Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-07-05

Wabash Louis Limited
Strikes Open Switch.
NINETEEN KILLED, SCORES INJURED.
Express with Democratic conven.
tfon Men, Running at sixty Miles
an Hour. Left Rails and Crash
ed Into Freight Cars,

an Hour. Left Rails and Crash
ed into Freight Cars,
ST. LOUIS, July ga pail has been
cast over several of the delegations to
the convention by the wreck of the st.
Louis limited on the Wabash, in which
more than nineteen were killed. Sew
cral more deaths have been added to
the already long list, and in the st.
Francis hospital. where many Of the
injured were taken. are others whose
lives hang in the balance. n
Untira roster is taken it will not be
known just how many lives went out
when the train which left Chicago
hearing delegates and fair excursion
lists ran into an open switch while go
ing at a rate Of sixty miles an hour,
The derailed locomotive shot into a
line of thirty box ears standing on an
adjacent track.
The tender was found torn to scraps
at the top of the pile Of debris caused
by the smashing Of the locomotive into
the freight cars. Two passenger coach
es jammed together, and every one in
them was either killed or seriously
hurt, Five cars in all besides the ex-
press and baggage car were destroyed
so completely that the remains are like
so much scrap.
Then came the fire. Hardly had the
passengers in the rear coaclies realized
that the train had been wrecked when
i, trpoo bIoon *h,soIyn ant IN stlo ham of
cars. The screams of men and women
and children caught beneath the heavy
iron and piles of splintered wood told
the story in AZ instant to those who
were fortunate enough to have escaped.
The rescue work began at once, but
little could be done for those pini0ned
down by tons of debris. In the plain
sight of the rescueIs many were in
cineratcd. The cries of horror and the
shrieks of pain that filed the air were
terrifying. In several cases heroic eff
forts were made to get at those who
felt the flames creeping upon them
and death staring them in the face.
The wrecking crew which had been
sent at once to the scene of the wreck
did quick and active service, but few
were the lives saved by its efforts.
When the chair cars telescoped many
OF the passengers were hurled a great
distance. In several instances men
and women thus lcatapulted from the
train were more fortunate than those
who fell neal by. They were found
with limbs brokeA, their bodies bruis-
cd and their flesh torn, but they es-
cared the wreckase Of cars and loco
motive. The rescuers were led to
these strewn along the tracks by their
cries OF agony. 70
At the rcar of tiic train was an OBJ
~servation car and the private car Tex
as. These did not leave the track, but
their occupants were badly shaken up.
Among those injured are William
Archibald and George Archibald, Ho-
neoye Falls, N. y. Both have broken
legs. Mrs. Anna Kenyon Of Kingston,
N. Y, is suffering from a badly
bruised leg, and her face is cut. Miss
Eliza T~ownsend.l Bridgeport, Conn,
sustained slight injuries.
Among those on the wrecked train
who escaped injury was J. A. Buggie
of Chicago, who has arrived In st.
Louis. Mr.. Buggie said: 1T was much
more horrible than one can realize.
The first reports published do not be-
gin to describe the terrible scenes. l
personally assisted in caring for the
bodies OF fifteen Of those who We're al
ready dead or who died later. The
work of the citizens of Litchfield and
Of the uninjurcd passengers Of the
wrecked train cannot be too highly
complimented. Almost without excep-
ton all the passengers who were able
went to work with a will and helped
rescue and care for those who could
not care for themselves.
MANY lost their lives trying to save
others, and n poor fellow who had
been uninjured in the wreck was killed
in trying to rescue s0me of those in
one of the wrecked cars. As he APP
preached the car 1t toppled over on
him, crushing his skull and pinning
'him to the ground. The flames crcpt
nearer every moment. Nothing could
be done for him, and l turned away in
horror, unable to bear the sight.
TOO much praise cannot be given
the men who pushed away from the
burning train a freight car loaded with
powder which threatened the lives of
those who had escaped the first catas-
trophe. A number Of men loosened the
brakes of the car and pushed it away
where there was no danger of it catch
ing Ere"
Edward T. Clapp, chief clerk in the
office of the president OF the Wabash
Railroad company, said that from all
that could be learned the misplaced
switch at Iitchfeld was tempered
with by some unknown peraon.