Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-03-17

kllleQ IN the Adobe wreck.
Pueblo, Colo, March 16.-In blind
Ing snow storm trains No. 16, the
Colorado and New Mexico express,
east bound, and No. 8, the Utah and
California express, westbound on the
Denver and Rio Grande railroad, col
lided headon, near Portland, Colorado.
thrifty miles west of Pueblo, at Q
o'clock this morning. 1T is reported
that about forty persons were killed
and many others injured.
Seventeen of the injured reached
this city on a relief train this morning
and were taken to a hospital.
Victims Incinerated.
It is stated that perhaps fifteen
bodies were burned in the fire follow
ing the wreck The trains met on a
curve. One of them was double
header and the impact caused the two
engines, the smoker and the day coach
to turn over and the cars took fire.
They were crowded with passengers.
Cold Delays Rescue Work.
The weather is bitterly cold and the
heavy snow that is falling is interfer-
ling with the rescue work.
The cause of the wreck is at
Z tributed to a failure to deliver orders
to No. 16, the east bound train, so that
No. 3 could pass.
Physicians Early on Scene.
Among the physicians who rem
dered assistance were DR.. F. N. Coch-
ems, of Salida, who was on No. 16, but
who escaped injury. He was assisted
by Drs. Rambo and Moore, of Flor
ence, who soon arrived at the scene
of the disaster.
Passengers Burned Alive.
/. Some Of the victims were pinioned
under the wreckage and burned alive
before help could reach them. Most of
the injured were on No. 8, which was
heavily loaded. No. 16 carried com
paratively few passengers and these
escaped, generally with only slight
shaking up.
A Sad Case.
One man. named Hewitt, was the
only one of family of ten who es-
capped He lost his father, mother,
wife and three children, his brother
j, and two other relatives.
Many Bodies Unidentified.
Many bodies will never be identified,
having been burned to crisp Part
of the mail was destroyed and all the
express matter was destroyed.
The identified dead are:
WILLIAM HOLLIS, engineer of No
is.
E. M. PARLAND of Globe, express
messenger on No 16.
WALTER CAUSLET of Pueblo, en-
gineer Of No. 3.
HUGH SUDDITH, fireman.
No. 3 was composed of a mail car
express car, two day coaches, two tour
ist cars and two s1eepers. All the
sleepers were saved and none of the
occupants was injured. The majority
of the casualties occurred in the first
three cars, which were burned.
Iowa Man Injured.
Among the injured is Ralph Brittor
of Brighton, Iowa, the others who were
hurt being residents of Colorado anG
Kansas.
Smokers Occupants Perish.
This afternoon there are about fort.
charred bodies lying in the wreckage
at the scene of the disaster and at ths
hospital in this city there are fifteer
severely injured persons, some o
whom will probably die. But two pas
sengers are known to have ESCAPED
from the smoker on No. 3, every sea
of which was occupied and there were
several persons standing in the aisle
When the first relief train arrived
there was but little in the burned car:
to indicate that there had been pre-
cious freightage of human lives, ex
cepting piles of scorched flesh AM
smouldering bones.
Frantic Efforts to Rescue.
For nearly two and a half hours af
ter the accident occurred half mud,
men frantically tore at the burnin.
timbers of the smashed coaches en-
deavoring vainly to extricate tn,
MANNED and dying people from thei
awful fate. The heat, however, drov,
the would-be rescuers back and the.
were unable to liberate a single per
son from the smoker of No. 8.
Many Saved from Death.
With the other coaches the rescuer
were more successful and they no
only saved several of the injured from
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