The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-03-17
THIRTY-FIVE KILLED IN
 THE RIO GRAND WRECK
NEARLKA 4 SCORE ARE INCTNFR- ATED IN THE FIRE WHICH
 FOLLOWS.

Many Others Injured Hut Will Probably
 Recover--Wreck Due to Undelivered
 Orders--Heavy Mountain Grades, q
 Blinding Snow storm and Sharp
 Curve Contribute--Many of the Dead
 Homeseekers Bound for the North
 west.
 Pueblo, Col, March 16.--Thirty-five persons were crushed or burned to death early to-day in head-on collis- ion of two passenger trains near Adobe, Col on the Denver and Rio Grande railroad, and nearly a score of the victims were incinerated, several beyond Identification, by fire that de- stroyed the wrecked coaches More than score were injured, but all of these will probably recover.
 The wreck was due to undeliyered orders, heavy mountain grades, a hind ing snowstorm, sharp curve and the slippery condition of the rails. Only the locomotive baggage and day coaches were wrecked, the sleeping cars escaping almost unscratched, as in the case of the Eden disaster on the same road in 1904.
 Many of the dead were horneseekers bound for the northwest. The three crushed locomotives set fire to the splintered coaches and 1t was hours be- fore all the bodies were recovered, the flames being so hot that rescuers could not approach the debris until the fuei burned out
 It was a wild, stormy night in the mountain canons when the two heavy trains met Blinding snow darkered the rocky gorges and speed was not high.
 Suddenly headlights flashed out, and 1t was realized by the engineers that something was wrong. According to Fireman J. H Smith, of the west bound train, Engineer Walter Coslett applied the emergency brake, but the slippery rails allowed the momentum of the heavy train to carry 1t on to the fatal crash.
 The impact was scarcely noticeable. but the trains crushed and ground into each other. The heavy sleeping cars of the West-bound train acted as a cush- ion, minimizing the force and weight of the heavy mountain engines The help- CT was crushed together like So much paper and the larger locomotive ran through the mesh of iron and crashed each other to pieces. Fireman Smith was the only one of the engine crews to escape. The baggage car of the west bound train broke in two and three coaches were squeezed together. The baggage oar, the mail car and coach of the west-bound train buckled, but none of the cars telescoped.
 Hardly had the noise of the wreck ceased when a sheet of fire ran through the shattered cars of both trains. In the forward coach of the westbound train every seat was occupied by pass engers most of whom were home seek CTS. A number of foreigners were among them and in their terror they gave up life without making any att tempt to reach safety outside the burn ing cars.- They sank to the floor of the car and were roasted alive. The cooler ones in the car, seeing Hheir danger,
  with the aid of the passengers in the rear of the train and those members of the train crew who were unhurt, man. aged to reach the open air. Many were injured by the rough handling they re- ceived or by flying glass.
 When the occupants of the two sleep- ing cars saw that nothing could be done to check the flames, they, aided the traiilmen in pushing back the unda1n- aged cars.
 Communication was opened with the Pueblo office of the railroad from Port- land, mile from the wreck, and 8 re- lief train, which was at once dispatched to the wreck The injured were placed in the sleeping cars and brought to Pueblo with the passengers of the east bound train who were unhurt Another relief train came from Florence to take away the uniniured portion of the east bound train.