The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-06-23
over A SCORE
KILLED IN WRECK
New Eighteen-Hour "Twentieth
Century Limited Runs
Into Open Switch.
WRECK WAS MALICIOUS
Someone Deliberately Left the Switch
Open, They Say, and 1t Is No
Argument Against Maintain
ing Such High Speed.

ono lives.
All the dead were men and all were
passengers on the buffet car. Eighteen
have been positively identified and the
other three are in doubt.
Cleveland, O.. June 24.-More than a
score of persons are dead as the re-
suit Of the wreck of the Twentieth
Century limited on the Lake Shore road
at Mentor Wednesday. The train newly
essayed an eighteen hour schedule be-
tween Chicago and New York.
Travelling at the rate of over a mile
a minute, the heavy train was hurled
to it's doom with a momentum that
was appalling. The scene of the acct
dent was at the Mentor depot. The
switch that caused the trouble Is To-
Gated about 100 yards west Of the
depot.
AS the heavy engine struck the
switch, the engine left the main track
and swung violently to the left. For a
distance Of twenty yards the engine
ran on the rails and then leaping from
the track turned on its side. The heavy
tender was hurled entirely over the en-
CINE and buried in the depot. The
combination car was hurled with ter
rife violence on top Of the engine and
tender and in a moment was envelOped
in flames.
The Chicago sleeper. Immediately be-
hind the combination car swung from
the track and crashing into the depot.
that building collapsed on top of the
crushed and manned. and then COM
pletely buried in the collapsed struc-
ture.
The next sleeper following was left
off the track behind and the other re-
NAMED upright on the rails. An in
istant after the crash the boiler Of the
great engine burst with terrific force,
scattering fire and steam through the
wreck in a manner that made escape
for the helpless imprisoned passengers
Impossible.
Fire Adds to the Horror.
The wrecked combination car was
at once enveloped in binding flames
and scalding steam. Cries Of ilnpris-
oned passengers were heard above the
roar, but they were beyond all human
aid and the car became a pyre for a
number Of human beings.
Cleveland. C~ollinwoo1, A%shtabula and
Paijesville went to the scene at the
request of Lake Shore officials. After
physicians had treated the injured the
latter were placed aboard special trains
and brought to this city. where they
were hurried in waiting ambulances
to several hospitals.
The dead:
G. H. WELLMAN. general manager
of the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Engi-
TlppflnS coTIlpdIy, lev tldllu.
THOMAS r. MORGAN, same COM
ARCHIBALD P. HEAD. London
Eng.
JOHN r. BENNETT. patent attor-
ney, New YORK
A. L. Rodgers. Plat Iron company
New York.
H. II. WRIGHT, travelling man, Chi.
cago.
WILLIAM B. MICKEY. address un
D. ]. ARBAUGH. Milwaukee.
F. ]. BRANDT. Toledo.
H. C. MECKLING. manager Wheel
irg C~orrugating company, New York.
S. C. RECKWITH. New York.
L. NJ. EIRICK. manager Keith's the
al er, Cleveland.
I. II. GIBSON. Chicago.
N. B.. WALTERS, Hamburg. N. Y.
ALIEN TYLER. engineer. Collin
". a. BRADLEY. Akron. o.
HENRY TRIM. New York.
E. E. NAUGLE. Chicago.
Seven unidentified dead. one whom !
supposed to be Arthur L. Johnson o
Cleveland.
Injured:
AARON Gorham. Norwalk. o.. fireman
Rudolf Ricardau, Brooklyn, will prob
ably die.
]. H. Langdon. Chicago. critical.
F.. D. Countiss. president Of S. E
Chaplin g. Co. 'cago.
Scene Beegars Description.
The scene following the wreck wa
one that beRgars description. TIL
night was dark save for a light fror
the blazing coach on tor of the engine
Men swarmed about. y .:mbattini
flames with means at hand. gropin
their way through binding, scaldin
stem that rose In clouds. hunting 70
1,i,-aJ yyhnSa nitaOnS cries chile
their hearts. There was small waite
supply and NEE ms at hand for fehtin
the flames were nitifully inadequate.
FlNnes gradually drove the rescuer
awful battle. they were driven ava
from the blazing coach. and the i'm
prisoned passengers Were incinerateC
The fire burned until after midnieh
and the last burned and blackene
corpse was not recovered until
O'Clock.
Trainmen did valiant work in help
ing care for the injured. as they wer
taken from the wreck. Bedding. blank
cts and sheets were stripped fror
berths Of the Pullman coaches and use
for relief of the sufferers. 1t is the be
lief Of trainmen that those who's
bodies were burned in the wreck we1
unconscious after the crash.
officials of the road started an in
formal Investigation Immediately o
INel- dIIlNal hCy Nooit u uliuc
stand why or 10 the train would +
derailed at a switch which is provide
with every known safeguard and wa
carefully Inspected prior to the passin
of the train. While there Is no reaso
known why any one should tampe
with the switch. the officials do not be
leve the accident would have take
place with the switch properly set an
in position.
miles; an hour when the accident ot
miles an hour when the accident OK
CURED. according to Fireman Aaro
'Gorham, who was badly bruised. b.
otherwise %uninjured. He miraculous
escaped death.
1--WE were speeding like the wind
said Gorham. when the engine left II
track. 1t occurred so quickly 1 lit
knew what happened until we crashe
into the Mentor freight house. I neitf
er heard or saw the engineer aft
that"
Conductor Hammond, Of the Unite
told his experience thus: i rushe