Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1905-05-12
TWENTY KILLED AND
ONE HUNDRED HURT
Terrible Wreck Occurs On the
Pennsylvania Railway.
NUMBER OF DEAD is UNKNOWN

Into Wrecked Freight on the Mair
Line-Morgue Full of Dead and tn;
Hospital Filled With Injured.
Harrisburg, Pa, May 11.-At leas
20 persons were killed and more thar
100 injured in a collision on the Penn
Sylvania railroad south of Harrisburg
few minutes before O'clock this
morning, caused by the second sec
ton of the Cleveland and Cincinnati
express, westbound, crashing into a
wrecked freight train.
There are at least 10 bodies under
the wreckage
The Harrisburg hospital is crowded
with the most seriously injured. Others
of the injured are at the hotels and
Will be able to resume their journey
during the day. The railroad compa-
ny is doing everything possible for the
relief of the injured, many of whom
escaped from the wreck in their night
clothes and lost all their clothing and
other belongings.
The passenger train of nine cars
and locomotive was wrecked.
AT 6 o'clock this morning three
corpses had been taken to the dead
house near Union Station. None of
the bodies could be identified. Mrs.
Dougherty's body was taken to an un.
dertaking establishment.
Before the tracks were cleared suf-
ficiently to permit trains to run in a
roundabout way via York was used.
At 6:15 O'Clock four more bodiss had
been removed from the burned train.
Two valises were found beside the
four corpses. On one the name of
Somuel P. Brown, Germany, was print
ed, on the other was the name of
Samuel Stern, 234 Broadway, Cleve,
land, 0. A man by the name of
Samuel Stern was among those not
seriously injured who were sent to the
hosSital.
AT $50 o'clock the flames were still
raging tiercely in two Pullman cars
that up to that time had not been en-
tered by the rescuing parties.
1t was believed then that there were
a number of corpses inside that coul6
not be rescued for hours Very few
passengers who had escaped had any
clothing to speak of. Most of them
had been in their berths at the time
of the explosion and escaped only in
pajamas or other light apparel
Only three dead have been positive
ly identified, so completely were the
bodies eremated. The known dead
are:
II. K. Thomas, engineer of the pas
senger locomotive, Philadelphia, head
blown off when boiler exploded.
Mrs. Robert Dougherty, of Philadel
phia.
Jacob F. Silverman, Bridgeton, N.
j., burned to a crisp in his berth.
He was identified by a masonic EN-
blem on his coat
c. K. Uhlmann, Altoona, Pa.
1t is unofficially estimated that the
financial loss will amount to full $780,
600 This includes $15O,000 for cash
jewelry and other personal effects Of
the passengers that were destroyed.
Twelve of the dead are at the
morgue and other bodies are being
brought to the dead-house as quickly
as they are located
There are about 20 injured persons
in the Harrisburg hospitals, hotels and
private residences, while others are
under care of physicians in houses
near the scene of the wreck.
The primary cause of the wreck
was an accident to shifting train. It
was going west slowly when the en-
gineer of the eastbound freight saw
it coming on his track. He applied the
air breaks SUDDENLY, which caused the
middle of the freight tRRin to buckle,
showing several of the cars on to the
westbound track. A moment later
the express, one of the fastest night
trains on the road, came along end
dashed into the wrecked cars. The
next instant the boiler of the passen-
ger locomotive exploded The wreck
took fire and those who escaped be-
gan the work of rescue
Six minutes after the express struck
the freight wreck the railroad men
say the flames reached the car filled
with power. There was flash and a
deafening roar. The earth trembled
as though some terrible seismic dis
turbance had occurred All who were
not killed or injured by the explosion
fed from the awful scene.