Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1904-01-13
sEvEnyEsa ARE klLlro.
Fearful Result Of the Head.on Collision on
the Rock Island System.

Twenty persons were killed and
thirty.seven injured in head-on
collision between the Rock leland,
California and Mexico express and q
freight train, at Willard this morn
ing. Most of the injured are in hos
pitfalls in Topeka.
tits thought that carelessness of
tralnmen oaus,,d the wreck. In
struoted to meet special freight
train at Willard, the conductor and
engineer of the ill-fated passenger,
noting that freight train stood in
the eide track at Willard, rushed
through, thinking the cars they had
were the ones which they had been
/, instructed TO pass.
| III. G. Parsons, reporter of the
Topeka State Journal, who was on
the wrecked Rock Island train, ar
rived in Topeka this morning after
driving overland from the scene of
the collision. Parsons escaped with
slight injuries, while two persons on
the seat in front of him were killed.
Parsons tells the following story of
the wreck:
"It was in the third car of the
passenger train, the first coach hav-
/ ing been preceded by q smoker and
baggage car, that the greatest loss of
life occurred. The smoker, which
was occupied 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 setting of
the airbrake shut off the lights leav-
ing all in darkness.
GA moment later mass Of splint-
cred wood and iron was crowded
down upon them. No one was
thrown ont of their seat by the
blow.
"Most of those in the forward
end of the car were killed instantly.
Thirty in the rear end of the coach,
however, succeeded in escaping from
that end of the car, which was still
unobstructed. No one in the from,
half of the Car escaped. They were
crushed down between the seats by
the smoker. When rescue was
finally possible only three living per-
sons were taken out by the rescuers,
who were compelled to chop holes in
the side and through the floor and
top of the coach to reach them.
REsCUING THE VICTIMS.
"The three rescued from this
portion were man, a small girl and
a middle-aged woman, who were
moaning and begging to be taken
out. One man, hurt internally, was
removed through the rear door
within five minutes after the collis-
ion, but died almost as soon as the
rescuers could lay him down. A
woman died two hours later while
trying to tell a physician her name.
|. "Bonnie Martin, girl IL years of
age, was pinned down between the
two cars, the heavy stove resting on
one foot. Her cries attracted the
rescuers, and men, many of them
bleeding from wounds about the
face and arms, worked heroically to
get her out. 1t took two hours of
steady work to relieve her. When
she was taken out she addressed the
doctor, who was bending over her,
as Papa
"Thesphysioian did not have the
heart to tell her that she was an
orphan, her father and mother hav-
ing been killed. Mr.. Martin was
instantly killed and Mrs. Martin
died ten minutes after being taken
from the wreck. The child was suf-
fering from broken ankle and
severe scalp contusions.
THE HERO OF THE WRECK.
con the passenger train in the
sleeper was young physician who
walked with crutoh as the result of
some spinal trouble. He was thrown
down and slightly injured, but was
the first man who began aiding the
injured. He had 9 portion ot the
chair car and the berths in the sleeper
cleared, and to them the victims
were carried. The physician was
without instruments or medicines,
and the only thing he could do was
to bind up wounds which he did by
tearing up sleeper.sheets and pillow
cases and giving the patients whis-
key to deaden the pain.
"The young doctor found fire.
man who was injured in the leg--an
artery was broken-and he took it
up with pen.knife and tied it with
thread, probably preventing the
fireman from bleeding to death.
"With one exception, the people
in the sleepers devoted themselves
unselfishly to the care of the
wounded, that exception being a
man who would not give mp his