The Saint Paul globe., 1903-01-28
CARS TORN TO PIECES,
WITH GREAT LOSS OF LIFE


lifted over the rear car. suffered the
most, for, some time before the flames
reached them from the car below and
behind them, they were enveloped in
smoke and steam, and it was here
that the worst scenes were witness ed.
The imprisoned ones begged for death
to end their agonies and implored those
who were laboring to get them free to
crush their heads with the axes they
were using to chop away the wreck
age.
1t is known that there are twenty
four dead in the wreck. Sixteen char
red bodies have now been taken out.
Eight dead were either recovered be-
fore the fire, or died after being TAX
en- out Of the wreck.
One passenger only was severely
hurt on the Royal Blue. He was walk
ing in the aisle of one of the cars
when the crash came and the impact
hurled him up into the air and side
wise across the heads of several per-
sons in chairs and then through a
window. One of his hands was cut and
he was severely bruised. He said he
was son of John. Wanamaker, of
Philadelphia. He did good work later
on after his hand had been bandaged.
A WeStfeld doctor went into the
wreck and bandaged and treated the
injured even before they were released.
Some or those he treated were after
ward suffocated or burned to death.
Just as the wreck occurred an east
bound train was approaching on track
2. Before it could be stopped the en-
gine crashed into the wreckage which
had been hurled onto the track, but it
was light stuff and the engine brushed
it aside and crushed part of 1t under
the wheels.
Startling Experience.
OF the twenty-four known dead only
one appears to be a woman, and there
is some doubt whether the body is that
OF woman. One of the rescuers re-
IateS an experience which startled him.
He had climbed onto the worst wrecked
car. The fire was burning below him.
There were two men there. One Of
them begged for a drink, and a bottle
of whisky was passed up. The injured
man grasped it eagerly and began to
drink. While clutching the bottle he
died. The rescuer took the bottle from
him and passed it to the other man.
but although he had been alive a few
minutes before, he was then dead.
The rescurer then started to get out,
intending to drop out of the window
AS he was climbing for a window he
knelt on a body and found 1t to be
that of a, child. On reaching down for
1T he was startled to find the child was
alive. The little one was taken out
apparently uninjured and is now in a
house at Westfeld.
Rake Out Arms and Legs.
Before the wreckage had cooled the
work Of getting out the charred bodies
began. Men attacked the heap with
poles and rods of iron taken from the
pile of debris and raked out several
who died will never be recognized, the
bodies being burned to a crisp.
Quick work was made in furnishing
train for the landing of the dead and
injured. Railroad men tore out the
iron frames of the seats in the spe-
cial train and laid the cushions in two
rows along the sides of the cars. These
were later supplemented by pillows
and mattresses from the Pullman
coaches of the Royal line.
The engineer of the express, John S.
Davies, was not the regular engineer,
He was a relief engineer for the fast
train and had been put on in the alb
sence of the regular man, who had a.
day off. He was, however, perfectly
familiar with the running of the train,
as he ran 1t at least once a week
Did Not See Signals.
The railroad officials say the signals
were in working order and that they
were properly set, and that the express
overran and dashed into the block in
which the slower train already was
Railroad men say the engineer prob
ably failed to notice the signals and
even when he saw the tail lights Of
the train ahead did not realize for a
moment that they were in the same
track as he was, instead of being on
Track No. 4, where they usually were
travelling over sixty miles an hour
with heavy train behind him, it was
utterly impossible to stop when he
realized the truth.