The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1904-01-14
Many Suffer In Another Terrible
Railroad Wreck
CONDUCTOR AND ENGINEER ERR
A Friglltfui Mistake That Resulted
in the Loss of Many Lives and Pro-
duced Huch Suffering.


neSday morning. Most Of the injured
are in hospitals in Topeka. The doc
tors announce that all will recover,
with the exception of Mrs. MIA. Hill,
OF Greersburg, Kan.
The dead are: Mrs. J. H. Hill, Green's
burg, Kan; Mrs. w. S. Martin, st. Jo-
saph, Mo-; Mrs. Mary Harvaille, Chilli
cothe, Nc; Ben Harvaille. son OF Mrs.
Harvaille. aged 13: Tot Harvaille,
daughter of Mrs. Harvaille, aged 3;
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. Rankins,
De Kalb, Mo-; William j. Wells, jack
sonville, H.; Mrs Mary Kaiser, Rus
sian: Gale Fuller, aged Z, Brockton,
Iowa: Grace Reed, Chillecothe, Mo-;
Lenora Reed, Chilliccthe. Mo-; uniden-
titled boy, aged eight years.
1t is thought that carelessness OF the
trainmen caused the wreck. Instruct
ed to meet a 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
ones which they had been instructed to
pass.
Upon seeing at Willard a freight
train upon the siding, Enigneer Ben
iamin threw open the throttle, and un-
der the impetus CT full steam the pas
senger leaped into darkness and
crashed along at rate which the pas
se2gers declare to have been 90 miles
al hour.
4 formal inquest was held at the
week today by Coroner Dooly. Of Wa
bunsee county. The investigation Will
be continued tomorrow.
II. 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.
after driving overland from the scene
Of the collision. Parsons escaped Win
slight injuries, while two persons on
the seat in front Of him were killed.
Parsons tells the following story CT the
wreck:
1T was in the third car Of the pas
senger train, the first coach having
been preceded by a smoker and a bag
gage car, that the greatest loss OF lie
occurred. The smoker, which was o.
curied 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 warning given the passengers
in this car was when the sudden SET
ting of the air brakes shut OH the
lights. leaving all in darkness. A mo.
ment later a mass Of spllntered "ooo
and iron was crowded down upon
them. None were thrown out OF their
seats by the glow. Most OF those IN
the forward end Of the car were Kiilea
instantly. Thirty in the rear END ol
the coach, however, succeeded IN es-
Gaming from that end of the car when
was still unobstructed. No one In the
front half of the car escaped. lhey
were crushed down between the seats
of the smoker. When rescue was nn-
ally possible only three living persons
we're taken out by the rescuers. VINO
we're compelled to chop holes IN the
side and through the floor ana Top VI
the coach to reach them. 1T
THE three rescued from thls Poi'
tion were a man, q small girl, miuoie
aged woman. who were begging 10 pe
taken out. One man. hurt internally,
vas removed through the rear door
Sithin five minutes after the colllslon'
hnt died almost as soon as the res"
cuers could lay him down. A woman
died two hours later while trying 10
tell a physician her name. A dozen
men had worked on the place "nere
sha seemed to be before she was ex-
tricated. ia
"Bonnie Martin. a girl II years oid'
was pinned down between the l"o
cars, the heavy stove resting on ohe
foot. Her cries attracted the res
cpors and men. many Of them bleedlng
from wounds about the face and arms,
worked heroically TO get her out. IL
took some time to release her. Wheh
shn was taken out she addressed the
doctor who was bending over her as
..papa." The physician did not nave
the heart to tell her that she was an
ernhan her father and mother having
been killed. Mr.. Martin was kiiieu
instantly and Mrs. Martin dled Ten
minutes after being taken out OF tEe
wreck. The child was suffering with
n broken ankle, where the nea'y
stove fell on her. and severe scalp con-
tusions. She was put to sleep by ny
podermic injection to relieve the PAIN
some Of the bodies found IN the
wreckage were SO badly crushed as TO
he unrecognizabie. Through a mole
chonped in one side Of the car the
BODY OF a gray-haired,' heavy-set man
and a woman with long, yellow nalr'
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
coaches until exhausted and then they
handed their axes to others. The en-,
tire sides of the car had been chopped
away when the work was completed.
Occasionally the rescuers would ae-
sist upon an alarm being raised by
watchers, who declared that the chop-
ping away of the coach was letting tne
smoker down upon the victims. so
terrific was the force Of the collision
that the smoker left the truck in lts
backward rush, leaving the trucks stili
N~I