The Cairo bulletin., 1906-09-19
TWENTY INJURED AND AS MANY
MORE ARE STILL REPORTED
MISSING.
WONDERFUL ESCAPES
Passengers Crawl Out of Sinking
Coaches and Float Away on
Drftwood--Others Die in
Similar Wrecks.

Guthrie, Okla, Sept. l8.-Eight peo
pie are dead, twenty more or less
seriously injured and as many more
missing as result of the wreck of a
Rock Island passenger train, three
miles from Dover, Okla, today
The engine, tender, baggage and
mail care, smoker and day coach on
train No. TO- north pound, left the
high bridge that spans the Cimarron
river and plunged into the river
quicksands,
The locomotive disappeared from
sight almost Immediately. The mail
and baggage clerks escaped and
swan ashore. The accident was due
to defective nange On the bridge
which was sweryed out Of line by the
pressure of driftwood carried down by
the swollen stream.
The train was an hour late and was
running at a high speed to make up
time. The engineer did net see the
condition of the bridge until he was
within a few yards when it was too
late to stop. He shouted to the fire
man, threw on the air brakes aud
jumped. He landed on the river bank
and escaped unhurt. The fireman was
severely injured.
When the engine struck the bridge
the whole structure suddenly col
lapsed precipitating the engine, smok-
or III nd IuN oh iVf hn riu n
two pulman's remained on the track
The scene was one OF indescribale
confusion. The shrieks of those inn
prisoned in the partly submerged
coaches were added to the shouts of
those on the bank The swift current
whrled the day coach down stream
and lodged it against a sand bank.
The occupants were helped out
through doors and windows.
Float Down Stream to Safety.
The smoker floated down stream.
submerged all but the Top. It stuck on
sand bar In the middle of the river.
-Four men who clamored through
window to the top Of the car were
swept away by large mass of drift
wood. Three other men jumped
through the rear door of the smoker
before the car sank and swan to
shore.
The most authentic accounts place
the number Of passengers in the smok
er at between twenty-five and thirty.
With few exceptions none have been
accounted for
The only hopeful news is contained
in a messages from rural districts.
Men ON bits of driftwood have been
seen going down stream at various
places but attempts at rescue have
in most instances proved futile
One man whose name Is unknown
was fiFhed out of the Cimarron at
Cashion, twenty miles from the scene |
of the disaster, almost dead. Others
have been reported eating down the |
river. The injured have been taken |
to Kingisher, where the people have !
thrown open their homes for them |
1t will be impossible TO ascertain |
the exact number Of dead. for several
days. Many reported missing may
show up safe at some point down the
Cimarron. Tonight the derailed cars
are lying near the bank of the river :
A party of searchers is working with
torches in the wrecked cars. II is
the opinion Of the people at the scene
that a fe wbodies will be found inside ,
the smoker.
Sheriff Love. of Kingfsher. who was
In the smoker said that when he es-
capped from the car there was at leaet I
six feet of water in It and that there
were at least thirty other passengers
In the car. He saw only two besides
himself escape.
Reports have reached here that sew
rral bodies have been seen floating
lown the river