The San Francisco call., 1903-12-22
MANY DIE
IN WRECK
Of TRAIN
Nine Are Dead, Four Will
Die and Fourteen Seriously
Hurt in Disaster on st. Louis
and San Francisco Railway
CARELESS BRAKEMAN
LEAVES SWITCH OPEN
Almost the Entire Grew, In
cluding the Conductor and
Engineer, Are Either Killed
or Injured in the Accident

or Injured i'll the Accident
KANSAS CITY. Mo, Dec Pin to-
days wreck at Godfrey Kans.. of the
Meteor" the ST. Louis and San Fran
cisco Railways fast train from the
South, nine persons were killed and
thirty-two others injured. Of the in
jured four probably will die and four
teen were seriously hurt. The dead:
JAMES FITZPATRICK. Mosby. Mo
GEORGE HOYT, conductor, Sapulpa.
l. T.
A A. DEVICES. engineer, Fort
Scott, kans.
JAMES H TWYMAN (colored),
Fleming, Kans.
THEODORE BIsHARD. fireman.
Fort Scott. kans.
ASA MORELAND. Lenexia Kans
LON CORBIN, Bessie, o. T.
JOSEPH CORBIN. Bessie. o. T.
JOHN BLUEBACKER, news agent,
Kansas City.
Fatally injured: Sheridan Kan
able, Hoopertown. O. T.; B. F
Garroway, Jonesboro. Ark; John Bell.
express messenger. Kansas City; H
B. Darlington. mail clerk, Kansas City.
Seriously injured: Mrs. E. E. Call,
Hobart, Okla; Henry Mckinley, Sni-
der, Okla. Thomas Kent, Mountain
View, Okla: J. W. COLL Ottuhwa,
Iowa; Henry NJ Mcdonnell, Lodi, Ohio;
L. Howard Lee. Oklahoma City, Okla;
Joseph H. Donohue, Franklin, H.:
Walter Godsby, Kansa City; ]. D. Bry-
ant, Davenport, Iowa; ". R. Farmer,
Blackwell Okla. Elmer Corbin, Bessie.
Okla; Jacob RoOseler, Parker, Okla;
c. J. O'Donovan, Snider, Okla; ]. W
.Adamson, mail clerk, Kansas City.
Fifteen others were hurt slightly.
Most of the injured were badly
burned, as well as being MANNED.
BRAKEMAN Is RESPONSIBLE.
The responsibility for the wreck is
laid at the door of brakeman of the
freight crew, who failed to flag the
passenger train. He has disappeared.
The engine of the freight had become
dead" and the crew was ordered to re-
main on the main track and turn the
switch for the passenger, then about
due. the brakeman being ordered to
flag the Meteor. This he neglected
TO do.
In the crash the baggage car teie-
scoped the engine and landed in a corn
field while the smoker and the two
chair cars were piled in a mass on top
of the engine. Most of the injured were
in the chair cars. which took fire soon
after the wreck occurred.
The wrecked train was one of the
finest and fastest in the service. 1t
was made UP of two baggage and mail
cars, a smoker. chair cars and a sleeper.
When the train reached Godfrey it was
behind time and running at full speed
to make up time. The crew Of a
freight train that had preceded the
Meteor lett the switch open and the
passenger train jumped the track and
rolled down an embankment. All save
the sleeper turned over and so fast
was the train running that the engine
and the forward baggage ear landed
nearly sixty feet off the roadbed before
they stopped The sleeper remained
upright and none of the passengers in
this car were injured. The baggage
cars were completely wrecked and the
smoker was badly damaged. Five of
the dead were in the forward end of
the smoker and four of them were
instantly killed.
TRAINMEN ARE KILLED.
Engineer B. "A. Devices of Fort Scott.
Conductor Roy of Topeka and Fire
man Bishard of Fort Scott We're all in
stantly killed. and Express Messenger
John Bell of Kansas City was seriously
injured. others of the crew and almost /
every passenger on the entire train
except those in the sleeper, VINO escaped
with a severe shaking up, were injured,
some Of them seriously.
1t was still dark when the wreck
occurred and the utmost confusion fol- +
lowed. 1t was some time before those
of the crew who had escaped injury
were able, with the help of the pas
sengers who were unhurt, to aid the
injured.
A wrecking crew, carrying ply
sicians, did not leave Fort Scott for
the scene until several hours after the
wreck occurred and it was IL o'clock
before the dead and injured were
brought to Fort Scott.
John Bluebacker, the news agent.
was curled up on seat in tie rear of
the smoker, near the stove. when the
crash came. He was taken out alive,
but died during the afternoon. He was
% years old. His parents live in
Greeley. Colo, and a sister lives in St.
Joseph, Mo.