The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-01-07
RUSSIAN PUBLIC IS NOW AWAITING
THE NEWS OF a BATTLE IN KOREA
CAUSED
ROCK ISLAND WRECK


the care of the work. that exception be-
ing a man who would not give up his
berth. 1 told some men to jerk nm out.
They jerked him out and have not seen
him since.
There was one young man who did
heroic work with me. l should like to
have known him. He attended to a wo-
man and a little girl whom he got safe
ly out, and then went back and climbed
into the wreck after more of the in
Jured, helping to get out lot of peo-
pie who were fastened down"
This man of whom DR.. Bell spoke was
Harvey G.. Pearsons, writer for the
Topeka State Journal. a passenger on
the train, who was bound for Oklahoma
on a hunting trip.
Most of the passengers in the sleepers
were hound through to Ell Paso They
were started west on their journey from
here after several hours delay.
Reporters Recital of Accident.
Copyrighted Jan. 6, 1904, by the Topeka
State Journal.
Topeka. Kan, Jan. 6.--d g. Parsons a
reporter, who was on the wrecked train.
said:
Both trains were running at a rate of
from twenty to thirty miles an hour, and
when the engines met they were welded
together by terrific impact. The engi-
need' and fireman on the freight escaped
without injury by jumping. The fire.
man on the passenger train was seriously
injured, but the engineer escaped. It
was in the third car of the passenger
train, the first coach having been preced-
ed by a smoker and a baggage car. that
the greatest loss of life occurred.
The smoker, which was occupied by
only two or three men, was overturned
and pushed through the car behind it.
which was crowded with passengers,
some standing In the aisle The first
warming given the passengers in this car
was the sudden setting of the air-brakes.
The lights went out leaving all in dark
ness. moment later mass of spin-
tered wood and iron was crowding upon
them. No one was thrown out of his seat
by the blow. Most Of those in the for
ward end of the car were instantly killed
Thirty in the rear end of the coach, how
ever. succeeded in escaping. In the front
end of the car the victims were crushed
down between the seats and the smoker
When rescue was finally possible. only
three living persons were taken out.
Were Moaning and Begging.
"rhe three reached were a small boy,
small girl and a middle aged woman. who
were moaning and begging to be taken
out. One man hurt internally was re-
moved through the rear door with five
minutes after the collision hut died al
most as soon as the rescuers could lay
thin down. A woman died two hours
later while trying to tell physician her
name.
Bonnie Martin, girl II years old. was
pinned down between the two cars, a
heavy stove resting on one foot, Her cries
attracted her rescuers, and many men
IL. - E. aT41
arms, worked heroically to get her out.
1t took two hours of steady work to re-
lieve her. When she was taken out. she
addressed the doctor who was bending
over her as papa The physician did not
have the heart to tell her that she was an
orphan, her father and mother having
been killed Mr.. Martin was Instantly
killed. and Mrs. Martin died ten minutes
after being taken out or the wreck. The
child was suffering from broken ankle.
where the heavy stove fell on her and
severe scalp contusions.
"A dozen or more Topeka physicians
arrived on the scene on relief from
Topeka soon as brakeman could run
to Willard and notify headquarters. The
physicians went to work relieving the
injured and made no attempt for the time
being to remove the crushed and disfigured
bodies from the debris.
the bodies began. Some of them were so
badly crushed as to be unrecognizable
Through a hole chopped In one side Of
the car the bodies of a gray-haired, heavy
set man and woman with long yellow hair
were visible.
Fires Built Along Track.
Fires were built along the track at
short intervals, and by the light of these
he reS n thair to remove
the victims. chopped opening In the
wrecked coach until exhausted then
handed their axes to others.
'"The entire sides Of the car had been
chopped away when the work was COM
pleted. Occasionally the rescuers would
desist upon an alarm being raised by
watchers who declared that the chopping
away of the coach was letting the smoker
down upon victims. SO terrific was the
force of the collision that the smoker left
the trucks in it's backward rush, leaving
the trucks still upon the track. Not
wheel in the entire passenger train
seemed to be off the track
THE freight train Jared differently. The
four cars Immediately behind the engine
were crushed into kindling. Dead and dy-
ing cattle Uttered the right of way, while
many which had escaped from the cars
uninjured ran about adding to the con-
fusion.
"On the passenger train in the sleeper
was n young physician who walked with
a crutch as a result of some spinal trou-
ble He was thrown and slightly injured,
but was the first man to emerge from the
sleeper and Immediately began aiding the
injured. He had portion Of the chair
car and the berths in the sleeper cleared
and to them the victims were carried.
The physician was without instruments
or medicine, and the only thing he could
which he did by tearing up sleeper sheets
and pillow cases and giving the patients
whisky to deaden the pain.
THE young doctor found a fireman
who was injured in the leg. An artery
was broken and he took 1t up with
pen knife and tied 1t with thread.
probably preventing the fireman from
bleeding to death.
like nature before the arrival of the To-
peka physicians.
Was Thirty Minutes Late.
THE Ell Paso train left Topeka about
thirty minutes late and the injured con-
ductor said he had the right of way.
HE said the cattle train should have
waited for the passenger at Maple Hill,
six miles west of Willard. At the point
where the wreck occurred there is
curve and the engineers on the two
trains barely had time to set the brakes
and jump before the crash came. The
freight was unusually heavy train.
Those on the passenger train had little
warning. Just before the car went to
pieces, a middle-aged German who could