The Bemidji pioneer., 1903-01-01
MANGLED in WRECK.
TWerty-eight Lives Crushed Out in an
Ontario Disaster. ala a AlssaA

u
. Ontario Disaster. s
London, Ont. Dec. 30.-In the head
on collision Friday night near Wan.
stead on the Grand Trunk railway be-
tween a west-bound passenger train
and a fast freight, twenty-eight per-
sons were killed and thirty were in
jured.
While several of the injured are still
III serious condition. it is expected
that all will recover. IL.
Many OF the dead were mutilated
and the snow about the wreckage was
crimson with blood. H
The Pacific express was two hours
late and running at high speed when it
reached Wanstead. The freight was
trying to make a siding, but failed.
When the through train struck the
freight there was a disastrous crash.
The locomotives reared their pilots
high in the air and t,Imbled into the
ditch. The baggage car OF the express
train telescoped with the smoking car
and here the death list was made.
The Pullman sleepers did not leave
the rails and their occupants escaped
except for bruises.
Blizzard Adds to Horror.
The darkness of night and the rag
ing OF blizzard added horrors to the
wreck. Fortunately. the fire horror
was averted
In the blinding snowstorm neither
ing, apparently. The shock was aw-
f,,1 fhny. .lc.nI
ly head-on In second the baggage
and express. cars Of the passenger
train telescoped into the day coach.
This day coach was reduced to splint-
sers and fragments back to the last
three windows. 5 4
It was crowded with human beings,
and the resultant loss of life and IN
jury was narrowing. For three hours
or more, wounded and MANNED passen-
gers were pinned underneath wreck
age, crying piteously for help while
they suffered from exposure to the ell
einents.
Exposure undoubtedly hastened the
death of some Of the more seriously in
jured. The bodies were taken from the
wreck frightfuIly mangled, some of
them almost beyond recognition.
Operators Story.
Andrew Corscn, the operator at
Watford, the first station east Of the
wreck, whose failure to deliver orders
to Conductor McAuliffe of the express
train. to pass freight at Wanstead, is
said by the Grand Z Trunk Of
ficials to have caused the wreck, yes
terday afternoon made bis first state
ment since the wreck. He says he re-
ceiYed the order for No S, the express,
to pass the freight at Wanstead at
59:4S o'clock, but declares positively
G. Kerr at London, called him and
order. He said:
about 9:45 o'clock, after calling
wyoming and ascertaining that the
freight was there, the dispatcher called
me rapidly half dozen times. When
I answered on the wire he told me to
bust this order. wrote bust It
across the order just as No. 5 was
coming in. After the train had started
and was out Of reach the dispatcher
learned the freight had left Wyoming.
told him
Could Not Stop
No. 5, as it had left. He Immediately
began calling Kings Court Junction,
the station between Watford and Wan
stead on the railroad wire, and ! tried
to raise them on a commercial wire.
We both failed to do this. however,
until the express had passed the juno
tion. u @
Corson admitted that he knew it
was against the rules Of the company
to cancel train order without send
ing substitute for it. but he said that
the dispatcher was his superior officer
and he disliked to question his order
or dispute his authority for taking tNs
action.
The order book in the local Grand
Trunk office does not show that the.
order was busted" or cancelled, as
Corson claims According to the book
I it was still in force and should have
been delivered to the conductor OF the
|iexpress.
Kerr has made no statement, not
even to the railway officials, and will
not until he takes the stand at the in
quest.