being fully cared
for. Several are fatally hurt. Sur
geons have already amputated several
limbs.
Collide with Coal Cars.
The special train bore the Lafayette
rooters, numbering nearly 1000. It
consisted of II coaches and was run
ming rs the first section at high speed
At gravel pit switch near Eighteenth
street a switch engine with a cut Of
coal cars collided with the passenger
The passenger engine and first three
coaches were almost totally destroyed.
The first coach was crushed to splin-
tiers, the second telescoped and thrown
down an embankment Is feet high,
while the third coach was overturned
and thrown across the track There is
confusion as to what caused the acct
dent, each engineer insisting that he
had the track and did not know of the
other train. A deep cut prevented a
clear view of the track.
The crash of the two trains threw
the coal cars through the first two
coaches in which were many of the
football players and substitutes The
engine, two coal cars and two coaches
were crushed into a confused mass of
wreckage. Under this pile of debris
versity.
Work of Rescue.
The work of pulling out the dead
and injured was continued by the STU
dents and passengers, including many
girls from Lafayette, until surgical
help arrived. The hospitals and sur
geons' Offices were telephoned for aid
and physicians began rushing up in
automobiles and carriages.
The crash of the collision was heard
for blocks around and the news spread
like wildfire over the city. People hur-
ried from every direction, and women
who lived in the vicinity came pre-
pared with home remedies to assist the
injured. All the ambulances in the
city, including the dead wagons of the
various undertaking firms, the patrol
wagon and hose wagons of the fire de-
partment responded TO the alarm
Distressing Scenes.
The scenes following the rescue OF
the dead and injured were distressing
! Strong men wept and cried aloud when
they looked upon the faces of their
dead classmates or at the sufferings OF
their classmates and fraternity broth
ers. Here and there some one would
stoop and lift from the face of one
of the dead a handkerchief or piece oil
garment that had been placed over the
features by some friend. Many of the
girls rolled up their sleeves and knel
at the side of the stricken men anC
bathed their wounds until the services
of surgeon could be secured. The
women on the train did everything
possible |thAt their limited mean:
| "Ou1u pOl A111C. ANCollT al VI tIClu DIS
sisted in the work, and their soiled gala
day dresses when the work was owe
was mute evidence of their willingness
to do everything possible
All the young men killed were il
the first coach, which was reduced t,
kindling WOOD. They were found lyin;
tangled and bleeding with the iniure,
pinned against them. The coach he'll,
about 20 persons. Those who retaine'
consciousness when laid on the gras
urged, and in some cases demanded
that. their friends hasten to the tele
graph Offices and inform theif<parent
that they had escaped with fey
bruises
Several of the suffering fellows pite
ously pleaded that their names be nc
published, because of the anguish
would cause their mothers or fathers
There were genuine heroes among tn
wounded boys. Several of them RI
quested that the physicians first al
tend to the others and then return t
. them, ::
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