Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1904-01-13
KILLED ANc INJURED
Many Suffer In Another Terrible
Railroad Wreck
CONDUCTOR AND ENGINEER ERR.

A Frightfdl Mistake That Resulted
In the Loss of Many Lives and Pro
duced rIuch Suffering
I topeka, Kan, Special = Seventeen
persons were killed and thirty-ceven
Iinjured in head-on collision between
the Rock Island, California & Mexico
express and a freight at Willard Wed.
nesday morning. Most of the injured
are in hospitals in Topeka The DOC
tors announce that all will recover
with the exception Of Mrs. M. A. Hill
Of GreeEsburg, Kan.
The dead are: Mrs. J. H. Hill, Green's
burg, Kan: Mrs. w. S. Martin, st. Jo-
s&ph, Mo-; Mrs. Mary Harvaille, Chilli
cothe, Mo-; Ben Harvaille, son of Mrs.
Harvaille, aged 13; Tot Harvaille,
daughter Of Mrs. Harvaille, aged g.;
Mrs. Susan Reed, sister OF Mrs. Har-
vaille; James Griffin, Claremont, Mo-;
e. E. Mayer, Buffalo, N. Y; Raymond
A. Martin, Chillicothe, Mo-; w. S. Mar
tin, st. Joseph, Mo-. e. r. Ranl1ins,
De. Kalb, Mo-; William j. Wells, jack
ssoaville, ILL.,; Mrs. Mary Kaiser, Rus
sian; Gale Fuller, aged Z, Brockton.
Iowa; Grace Reed, Chillecothe, Mo-;
zLehora Reed, Chillicothe, Mo-; uniden-
titled boy, aged eight years. ;.
1t is thought that carelessness Of the
trIinmen caused the wreck. Instruct.
ed. to meet special freight train at
Willard, the engineer and conductor Of
the ill-fated passenger, noting that a
freight train stood in the siding at
Willard, rushed through, thinking that
the cars that they had seen were the
nks which they had been instructed to
pass.
Upon seeing at Willard a freight
train upon the siding Enigneer Ben
iaH Hcin threw open the throttle, and un-
der the impetus of full steam the pas
scnger leaped into. darkness and
crashed along at a rate which the pas.
seIgcrs declare to have been 65 miles
an hour.
a formal inquest was held at the
w3eck today by Coroner Dooly. of Wa
b,lnsce county. The investigation will
Discontinued. tomorrow.
f. G. Parsons, reporter Of the To-
peka State Journal, who was on the
wrecked Rock Island train, arrived in
Topeka at eight o'clock this morning.
e:fscr driving overland. from the scene
CT ihe collision. Parsons escaped with.
slight injuries, while two persons on
the seat in front Of him were killed.
Parsons tells the following story Of the
wreck:
III was in the third car Of the pas.
senger train, the first coach having
been preceded by smoker and bag
gage car. that the greatest loss of life
occurred. The smoker, which was oc-S
,cGniad by only, two; or three men, was /
overturned and pushed through the.
car behind i which was crowded with
aTho2fTst warming gTsef- fssss
I'm This car was when the sudden ser
tine of the air brakes shut OFF tine
lights. leaving all in darkness. a mo,
MONT later q mass of splintered Woou
aud iron was crowded down upon
thorn None were thrown out OF thelr
saais by the glow. Most OF those ;, III
thc forward end of the car were K!iieu
INSTANTLY Thirty in the rear emu VI
Tho coach. however, succeeded IN es-
caoinr from that end Of the car Which
was still unobstructed. NO one IN 1, lne
front half Of the car escaped. lues .s
we're crushed down between the seats
re the smoker. When rescue was l.n-
oily nossible only three living persons
wcye taken out by the rescuers. Who
w.ere compelled to chop holes IN tne
siJe ann through the floor. and top o.
the coach to reach them. +,,, nor
sr,ho three rescued from tnls poi-
zion wore a, man, small girl, mldaie-
aged woman, who were begging " ~. ue
tasan out. One man, hurt internally,
,:' was removed through the rear eoor
w,ithin five minutes after the collision
but died almost as soon as tne les,
cuars could lay him down. a woniai ~
died two hours later while tryins W
tall physician her name. A dozen
mon had worked on the place Where
che che seemed to be. before she was eX-
"Bonnie Martin, girl II years DID,
wos pinned down between the TWO
cars the heavy stove resting on one
Soct Her cries attracted the res
/ cuerS and men, HadAy W eAS
from wounds about the face and arms,
worked heroically to get her OUT, u
took some time to release her. When
she was taken out she addressed the
doctor who was bending over her as
apapa." The physician did not have
the heart to tell her that she was an
ornhan. her father and mother having
- titled Mr.. Martin was killed
instantly and Mrs. Martin died ten
minutes after being taken out or the
wreck. The child was suffering Win
broken ankle, where the heavy
stove fell on her, and severe scalp con
tusions. She was put to sleep py q ny
/ podern,ic injection to relieve the pain
E"Some Of the bodies found In tine
. wreckage were so badly crushed as tt
he unrecognizable. Through hole
chopued in one side Of the car the
hody of a gray-haired, heavy-set MAI
1 snd a woman with long, yellow halr
were visible. Fires were built alons
the track at short intervals ana bl
the light of these the rescuers, In thel
eagarness to remove the victims
chopped openings in the wrecke;
coaches until exhausted and then the!
handed their axes to others. The en-
fire sides of the car had been choppei
away when the work was completed
Occasionally the rescuers would de
sist upon an alarm being. raised b!
watchers, who declared that the chor
ping away of the coach was letting tn
smoker down upon the victims. s.
terrific was the force OF the coiilsol
that the smoker left the truck in 1t 1t
Backward rush, leaving the trucks SUI
mon the track. Not wheel IN III
antirc passenger train seemed to b
on the track.
The freight train Jared differently
The four cars Immediately behind tn
| engine were crushed into hndlinf
; Deal and dying cattle Uttered tn
riyit OF way. while many which ma
.,:;cn,ied from the cars uninqured ra
:.I.out. adding to the confusion,
ION the passenger train, in tn
sleeuer, was young physician, wh
,,,,Il,od with crutch as the result