The Bourbon news., 1904-08-12
TERRIBLE DISASTER.
Passenger Cars Go Through a
Trestle Into a Stream.
Number of Drowned viii Probably
Never Be Known n Seventy-Six
Bodies Have Been Recovered,
SO Being identified.

the Worlds fair flyer on the Denver
& Rio Grande railroad near Eden, sew
en- miles north Of Pueblo Sunday even
ing, proves to have been one OF the
greatest railroad disasters in the his
tory of the country. Two crowded
passenger cars and baggage car
were engulfed in the torrent that tore
out a trestle spanning Steele's Hol-
low, otherwise known as Dry creek,
and, so far as known, only three OF
the occupants OF these cars escaped
death. Fortunately, two sleeping cars
and a diner, completing the train, re-
NAMED on the track at the edge Of
the abyss and none of their occupants
were killed or injured.
How many perished probably will
never be definitely ascertained, for
the treacherous sands are drifting
over the bodies. Searching for the
dead was begun about midnight on an
extensive scale.
All corpses found were brought to Pu-
eblo and placed in four morgues here.
At 2 o'clock Monday afternoon 76
bodies had been recovered and of
these SO had been identified. During
the day bodies were recovered all the
way along Fountain river from the
scene of the wreck to this city. At
/ o'clock Monday afternoon two bod
les were taken from the stream at
First street, Pueblo, more than eight
miles from the point where the disas-
ter occurred, and it is probable that
some may be recovered even further
down stream. None Of the bodies are
badly mutilated and all are in such
condition as to be recognizable.
On the lookout for danger, warned
by the squally clouds and heavy rains
to the north, Engineer Charles Hind
man was running cautiously about 15
miles an hour as he approached the
arroyo, which was spanned by a
bridge SO feet in length. The condi-
tion of the bridge was not known un-
til the locomotive, one of the monster
passenger type, had nearly crossed.
Fireman Frank Mayfeld. with torch
that the engineer and the fireman
had burning to ascertain the condition
of the track, was in the gangway.
When Engineer Hindman felt the tre-
NOR in the great machine and caught
glimmer on the water he shouted
his last words: Put out that torch" !"
evidently thinking that in the acci-
dent he felt certain was coming, the
flames would serve to spread fire.
But before Mayfeld could obey,
while the words were still on the lips
of the doomed man, the bridge gave
way as If it had been stack Of kind
ling wood and the locomotive dropped
with the kissing steam 80 feet to the
bottom of the arroyo, crosswise to
the track.
The baggage car, smoking car and
chair car followed the locomotive into
the stream and were swept away.
The fireman, as the locomotive went
over, was thrown out and managing
to grasp a piece of wreckage from the
bridge, foated with that to a curve
made by the caving bank and crept
out of the water. He ran toward Ed
en-, meeting on the way Operator F.
H. Jones and his wife, who had al
ready started up the track. They
had seen the headlight of the ap-
preaching train a minute before and
then had witnessed it disappear with
ominous suddenness.
w. Vance, porter on the forward
sleeping car Wyute, was one of the
heroes of the disaster. To him and
his nerve and bravery the persons on
that car owe their lives. Vance was
standing near the front end of the car
when the crash came, and with rare
presence of mind, rushed to the hand
brake on the front of the car and be-
gan Tightening the brakes on the
wheels. His car was slipping forward
from the momentum and from the ter
rible drag in front, caused by the for
ward cars falling into the stream.
Vance held on to the brake like grim
death. His hands clenched the wheel
until his fingers almost bled, but he
held on until his tight grip stopped
the car. The forward cars broke from
the sleeper and fell into the water,
while the car which Vance had held
with the brake stopped one-third of
the way on the brink of the chasm,
overhanging the gulch below. The
forward trucks had left the track and
gone down, but the remainder of the
coach stayed on the tracks and the
lives of the passengers were saved.
1t required two engines and nearly
half hours work to pull this sleeper
back from the brink of the chasm.
Peculiar pathos attaches to the
death of two Of the passengers, Miss
Stella Mcdonald, of Pueblo, and DR..
James B. McGregor, of Ballard, Wash,
who were drowned together. Their
engagement was announced last week
and the wedding was planned for the
near future. Miss Mcdonald has been
connected with the public schools of
Pueblo for several years.
Employment For Convicts.
Joliet, ILL.,, Aug. 9.-The federal
court at Springfield having dissolved