Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-06

instantly, Thirty in the rear end Of the
coach however. succeeded In escaping from
that end of the car. which was still IN
INSTRUCTED. No one In the front half or
the car escaped. They were crushed down
between the seats by the smoker. which
telescoped this coach. Only three persons
were taken out of this coach by the res
cuers. who were compelled to chop holes
in the side and through the floor and top
of the coach to reach them.
THE three rescued were a man, a small
girl and a middle ged woman, who were
moaning and begging to be taken out. One
man, hurt internally, was removed through
the rear door within five minutes after the
collision, but died almost soon as the
rescuers could lay him down. woman
died two hours later while trying to tell
physician her name dozen men had
worked on the place where she seemed to
be before she was extricated
Bonnie Martin a girl. eleven years OF
age was pinned down between the two cars.
the heavy stove resting on one foot Her
cries attracted the rescuers. and men, many
of them bleeding from wounds about the
face and arms. worked herocally to get her
out. Ii took two hours of steady work to
relieve her. When she taken out she
addressed doctor who bending over
her as papa The physician did not have
the heart to tell her that she was an or
phan her father and mother having been
killed. Mr.. Martin was killed instantly and
Mrs Martin died ten minutes after being
taken out of the wreck. The child was suf-
fering with broken ankle. where the
heavy stove fell on her. and severe scalp
Commissions She was put to sleep by
hypodermic injection to relieve the pain
Physicians on the Scene.
a dozen or more Topeka physicians ar
rived at the scene on the relief train from
Topeka soon as brakeman could run
to Willard and notify headquarters. The
physicians went to work relieving the in
jured and made no attempt for the time be-
ing to remove the crushed and disfigured
bodies from the debris.
After daylight the work of removing the
bodies began. The engine of the wrecking
train coupled on the two cars sleeper
and chair car. which was uninjured. and
started back TO Topeka with the victims At
Topeka all the injured were hurried to hos
pitfalls
Some of the bodies found in the wreck
age were so badly crushed as to be I'M
recognizable. Through a hole chopped In
one side of the the body of q gray
haired heavy-set man and woman with
long yellow hair were visible. Fires were
built along the track at short intervals and
by the light of these the rescuers in their
eagerness to remove the victims chopped
openings in the wrecked coach until ex-
hausted, then handed their axes to others
Cars Sides Chopped Away.
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 the victims.
$50 terrific was the force of the collision
that the smoker left the trucks in its back
ward rush. leaving the trucks still upon
the track. Net wheel in the entire pas
senger train seemed to be off the track.
The freight train Jared differently. The
four cars Immediately behind the engine
were crushed into kindTing. Dead and dy
ing cattle Uttered the right of way, while
many which had escaped from the cars I'M
injured ran about, adding to the confu-
sion
Heroic Work Of Physician.
"On the passenger train. in the sleeper,
young physician. who walked with
a crutch as the result of some spinal trou-
bic. He was thrown down and slightly
injured. but was the first man to emerge
from the sleeper. and Immediately began
aiding the injured. He had a portion OF
the chair car and the berths In the sleeper
cleared, and to them the victims were car
ried. The physician was without instru-
ments or medicine. and the only thing he
could do was to bind up wounds with ban
dages. which he made by tearing up sleeper
sheets and pillow cases. and giving the pa
tients whisky to deaden the pain.
The young doctor found a fireman who
injured in the leg. An artery
broken. and he took 1t, up with a penknife
and lied 1t with a thread, probably pre-
venting the fireman from bleeding TO death.
He performed innumerable acts of a like
nature before the arrival OF the Topeka
physicians"
Unable to Fix Blame.
None of the trainmen seemed to know
who was TO blame for the wreck. The Ell
PasO train left Topeka about thirty min
utes late, and the injured conductor, as
he lay in a sleeper berth. said that he mad
the right of way and that the cattle train
had no excuse for being on the main line.
He said that 1t should have waited for
the passenger train at Maple Hill. six miles
west of Willard. The Ell Paso train did
not stop at Willard. and was making up
lost time At the point where the wreck
occurred there is a curve in the track, and
the engineers on the two trains barely had
time to set the air brakes and jump before
the crash came. The freight was an I'M
usually heavy train.
Those on the passenger train had little
warning The loud hiss of the air brakes
was followed almost instantly by the crush
ing sound of telescoping cars. Soon amid
the groanS and shrieks OF the injured the
survivors began TO crawl out over the
wrecked seats Many OF those who es-
capped injury. stunned and unable for
time to realize the situation, stood around
helpless. while others began using all the
tools at hand and then resorting to wooden
levers and pieces OF scrap iron to break
into the death trap.
Just before the car went to pieces
niddle-aged German. who could not speak
a word of English came into the doomed
coach with his family. consisting of wife
and Ave children. all under ten years OF
age. They had a lot Of miscellaneous bag
gage and could find no place in the car.
Hardly a minute before the wreck the por-
ter called to the German to go forward to
the smoker. A man near by translated the
request. and the German and his family
started forward. A moment later the agun-
lied German his face covered with blood
1o rAlya out Nf hn
and began calling loudly for his family"
I'D prrr,c crAnEurNrr