The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-08-09
ONE OF THE WORST.
Disaster ON the ID. & r. G. Has Few
Equals in Railroad Accidents.

Pueblo. Colo, Aug. 9.-The wreck
| of the Worlds fair flyer on the Den
yer & Rio Grande railroad near Eden
| z miles north of Pueblo. proves to
| have been one of the greatest railroad
disasters in the history of this country
How many perished probably will
never be definitely ascertained, for the
| treacherous sands are drifting over
the bodies. Bodies have been recover
ed 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
the disaster occurred, and it is prob
able some may be recovered even fur
ther down stream None of the bodies
is badly mutilated and all are in
such condition as to be recognizable.
Many identifications have been made
by articles found on the bodies. no
persons who viewed them recognizing
the features.
On the Lookout.
On the lookout for danger, warned
by the squally clouds and heavy rains
to the north, Engineer Charles Hind
man was running cautiously, about
fifteen miles an hour, as he approach
ed the arroyo which was spanned by
a bridge 96 feet in length. The con-
ditton OF the bridge was not known
until the locomotive, one of the mon
ster passenger type, had nearly cross
ed. Fireman Frank Mayheld, with a
large torch that the engineer and the
fireman had been using to ascertain
the condition of the track, was in the
gangway. When Engineer Hindman
felt the tremor in the great machine
and caught a glimmer of the water he
shouted his last words:
Put out that torch,'' evidently
thinking that in the accident he felt
certain was coming the flames would
serve to spread fire.
But before Mayfield could obey.
he dc still he
lips of the doomed man and his hand
seeking the mechanism controlling the
air. the bridge gave way as if it had
been a stack of kindling wood and the
locomotive dropped with the kissing
of steam through 80 feet of flood 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, save three
men, perished, and had not the roof
of the chair car burst asunder none
the locomotive went over was thrown
out and. managing to grasp piece of
wreckage from the bridge, fioated with
that to a curve made by the cav1ng
ran toward Eden, meeting on the
way Operator F. M. Jones and his
wife. who had already started up the
track. They had seen the headlight
OF the approaching tram minute DC-
fore and then had witnessed 1t dis
appear with ominous suddenness-
First News of Wreck.
Notify Pueblo came the voice of
the running man. 1.-The trains gone
down and everybody is killed" Even
as he spoke, relates the operator,
there were cries coming from the
distance. The two men ran to where
the bridge had been to search. but in
vain, for victims of the disaster
When they reached the spot all cries
for help had ceased.
Relief trains with physicians, wreck
and pile driving outfits and scores OF
workmen were hurried from the city
The first train from the wreck came
in shortly after midnight with ]. M
Killin of Pueblo, whose escape was
H. S. Gilbert, Tony Fish
er and Fireman Mayfield- These We're
the four men in the midst of the
wreck who escaped
When dawn came the wonder grew
that four had been permitted to
emerge from tn eraging torrent with
breath still in their bodies.
The end of the Pullman Ashmere
while broken timbers and twisted
rails hung still further over The
arroyo had been widened to over
hundred feet at the point where the
bridge had been. The water tore
zigzag course across the prairie 10
a depth of 80 feet in several places
There was but little left of the bag
gage cara few rods, a truck or so,
dimly seen in the muddy water, half
buried iron safe.
The great locomotive. the boiler free
of the trucks, the cab and tank gone,
lies where it fell.
Smoker Bottom Up.
A quarter of a mile to the east,
where this gorge of death debouched
into the Fountain, lay the chair car,
windows gone, three-fourths filled with
mud and sand. A hundred feet far
ther on was the smoker, bottom up
fifty feet farther in the bed of the
Fountain was the coal tender of the
engine and from that point on for four
or five miles vestiges of the coaches,
the bed of the stream or lie along the
shore or on the island. Red plush seats
of the smoker were strewn all along
the stream Brass rails from the
coaches were found in the sand half
a mile from the site of the bridge and
pieces of the baggage car stuck out
of the water in several places. Bits
OF clothing, coats, skirts and women's
hats were found in the brush along
the shore and the searchers scanned
the foliage for bodies. Masses of earth
had caved in from the high sides of
the river at many places and search
bodies were buried under them which |
they were helpless to reach
Five hundred men scanned every |
inch of the river and its surroundings
a few hours after daylight They wad-
ed in the stream and carried out mud
begrimed bodies which were found at
widely separated points, some of them |
miles from the scene of the accident. !
The first corpses recovered were those |
OF Miss Irene Wright and Little Dor |
othy johnson. the sister-in-law and |
daughter. respectively of Harry John |
son, of Pueblo. An unknown woman |
lay beside them Engineer Hindman
was found with his watch still run
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