The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1905-05-12
kWfUl. COLLISION IN PENHSYLvA
SCORE OF PEOPLE KILLED AND
FULLY ONE HUNDRED sUs-
TAIN INJURIES.


by the wrecking of the Cleveland and
Cincinnati express, westbound, on the
| Pennsylvania railroad, which dashed
! into wrecked eastbound freight train,
exploding a car filled with $4,000
pounds OF blasting powder. The
| wreck occurred in the southern part
of Harrisburg at lao a. m. 1t was
one of the most terrible disasters ever
experienced by the Pennsylvania rail-
road Twelve of the dead are at the
| morgue and other bodies are being
brought to the deadhouse as quickly
as they are located.
There are about seventy injured per-
sons In the Harrisburg hospital, hotels
and private residences, while others
are under care of physicians ia houses
near the scene of the wreck.
The primary cause of the wreck
was a shifting engine. 1t was going
west slowly when the engineer of the
eastbound freight train saw 1t coming
on his track. He applied the airbrakes
suddenly, which caused the middle OF
the freight train to buckle, showing
several of the cars onto the westbound
passenger track. A moment later the
express, one of the fastest night trains
on the road, came along and dashed
into the wrecked cars. The next in
slant the boiler of the passenger loco
motive exploded The wreck took fire
and those who escaped began the work
of rescue Six minutes after the eX-
press struck the freight wreck. the
railroad men say, the flames reached
the car filled with powder. There was
a flash and deafening roar. The
earth trembled as though some terrible
| seismic disturbance had occurred. All
who we're not killed and injured by
| the explosion fled from the awful
scene.
The entire wreckage became mass
of flames and small boxes of powder
| that had not exploded ''let go" con-
| tinuously. While these explosions con-
| tinued men who had bravely gone to
| the rescue before the first explosion
| did not dare to approach the burning
wreck, though they could hear the
agonized shrieks of the dying.
Imprisoned Victims Cremated.
Flames began their cruel feast of
| human bodies that were helplessly
pinned in the wreckage. An alarm OF
| fire was turned in and when the fire
| men arrived it was impossible for
| them to go closer than 800 yards OF the
| fire until the explosions ceased. Then
| the intense heat interfered with the
| work of rescue. Men of the boldest
nerve were forced to retire with singed
| hair, blistered faces and burning cloth
\ ing when they attempted to respond to
| the piteous cries for help. Those who
| escaped by leaping and crawling
| through windows, In scant attire, from
| their sleeping car berths, hurried to
| the open fields, where they were gath
| cred together and carried to the offices
and workshops of the Paxtang Elec-
| tric Light company and other indus
| trial plants, which were quickly trans
formed into temporary hospitals and
later into morgues.
Many of the injured were hurried to
the Harrisburg hospital, where a large
| staff of physicians and nurses dressed
| their injuries. Soon the hospital was
filled TO overfiowing and many OF the
injured were taken to hotels and pri-
vate residences.
Victims of the disaster were burned
to a crisp. So completely incinerated
were the bodies that only four OF those
recovered could be identified. The
two who were Immediately recognized
! after their remains were found were
Engineer Thomas of Parlpersburg, Pa,
and Mrs. Dougherty of Philadelphia
| both of whose bodies were thrown
clear Of the debris instead of into II
as was the case of several others.
The scene of the wreck when day
light broke was gruesome one. Sphn'
tered and smoldering cars and twisted
iron were piled high on the four tracks
| and an enormous amount OF wreckage
was lying on the marshland between
the railroad embankment and the
river. One thousand laborers were
soon put to work and by 10 O'Clock
two freight tracks were open.
The passenger tracks for several
hundred feet were blown away by the
explosion Passenger trains are beins
sent over the new low grade freight
line, along the west side of the Susque
hanna river. About a dozen boatmer
are dragging the river for bodies.
| The shock OF the explosion was felt
for miles around.
i Burglars In J. ]. Astor's House.