The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-11-16
LiSloN OF IMMIGRANT AND
S|@ FREIGHT TRAINS.
FLAMES CONSUME VICTIMS
PASSENGERS PINNED IN WRECK.
AGE MEET MOST HORRIBLE
DEATH BY FIRE.

Chicago, Nov. 13.-More than one
half the passengers on an immigrant
train on the Baltimore and Ohio road
were killed and injured in collision
between the passenger train and a
freight near Woodyille, Ind.
One hundred and sixty-five passen
gers were on the train and of these
fOrty-seven were either killed outright
or were burned to death in a fire
which broke out in the wreckage i'm
mediately after the collision. The
names of all of the dead will probably
never be known, as forty-five of the
bodies were consumed in the flames
or were so badly burned that identi-
fication will be impossible.
Thirty-eight persons were injured
and several of these will die. Eighty
others escaped unhurt, but lost nearly
all their baggage and clothing.
The disaster was caused by the
blunder of some employee of the rail-
road company, but just where the
blame lies has not as yet been ascer.
tanned. The passenger train, which
was loaded with Russian Jews, Ser
VANS and Poles, all of them recent ar
rivals in this country and bound for
Chicago or places in the Northwest,
was the second section of through
train from Baltimore. The engineer
of thn frniCrE tl.oin No Qe in OF n.
lions received at McCool, Ind, waited
at a siding at Babcock, Ind, to allow
the immigrant train to pass. One re.
port is that the engineer of the
freight train had not been informed
that the passenger train was running
in two sections, the other is that the
first section of the passenger train
carried no lights or signals of any
kind indicating that a second section
was close behind. AS soon as the first
section Of the immigrant train had
passed the switch at BabcOck che
freight train, in charge of Engineer
Burke and Conductor Moste, started
eastward.
A light snow was falling, which in
creased the darkness of the early
morning, and as the freight was
Rounding Sharp Curve
just west Of Woodville the second sec.
tion of the immigrant train came in
sight short distance away, tearing
toward Chicago at the rate of forty
miles an hour. The two trains came
together with nnslackened speed and
in the crash six passenger coaches
and several freight cars were knocked
into kindling wood and, together with
the locomotives, went rolling down the
ten-foOt embankment.
Fire broke out almost Immediately in
the wreckage and although a number
Of the injured were saved by the des
perate efforts of the train crew and
surviving passengers the greater part
of those who were pinned down in
the debris were burned to death. The
flames spread through the wreckage
SO rapidly that it was impossible to
save a number of people who were but
slightly hurt but were held fast by
timbers that weighted them down.
These were burned in plain sight Of
the throng which stood around the
scene of the disaster utterly unable
to lend assistance in any way. The
fire continued until all of the shat
tered cars were entirely consumed
and Of the forty-seven people whose
death followed the collision forty-five
were burned to ashes
The crash of the collision was so
great that a number of farmers of the
neighborhood came fastening to the
scene, but they could do nothing to
lend assistance to the injured who had
already been taken from the wreck.
All of the six cars of the immigrant
traine were burned, as were three
freight cars.
Relief trains were at once sent out
from South Chicago and from Valpa-
raise, Ind, with every available physi-
clan and every possible aid was given
to the injured.