The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-24
New SYork Tribune.

VI Il, II E
Probably one hundred lives We're
lost and other hundreds Of persons m
jured, many fatally, as the result OF
collision this morning, directly over
the city of Pittsburg, between the J
Continental Airship companys New
York-San Francisco limited and an
excursion ship flying from Chicago to
New York, crowded with gay Fourth
Of July pleasure seekers.
OF the killed, about 20 per cent
were citizens Of Pittsburg, who were
struck by falling fragments of the
wrecked airships.S The majority of.
the injured suffered from this cause,
also.
The excursion ship was totally de-
molished, and the limited Jared but
| little better. That the death list does
not include almost every person on
| the two ships is due solely-to the new
federal law compelling :airship COM
| panies to provide each passenger, Of
ficer and member of the crew with
a gas life preserver, to be worn thru
| out the journey.
The exact number of dead is not
| known, owing to the fact that many
| Of those recorded as missing may
J have landed safely after having been
! driven some distance from the scene
| Of the accident by the strong wind
which was blowing. Additional ia
talties are also still being reported
from different parts of the city,, which
were due to flying missiles from the
| wreck.
The ships met head on. The ex-
/ cursion boat, larger than the limited,
but more lightly built and not de-
signed for high speed, was telescoped,
the limited tearing it's way thru her
and scattering swreckage hundreds of
rods in every direction Pieces We're
afterward picked up more than two
miles from the point at which the
collision occurred
! What remained of the So, 100000
5 limited was borne by its own velocity
/ across the Ohio river, where it sank
slewly to the earth. It had been
buoyed up by it's gas-tight compart-
I ments, which, fortunately, were unin-
4 jured. When it landed, about sew
enty passengers and a number of the
crew who had clung to it made haste
to chamber from the wreck. A mum
Der Of dead and wounded We're also
taken from the hulk.
The dial Of the aerometer, which
2 remained intact, tho the rest of thu
instrument had been smashed, reg
istered speed of $50 miles an hour
showing the high rate at which TIL
limited had been travelling.
When the collision occurred Pitts
OuES streets were crowned Will PEG
pie watching an Independence Da
military procession The - noise Q
:. the crash in the air arose above tn
din of explosions Of fireworks, tn
blowing of horns, cheers of the crowd
and the music Of bands with startlin
distinctness. Thousands of pairs c
eyes flashed glances Of surprise an
q terror into the heavens: Most ind
! viduals knew instinctiVely what aha
happened, and that within a minut
the city would be pelted with a; dead
!. ly shower Of Wreckage from the ln
fortunate airships. SO
) In an instant the rnarehers ha
= broken ranks and Joined the surgin
: crowds of spectators III their ma
rush for safety. The halls and stai1
"a ways of business blocks and the show
:, rooms of stores We're the only avail
y. able places Of refuge. These We1
n packed within an incredibly br1e
- space Of time, and still thousands re
: NAMED outside who sought parti
y, awnings and in hooks Of the walls
some of the buildings.
The seconds of the single minute
+ grace fitted fatefully by and the
:. came the expected baptism Of stee
= iron, aluminium and wooden frat
ments of the wrecked ships. Firs
r the heavy electric motor of the e.
= CuTS1On snip, DOIut " Liz col I'll Ae'SI'
Ct than the other wreckage by reason
re- it's great weight, fell directly in II
center of the intersection Of Fifth a.
"a enue and Smithfield street. 1t saf
n thru the. pavement and buried itse
N four or five feet below the surface.
- No one was injured by it, but In II
IN hail Of missiles which followed a SEQ
4 Of persons were killed., hundreds
ii others injured and great damage dol
a. to property. 1t was, all over in lie
IA than a minute and the crowds pourt
~ into the streets again.
IL The city looked as tho it had igol
n thru a. small-sized bOmbardme1
Mangled bodies of dead and dyil
cd human beings and animals, lay streV
e. about the streets. Among them we
n the missiles which had caused the
he death, and fragments Of human DO
he les which had been crushed and d1
IA nembered in the collision and fall
of to the earth with the wreckage.
Burst life preservers encircled sor
of the. corpses, showing that even
their. lives had not been ssblotted Q
by the collision their only chance
~ escape had been wrested from the
- by the destruction of their safeguar'
1t is believed that some of these pc
sons were alive. when they we
So thrown from the ship and were kill
on by the fall. All were mangled /
he yond recognition.
II. Heavy pieces of steel and iron h
en-, torn great holes in the #pavemen
ny skylights had been smashed by scor
the costly fronts of many buildir
nd were wrecked and general destrl
nj ton had been wrought everywhere
-! III the busiest portion Of the downto'
- district.
Heavenward a strange and aw
'4o sight presented itself. Scores of
- - man beings, sustained in the air
the gas life preseryers, were foati
l!sloWly toward the earth: The lii
appearance of some. indicated Il
they were already dead sor. else dyi
ers while the frantic efforts Of others
direct their descent ga suitable la1
i =, ing place. gave evidence that they W.
z ~ only slightly injured; if, Indeed, tt
- had not escaped u1iscratehed.
a. M Most of these persons were be-
no |. driven .northWard by the strong sol
IF wind and were, in danger of fall
"a