The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-01-06

(Sket
The Wrecked Day c.
body Of a gray-haired, heavy-set man
and a woman with long yellow hair
were visible when the train with the
injured was taken back to town. At
that time the rescuers were positive
that they had removed all the living
victims. Fires were built along the
track at short intervals. and by the
light of these men chopped until they
were exhausted. handed the ak over to
another and sat down to rest The en-
tire sides of the cars We're chopped
away when the work was completed.
Occasionally the choppers would de-
sist upon an alarm being raised by
watchers, who declared that the chop
ping away of the lower car was letting
the top car down upon the victims.
The top. or forward car, left the
trucks in it's backward rush. The
trucks were still upon the track under
the car in front. Not a wheel in the
entire passenger train seemed to be off
the track. The freight train Jared diff
ferently. The four cars imediately be-
hind the engine were crushed into kim
ding and strewn from one fence to the
other.
Dead and dying cattle lay around in
the neighborhood of the wrecked cars,
and some were running loose, seeming
| ly uninjured, although they had been
freed from the cars by the destruction.
A car load of hogs were nearly all kill
ed. One hog was seen with a huge
splinter thrust entirely through it's
body.
A Doctors Heroism.
|. On the passenger train, in the sleeper
was young physician, an unfortur at e
man who walked with a crutch as the
result Of some spinal trouble He was
thrown down and slightly injured when
| the shock came. but was the first man
out of the sleeper and assisted in the
first aid to the injured He cleared a
portion of the chair car. and set up a
hospital. Then he cleared berths in the
sleeper and had the victims of the
catastrophe brought in and made as
| comfortable as possible.
He was without his instruments or
any medicine, and the only thing he
could do was to bind up wounds with
| bandages made by tearing up sleeper
sheets and pillow cases, and giving the
patients whisky to deaden the pain
The conductor was passing through the
train taking up tickets when the shock
came. He was seriously injured in
ternal1y and one leg broken.
| The young doctor found a fireman
who was injured in the leg. An artery
was broken, and he took it up with
penknife and tied it with a thread
probably preventing the fireman from
| bleeding to death. He performed in
Vulnerable acts of like nature be-
fore the arrival of the Topeka ply
sicians. A shortage of hypodermic
needles was soon discovered. Nearly all
the needles were broken in a short time
and then the doctors were forced to
resort to whisky as deadener of pain.
He persistently refused TO tell his
name.
Later the hero physicians name was
learned from a passenger to be DR..
Bell, of New York city His initials
could not be learned He was on his
way to Ell Paso for his health and con-
tinued his journey on the train for
Texas made up to go around the wreck
on the Union Pacific via Manhattan.
back to the Rock Island there, thence
to Herington and Hutchinson.
Who Had Right of Way.
None of the train men seemed to
know who was to blame for the wreck.
The FL Paso train left Topeka about
80 minutes late, and the injured con-
ductor, as he lay in a sleeper berth,
said that he had the right of way, and
that the cattle train had no excuse for
being out on the main line under any
circumstances. He said that it should
have waited for the passenger at Maple
Hill, six miles west of Willard. The
El Paso train did not stop at Willard
and was running to make up lost time.
At the point where the wreck occurred
there is a curve in the track, and the
engineers on the two trains barely had
time to set the air brakes and jump
before the crash came. The heavy
! freight, which looked like it might be
half mile long, was not easily stop
| ped. The passengers on the El Paso
train were given little warning. The
1 loud hiss of the air brakes was follow
ed almost instantly by the blow and
crushing sound of telescoping cars.
Not more than two seconds elapsed.
Amid the groans and shrieks of the
injured the survivors crawled out over
wrecked seats. The usual number or
human swine were visible. They stood
around and hung onto their baggage
with an iron grip while other men were
using all the tools the train and
! then resorting to wooden levers and
pieces of scrap iron to break into the
death trap.
a Pathetic Incident.
Just before the car went to pieces a
middle aged German. who could not
speak a word of English, came into the
doomed coach with his family. consist