The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1904-08-12
Believed Hundred Pershed In Rio
Grande Wreck.
sEvENTY.sIx BODIES RECOVERED
Two Crowded Passenger Cars and One
Baggage Car Plunged Through
Bridge Into Raging Torrent-onIy
Four Persons Escaped.

Pueblo, Col, Aug. 9.-The wreck OF
the Worlds Fair Flyer on the Denver
q Rio Grande railroad near Eden,
seven miles north of Pueblo Sunday
evening, proves to have been one Of
The greatest railroad disasters in the
history Of the country. Two crowded
passenger cars and a baggage car
were engulfed in the torrent that tore
put trestle spanning Steele's Hollow,
otherwise known aas Dry creek, and,
so far as known now, only three of
the occupants of these cars escaped
death. Fortunately two sleeping cars
and diner completing the train. re-
manned on the track at the edge of the
abyss and none of their occupants
were killed or injured.
How many persisted probably mover
will be definitely ascertained, for the
trcacherous sands are drifting over
the bodies. Searching for the dead
was begun about midnight on an en-
tensive scale and still is in progress.
All corpses found were brougwht to
Pueblo and placed in four mOrgues
here.
At s o'clock last evening &c bodies
had been recovered and of these so
lad been identified. Bodies were re-
covered all the way along Fountain
river from the scene of the wreck to
this city. Two bodies were taken from
the stream at First street, Pueblo,
more than eight miles from the point
where the disaster occurred, and it is
probable that some may even be re.
covered even further down stream.
None of the bodies are badly mutilat-
ed and all are in such condition as
to be recognizable.
There is hardly doubt but that 100
lives were quickly snuffeG out. So
quietly had the catastrophe been en-.
acted that the occupants of the three
cars remaining on the track did not
realize that an accident had occurred
until they alighted from the train.
Then they were utterly powerless to
render assistance to the victims who
had disappeared in the rushing wa
ters.
On the lookout for danger, warned
by the squally clouds and heavy rains
to the north, Engineer Charles Hind.
man was running cautiously, about Il
miles an hour, as he approached the
Arroyo, which was spanned by a
bridge SO feet in length. The condi.
ton Of the bridge was not known until
the locomotive. one of the monster
passenger type, Fad nearly crossed.
Fireman Frank Mayfield, with a torch
that the engineer and the fireman had
burning to ascertain the condition of
the track was in the gangway. When
Engineer Hindman felt the tremor In
the great machine and caught glini-
mer on the water he shouted his last
words: "Put out thai TORCH" evidently
thinking that in the accident he felt
certain was coming the flames would
serve to spread fire.
But before Mayfield could obey.
while the words were still OH the lips
of the doomed man, and his hand
seeking the mechanism controlling the
air, the bridge gave way as though
1t had been stack Of kindling God
and the locomotive dropped with the
Kissing of steam 80 feet to the bottom
Of the Arroyo, crosswise to The track.
The baggage car, smoking car and
chair car followed the locomotive into
the stream and were swept away. All
the occupants Of these cars except
three men persisted, and had not the
roof of thee hair car burst asunder,
none would have escaped. The fire.
man, as the locomotive went over,
vast brown out and managing to
grasp piece of wreckage from the
bridge, foated with that to curve
made by the caving bank and crcpt
out Of the water.
Relief TRIMS with physicians, wreck
and pile driving outfits and scores Of
workmen were hurried from the city.
Tie first train from the wreck came
in shortly otter midnight with j. NJ
KILN, OF Pueblo; ii. S. Gilbert, Tony
Fisher and Fireman Mayiield. These
were four men in the midst of The
wreck who escaped.