The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-03-19
Miss Myra Sawyer Has Some
Thrilling Experiences En-
Route From Paris.
ENCOUNTERS DANGERS
BY LAND AND SEA
Was Pullman Passenger on Rio
Grande Train Which
Met Disaster.

All the horrors OF a terrible railroad
disaster. accompanied by holocaust.
were vividiy brought home TO Miss Myra
Sawyer, who resides at 753 East Fifth
South street, this city, and who was re-
turning homo en- the Inflated Rio Grande
train which met destruction near Flor
cnce. Colo, on Friday morning. During
the past TWO weeks Miss Sawyer has en-
countered dangers by lana and sea. In
the past three and half years she has
been studying art In Paris and TWO
weeks ago last Friday she sailed from
Havre on the American line steamship
Philadelphia Some three or four days
Oat the snip ran Into terrific storm
which lasted about twcnty-lour hours.
curing which time the captain remained
IN the bridge guiding the dest!nies oil
Hls vessel This, or course, caused
Iwenty-fou- hours delay IN arrival In
New York, but the danger past all was
soon forgotten.
Miss Sawyer Had Premonition.
on MONDAY Miss Sawyer left New York
Jnd on Tuesday evening she left Chicago,
Via the Burlington, Her train vas seven
hours late in arriving at the Colorado
capital and about $50 she left Denver on
No, g. having secured lower berth In
the Pullman. Miss Sawyer went to bed
nave n premonitlon that danger was
ahead. that indescribable, psychological
somethins that whispered to her all was
not well
Sky Lurid With Flames.
About clock in the morning there
was d terrific Jar. She jumped up and
pulled aside the curtains OF her berth
ana u sky lurid with flames met her gaze,
She called the porter he said there was
no danger. to remain I'm her berth and
moi rIHrh h.arG hes
failing at the time. Miss Sawyer was
dazed, she did not at FIRST realize her
terrible surroundings. She arose and
dressed, \ few minutes later some rail-
road officials entered ard said they were
going To uuCouple the so IS 10 save
them from being destroyed by the lames
ljy this time six ur seven OF the cars
ahead were a seethlng mass OF flames
-Four OF the cars, three tourist and the
Pullman, were uncoupled. and about fifty
men. passengers and officials succeeded
IN pushing them 30 safe distance.
Another Explanation of Disaster.
or that awful scene OF death and horror;
II is beyond her She states. however
hat it was currently reported that one
nf The train officials said that the head
light of the oncomiug train WAS mistaken
in the binding snow for the headlight OF
Santa Fe train. the track OF which par
ailels the Rio Grandc at this point But
H"r description OF the scene on the Pull
man when the wounded were brought
inere, was narrowing In every detail
The agony and grief Of Mr. Hewitt, whose
entire family was Killed was agonizinG
20 behold. He moancd over his loss His
.ag was horribly fractured, 1he bones pro-
4ruding through the nesh;ph mouth d
mass of blood, and although patient he
could not be comforted a young girl
was brought in, her leg broken. crushed
and bruised. She and her brother were
Soing only short distance from Lara
nile to Golden. Her brother was dead
incincrated in the caudron ahead, and her
only thought was of home and father
Oh, what VIII my father think?" she
'nodned time and again.
Brave Baggage Man
baggageman was next brought In. He
vas terribly injured HIS feet were
crushed. his head wSs bruised he had
been knocked down In the car and some
bcdy-rescucd him from the debris before
tho creeping white flames enyclopcd him.
lie was patient and long surfering-and
Oh the agony he must have endured. but
he insisted on tho physicians attending to
The others before they did anything to
alleviate his pain. In sharp contrast was
u young German. He had come over
from the Fatherland and was near his
destination Florence. His leg was broken
but he WAS sore distressed and he com
planned bitterlT. Doubtless the fact that
nc was far away from home helpless
mo apparently friendless led to his pes
Simsms There were other, many other
Genes of woe and suffering in the impro-
Viscd Pullman hospital car but those re-
lated came under Miss Sawycr's immcd-
ate observation. The terrible, lndescrib-
able scenes being enacted outside where
seven cars with their human freight were
Icing consumed she did not see. She did
rot care To witness,
Baggage Car Crashed Into Smoker.
But from what she learned II is her
opinion that the beams OF the baggage
ar crashed into the smoker which was
crowded with men, and that the chairs
were virtually lifted to the ceiling min
nlrg in the victims where they were
glowly roasted alive, The chair car in
which were many women and children
was crashed into splinters and the fro
broke out almost instantaneously
None OF the passengers In the tourist
OF standard sleepers were injured at
east not seriously. Two baggage cars, a
believed to have been consumed In the
DANES, although the most OF the mail was
saved. Two young physicians happened
10 be on the train, and they rendered in
valuable aid before the arrival OF the res
cue train The unnjured and the in
jurcd were taken back TO Pueblo. During
the long wait, however. the car got in
iensely cold the steam being shut off
ond there was considerable suffering
& Gruesome Journey.
About o'clock Friday morning the PCS
senEers who were able 10 proceed west
eft Pueblo m the cars which were saved
from tho wreck II WAS rather gruesomc
travelling I'm the Pullman whicn had been
The scene OF so much suffering and mis-
cry and the car was somewhat disman-
lied, the bell-cord having been cut down
and used to tie up splintS on fractured
limbs. The run past the wreck was
made on thc Santa Fe tracks and as the
smoking and smouldering. many closed
their eyes TO shut out from their vision