The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-07-05
DELECATESIN WRECK
Wabash st. Louis Limited
Strikes Open Switch.
NINETEEN KILLED, SCORES INJURED
Express with Democratic COnven-
tiOn Men, Running ut sixty Miles
an Hour. LEFT Rails and Crash
Cd : 90 Freight Cars.

tt'Nl over SeNefal OF llle ueleSdllOuS 10
the convention by the wreck of the st.
Louis limited ON the Wabash, in which
more than nineteen were killed. Scy.
Cral more deaths have been added &c
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.
Until roster is taken it will not be
known lust how many lives went out
when the train which left Chicago
bearing delegates ana fair excursion.
lists ran into an open switch while 90
in4 at a rate Of sixty miles IN hour
The derailed locomotive shot into Il
line of thirty box cars standing on an
adjacent track.
The tender was found torn to scraps
at the top of the pile of debris caused
by the smashing " the locomotive into
the freight cars. Two passenger coach
ps ianmed together. aud every one in
them was either killed or seriously
hurt Five cars in all besides the eX
press and baggage car We're destroyed
so completely that the remains are like
so much scrap.
Then came the fire. Hardly had the
passengers in the rear coaches realized
that the train had been wrecked when
fierce blaze broke out in the heap of
cars The screams of men and women
and chlldrCg caught beneath the heavy
iron ana piles of splintered wood told
the story in an instant TO those who
were fortunate enough to have escaped.
The rcs"l.e work began at once, but
little could be done for those pinioned
down by tons Of debris. In the plain
sight of the rescuerS many Were in
Generated. The cries of horror and the
shrieks of pain that filled 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 10 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 We're hurled a great
distance In several instances men
and women thus catapulted from the
train were more fortunate than those
who fell near by. They were found
with limbs broken, their bodies bruis-
ed and their flesh torn, but they es-
capped the wreckage of cars and loco
motive. The rescuers were led to
these strewn along the tracks by their
cries of agony.
At the rear of the train was m 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. BONh have broken
legs Mrs. Anna Kenyon of Kingston,
n. Y, is suffering from badly
bruised leg, and her face is cut Miss
Eliza Townsend, bridgeport Conn,
sustained slight injuries.
Among those on the wrecked train
who escaped injury was J. \. 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.
personally assisted in caring for the
bodies of fifteen of those who were nj
ready dead or who died later. The
work of the citizens Of Iitchheld and
of the uninjured passengers Of the
/ wrecked train cannot be too highly
| complimented. Almost without excep-
| ton all the passengers who We're able
went to work with will and helped
| rescue and care for those who could
! not care for themselves.
| "Many lost their lives trying to save
/ others, and one poor fellow who had
been uninjured in the wreck was killed
| in trying to rescue some of those I'm
one of the wrecked cars. As he APP
! preached the ear it toppled over on
him, crushing his skull and pinning
| him to the ground. The flames crept
nearer every moment. Nothing could
! be done for him, and 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 fire"
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 Litchfield was tempered
with by some unknown person.