The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1903-11-27
Awful Wreck Near fremont, Ill,
Caused by Conductors Neg
lect to Obey Orders.
THIRTY-TWO REPORTED KILLED
and SEVENTEEN OTHERS INJURED
sixteen of the Dead Mangled Beyond
Recognition List of the Identi-
fed Victims-All Were Members of
q Work Train Another Report
Says Dead Number Twenty.

were reported killed and IL injured IN
head-end collision between a west
bound freight and work train on the
Big Four railroad between Mackinaw
and fremont at 2: IS o'clock Thursday
afternoon. Up to the present time the
bodies of 26 victims of the wreck have
been taken from the mass of debris,
which is piled 80 feet high on the
tracks, while five yet remain buried
under huge pile of broken timber,
twisted and distorted iron and steel. On
bodies of the victims, cut, bruised and
mangled in a horrible manner. So far
Is only have been identified, the re-
naming being unrecognizable even by
those who knew them and are aware OF
the fact that they are among the dead.
All the dead and most of the injured
were members of the work train, the
crews of both engines jumping in time
to save their lives.
Met in Deep Cut.
The collision occurred in deep cut,
at the beginning of a sharp curve,
neither train being visible to the crew
of the other until they were within
so feet. The engineers set the brakes,
sounded the whistles and then leaped
from their cabs, the two trains striking
with such force that the sound was
heard for miles around. A second after
the collision the boiler of the work
train exploded with terrific force.
throwing heavy iron bars and splinters
of wood to a distance of 200 feet.
The Victims.
The following is list of the dead
who have been identified:
Robert King, aged 43, fremont, wife
and three children.
Thomas Troy, so, fremont, single.
William Eads, 80, fremont, wife and
three children.
Charles E. Meyers, so, Bloomington,
wife and five children.
George Smith, SO, of Bloomington,
wife and three children.
George Harmon, SO, Bloomington,
wife and four children.
John Doran, aged SO, Bloomington,
single.
John Smith, 80, of Bloomington,
single.
Fred Bachman, "a, of Danvers, sin
gle.
John Shaw, aged %, Mackinaw, sin
gle.
Stephen Cutter, aged %, Mackinaw,
single.
A. M. Long, Leroy.
Frank Lucas, Leroy.
Sam Smith, Leroy.
Amos Smith, Leroy.
Sixteen unidentified dead, bodies
mangled beyond recognition.
Failed to Obey Orders.
Conductor John w. Judge, of Indian
apolis, who had charge of the freight
train, received orders at Urbana to
wait at Mackinaw for the work train
which was due there at 2: 40 p. m. In
stead of doing this he failed to stop.
The engineer of the work train, George
Becker, had also received orders to
pass the freight at Mackinaw and was
on the way to that station. The work
train was perhaps five minutes late
and was running at full speed in Or
der to make up time. When about
two miles from Hinert and entering
cut, both engineers saw the ap-
preaching trains and realizing that ii
was impossible to stop, they threw on
the emergency brakes, whistled twice
and then leaped from their cabs The
two trains, both heavily loaded and
going at full speed, crashed together
Only Twenty Reported Killed.
Another report from the scene of the
wreck reports the wreckage as entire
ly cleared away and trains again run
ming over the Big Four tracks. The
list of casualties has been considerably
exaggerated. A total of Is bodies were
recovered, many of them in a horri-
bly, mangled condition. Of these 10 all
but three have been identified. The list
of injured numbers IA, who were placed
in Bloomington and Peoria hospitals.
Two of the injured have since died,
bringing the total number of deaths
to 20.
Reports to the President.
DIoc CHI in fo