Arizona republican., 1904-08-09

Five hundred men started to SCOUT the river and it's surroundings after daylight. They waded in the stream and carried out ud-begrimed bodies which were found at widely separated points, some of them miles from the scene of the accident. Engineer Hind man was found with his watch still running, a few feet further down the stream. And since the sun rose mer- rily over the drenched land, stretchers with sand covered, dripping burdens have been carried every few minutes to the railroad tracks where the death train awaits them. The body of one young man in his shirt sleeves was among the wreckage in the smoking car
 Further down the river several bod | ies were discovered entagled in a mass of debris, thought to have been a part of the baggage car, which was literally torn to pieces. In a short time a large number of bodies were dug out of the sand here. One woman was complete ly buried, slve one foot, which stuck up above the water. Some bodies were | found lodged in the shrubbery along 1 the banks, others in the wreckage in midstreams and many half buried with only one arm or a pit of clothing to | reveal their whereabouts. Many of the | bodies were almost naked, the cloth | ing having been torn completely off. Almost a general thing with all the corpses was that their hands were rais- ed when they were laid on their backs, 1 but all appeared in good condition. 1 Without doubt a great majority were | drowned like rats in trap, when the | cars were plunged, without moments warning into the wnirling water 8 ! feet deep. 100 feet wide, and with l current strong enough to carry thous- ands of pounds of weight nearly a mile before subsiding.
 1 The bodies recovered were identified very slowly. because many of them were those of strangers here, who had been to the fair at St. Louis and other l eastern points. Major F. II. Whitman of Kansas was identified by a watch presented to himb by members of the l Twentieth Kansas volunteers, in which his name was engraved.
 l Tte walls Of the sO-called dry creek are ragged, irregular. Caving and wid- eneG. but so narrow that it is almost 1 impossible to understand how the great coaches. the baggage car and tender ! could have been-swept so far without becoming lodged against the sides. Most of the bed of the creek is now
 visible. with little streams weaving about the strips of sand, forming is lands of mud and sand, which are be- ing searched for bodies that may lie
 buried in them.
 r. M. Jones. station agent at Eden, | who was first to go to the aid Of the
 stricken people on the train. gives the following version Of the accident:
 "I was sitting in my office. a distance
 of a mile from the scene of the wreck,
 when suddenly q loud sound followed
 by a series of smaller reports, startled
 me. l had heard Of No. II passing Pin ion from the operator there and at this
 time she was overdue more than six
 minutes. an unusual thing for the
 flyer.
 Becoming thoroughly alarmed, l
 seized my lantern and ran up the track
 to the place where the bridge should
 have been. The faint rays of my lan-
 tern threw just enough light for me to
 distinguish three cars, but between my self and them was d chasm fully fifty
 feet wide through which dashed a Iiv-
 CT almost level with the ground upon
 which l stood. Opposite me l could . make out the outlines of three cars
 but the other four that usually make up No. Il were nowhere in sight. ]
 started across the mesa in the direction
 of the river. which was high and mak- ing much noise. After walking about a half mile l saw near the bank, a
 dark object. It was almost stationary in mid-stream, with one end swing
 ing toward the left bank. I slipped of my clothes and plunged in, swimming
 in the direction in which I had come as I knew the strong current would carry me down stream. By proceeding
 in this course, I managed to get to the object, which proved to be tho chair car, half on it's side and held ir position by an arm of land extending ! into the stream, probably fifteen feet
 The roof of the car was gone and in-
 side there was not a soul to be found Guided by the light of my lamp or shore. l struck out for the bank, anC
 being a strong swimmer, I reached it ir l q few moments. The car, or what wa! left of it. broke loose and was com pleteiy demolished. It was then after midnight.
 There were two survivors Of ths wreck that l know of, the fireman anC
 pilsSehSer III the chalr car. Ills story
 he told me in a dazed manner, for tho man was really bordering on lunacy It seemed that he was sitting in the third chair from the rear of the car when the train turned upwards ant suddenly precipitated him through tn,
 window and after turning him a com
 plete circle landed him on the bank.
 A FIGHT FOR LIFE.