The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-08-12
DEATH IN SMOKE
AND DARKNESS
Continued from First Page.)

CONTINUED from First Page)
asphyxiating smoke. Tho faces OF the
dead were red and congested. Some wo-
men held their children tightly in their
| arms.
Train Set Afire.
| Several versions of the disaster are
| given out, but the main facts which have
| been established are the following:
| Train No. 49, which caused the acc-
| dent, came from Porte Dauphin. at the
| entrance to the Bots de Boulogne, in the
| western part of Paris. and passing under
| the Place l'Etoile, crcled the northerly
| quarter Of the city. In this northern
| quarter-a manufacturing secton--the
| train picked up numbers of work1nen.
| who. after their days work, were re-
| turning to their homes In the populous
| quarters In the eastern ACCOMPLISHMENTS
! of the city. On reaching the neghbor-
| hood of the Cemetery OF Pere La Chaise.
| the electrical motor failed to act properly.
| and the train waited at the station OF
| Les Couronnes Until the arrival Of a sec
| ond train, which pushed the crippled train
| forward, making a total of sixteen
| coaches.
| After proceeding about two hundred
yards towards N1enilmontant Station. the
! damaged dynamo set fire to the engine
| OF the first train. The engine burned
nercely, raising quantities Of smoke.
Lights Went Out.
simultaneously the electric lights on
| the trains went out, leaving the passen-
gers in total darkness except for the
light of the burning engine far ahead.
This impeded the progress OF the trains
toward Menilmontant. The terror-stricken
passengers got out and tried to grope
their way back to Les Couronnes. The
powerful electric current which continued
| in the rails Is believed to have stunned
| or killed many. A number Of the pas
sengers managed to reach Les Couronnes
! Station. but the main body OF the pas
| senRers was overcome by the heat and
| smoke
! A terrible panic occurred among those
behind, and tho horror of the situation
| was Increased by third train crashing
into tho fiery mass and adding another
crowd of panic-strlcken passengers to
! those seeking an outlet
The cars continued to burn until twenty
were consumed. The burning debris gave
forth fierce heat, which pulled out OF
| the mouths of the stations OF Les Cour-
onnes and Menilmontant. Most OF the
| trainmen escaped. but the conductor OF
the train causing the accident was sen-
ously injured. The escape of the train
men Is attributed not to their lack Of
attention to the passengers. but to their
| superior knowledge Of the subterTanean
passage, which enabled them to hasten
forward in spite OF the obscurity.
Heroic Incidents.
A number OF heroic Incidents occurred.
| One OF the employees of the road nearly
| lost his life in seeking to make his way
| through the smoke to aid the victims.
and Is now In the hospital. Several sol
diers and flremen risked their lives in at
4. Ilrn
feet Lepine himself took his life In his
hands by entering the tunnel and pro-
ceeding a considerable distance until the
smoke drove him back.
| The chief station master at Les Cou-
5onnes M 1idss has given grap mo
| nccdArt. He says he saw, the flames
running along the gear OF the cars when
the first train passed through the sta
stop, saving there was not time to reach
the next station, but the engineer de-
clared he had ample time and proceeded:
flashed through the tunnel. followed by a
! violent detonation. Looking into the
mouth Of the tunnel, M, Didler could see
masses of smoke began to pour out. pre-
venting the officials from entering the
Men 6 out thr9uE r the
distance amid the cracking OF the hre.
Many Were Women.
The names and oocupant-ions OF the VIC
Tins give pathetic evidence of their hum
BILE condition. The names are character.
istic of the Fench working, classes and
occupations are given as painter, mason,
J plumber, tailor. seamstress, locksmith.
/ etc. Outside the workkmen, about every
third name is that Of woman Pitfal
cred. Sseekins to IDENTIFY the bodies,
which were ,r ranged In onE lines on white
the victims is torn, showing the fierce
ness of the struggle.
Premier Combes descended into the tun-
ton ton He asked the Chief Of police for
| a speedy report on the causes OF the dis.
| aster and a list of victims. and announced
II ministers measures for the relief Of
the poor families of the victims. The
flag over the Hotel de VILE has been
| lowered to half mast as sign OF the
| clty's mourning.
Struggle in Tunnel.
A survivor named Jules Bouat describes
the struggle during tie panic an the
were screaming save me; save xt ne r an
women screamed until they fell asphyx-
N. Gauther the magistrate for the dis.
trict, says one of the main causes of
the loss of life was that those escaping
took the wrong exit. one passage letting
out to the street, while the other was
| barred, as it was usually used for adj
hitting passengers, Many of the VIC
tins sought the barred exit and We're
found massed against the wall. where
| they had been slowly suffocated.
Nj Benvenue, the chief engineer Of the
Metropolitan railroad, says from tho tech
meal point of View, every precaution to
avoid danger had been taken. The chief
misfortune was that the employees did
not organize assistance with sufficient ra-
pidity to permit the passengers being
| quickly drawn out.
| At the American consulate 1t was
learned that there We're no Americans
| among the victims. The prefecture OF
| police confirms this.
President Loubet has telegraphed to
| the president OF the municipality saying
| he shares the profound grief into which
| the city has been plunged.
OBITUARY.