The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-03-18
TWENTY-TWODEAD
TWENTY-FIVE HURT
Latest Estimate OF the Casualties In
the Distressing Rio Grande
Wreck In Colorado.
BLAME DEFINITELY PLACED
OPERATOR ASLEEP WHEN TRAIN
RUSHED By.

Pueblo. Colo. March 17-Twenty-
two dead and twenty-five injured is
the very best estimate Of the casual
ties in the wreck of the two Denver &
Rio Grande passenger trains, which
collided on a curve at a point twenty
five miles west Of this city early Fri
day morning. Only seven OF the dead
can be identified and only one of these
corpses retains sufficient of the out
line of the features to be readily rec
equitable. The remainder are known
from the fact that the location where
the charred bones were found were the
places they would naturally have been
when the collision happened. Two tel
egraph operators are held in the pub
lie mind to be responsible for the aw-
full disaster, although no formal in
dictment has gone out against them.
Both have been ordered discharged
from the service of the road. A cor
oner's jury has been empanelled and
viii begin investigating the cause of
the accident at Canon City.
Chained to His Seat.
In addition to this, the railroad
company has directed it's officials to
locate the blame through an examina-
ton of trainmen and operators, who
will be asked to gather together in
the near future and tell what they
know of the deplorable affair. It de-
NeIopS that r G. Whitney, who was
being escorted to the penitentiary by
Deputy Sheriff Ed E. Baird, had been
chained to his seat, and when fire
broke out in the wreckage he had no
chance whatever to escape. By the
hand Of fate his guard persisted with
him. The laws OF Colorado have pro-
visions making it a crime to fasten
prisoners in transportation to car
seats.
Thrilling and Pathetic.
AS time goes on, incidents, thrilling
and pathetic, come to light. The ex-
perience of G. c. Clark, a passenger on
the westbound train, is enough to ex-
cite the. interest of the most phleg-
matte. Mr. Clark was standing upon
the platform Of one of the cars that
was destroyed by fire. He was talking
FEsith the negro porter when the crash
came. The explosion Of the gas tanks
followed the collision closely. and the
force of the blast picked up Clark and
hurled him through the roof The man
sailed through the air, clear of the
wreckage. and landed on the hillside
from which he picked himself up prac-
ticalIy unhurt, having sustained only
a few bruises and cOntusiOns.
The porter fell down into the wreck
age and has not been seen since
Could Not Save Her Babe.
A heartrending story of mother love
and wonted self-sacrifice is told by
Conductor Kroeger. who had charge of
the Pullmans on the westbOund train
Il saw one mother" he said with
a little babe in her arms. She knew
that it was almost an impossibility TO
be saved herself, but her only thought
was of her child. One hand was pin
toned by the debris, but her head and
the other arm were free.
"She was trying to keep her head
from the flames and, with her free
hand was holding the infant as high
in the air as she could. Just as we
were about to reach her she gave a
gasp and fell back into the flames with
the babe"
Another Unknown Body.
Late this afternoon word was re-
ceived from the scene of the wreck
that the head and upper portion of a
human body had been found under a
pile of coal dumped out of the tender
of the engine of No. Is pulling the
eastbOund train The lower part Of the
body had been burned away. Both of
the enginemen of No. is were killed,
and enough Of their bodies had been
found. it was thought, to identify them.
Just who could have been the victim
who was crushed under the coal pile
and perhaps instantly killed, is puz-
zle Some believe that one Of the pas
sengers must have been thrown to the
the spot indicated by the impact of
II = \
and a miracle of escape was thus
changed to certain death by the over
turning of the engine tender, piling the
coal on the PROSTATE form
Latest List of Dead.
Claim Agent Charles Mitchell of the
Denver & Rio Grande railroad today /
approved a list of the dead from the
collision near Adobe, Colo, yesterday /
morning. Mr.. Mitchell thinks it is as
nearly accurate as can be made at this !
time. The list follows:
William Hollis. engineer, Pueblo.
Walter Cosslett, engineer, Pueblo.
II. D. Suddeth, fireman, Pueblo.
Ed. Z. Baird, deputy sheriff, Denver. |
r. @. Whitney, convict, Denver.
T. NJ. MCFARLAND. messenger, Denver. |
A. n. BartlO, Salda.
Miss Grace Bairtlo, SaIida.
Taylor Hewitt, Lebo, Kan.
Mrs Lillian Hewitt. Lebo. Kan.
Mrs. Winona Hewitt. Lebo, Kan.
Pearl Hewitt. 10 years old, Lebo, Kan. !
Mrs. katherine Hewitt, and boy baby |
Claudius, four months old, Lebo, Kan. /
Ed. Cowley, Emporia, Kan.
Grace Cowley and baby, Emporia, |
Kan.
Fred. Jones, Lebo, Kan.
Fred. Limecooley, Denver
Mrs. Belle Webb. Keystone. Wyo.
Ray Field, aged 10, keystone, Wyo.
Thomas Brennan. Leadville, Colo