The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1906-03-17

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flames tapping his life. screamed TOR
someone 10 shoot him. but he could not
be reached even for this. which would
have been an act OF mercy "A trnoer
finally fell and ended his life
only the locomotives. baggage and dag
coaches were wrecked. the sleeping cars
escaping almost unscathed.
Hardly had the noise of the wreck
| ceased when sheet OF fire ran through
| the shattered cars Of both trains.
In the forward coach Of the west bound
! train every seat was occupied by passen-
gers most OF whom were home-seekers
! number OF foreigners were among
them. and in their terror they gave up ht,e hte
| without making any attempt To reach
| safety outside the burning car.
WERE ROASTED ALIVE.
They sank 10 the floor OF the car and
roasted alive.
The cooler ones in the car. seeing their
and with the aid OF the passengers In the
! rear OF the train and those members or
| the train crew who were unhurt, man
aged 20 reach the open air.
Manv were injured by the rough hand
llag they received. or by hying glass.
Eight members of one family OF 10 died
I'm the wreck.
one man I'm the first coach OF No. 2
had managed to raise n window and had
forced his body half way TO freedom
when he became lodged In me the window YIN, wooh
movement only wedged him the more
tightly.
The flames swept over him and left him
writhing In agony. He cried out:
For Gods sake. and for the sake or
my baby. shoot me-.
The onl9okers, prevented ,hS from m, ap, p,
heat. could do nothing to relieve the
mans sufferings.
Finally a timber from the roof OF the
car fell on his head. killing him
cars saw that nothing could be done to
check the flames. they aided the, train
mon i'm pushing back the undamaged cars
Many OF the dead were homeseekers
bound for the Northwest. The three
| crushed locomotives set fire TO the splnt-
! cred coaches. and IL was hours before sll
| the bodies were recovered, the flames
being so hot that rescuers could not APP
proach the debris until the fuel burned
| ont.
WILD STORM IN PROGRESS.
IT was a wild. stormy night in the
mountain canons when the two heavy
trains met.
Binding snow darkened the., rocky
gorges and speed was high.
Suddenly headlights flashed out. and IL
was realized by the engineers that some
thing was wrong
Absorbing 10 Fireman j. VI. Smith of
the westbound train. Engineer Walter
the slippery rails allowed the momentum
OF the heavy train TO cary IL on to the ia
tai crash
The impact was scarcely noticeable, but
the trains crushed and ground into each
other
The helper engine Of the westbound
train acted as a cushion, minimizing the
force and weight OF the heavy mountain
engines
This helper was crushed together like
so much paper. and the larger locomo-
tives ran through the mesh OF iron and
ployed each other TO pieces.
Fireman Smith was the only one OF the
engine crews 10 escape. The baggage car
OF the west-b bound train broke i'm two and
three coaches were squeezed together.
The baggage car, the mail car and a
coach OF the west-bound train buckled,
but none OF the cars telescoped.
RELIEF TRAINS ARRIVE.
Communication was opened with the
Pueblo office OF the railroad from Port
land a mile from the wreck. and relief
train was ut once dispatched TO the wreck
The injured were placed in the sleeping
cars and brought to Pueblo with the pas
sengers OF the east-bound train who were
unhurt
Another relief train came from Flor
ence TO take away the uninjured portion
of the east-bound train.
THE UNKNOWN DEAD.
4 list Of dead made up from close in
vcstigation by responsible persons fol-
lows:
WILLIAM HOLLIS, engineer.
WALTER COSLETT. engineer.
II. u. sUDD- II, fireman.
EDWARD T.. BAIRD, deputy sheriff,
Denver.
ARCHIBALD WHITNEY. prisoner in
Nt,o ~ Rafrd
MRS. WILLIAM BURNSIDE, daughter
and daughters child. all of Kansas.
A. y. BARKLO, Salida. Col
MISS GRACE BARKLO, Salida, Col
ENos y. MCFARLAND. express mes
senger
TAYLOR HEWITT, Iebo, rs.
MRS WILLIAM HEWITT, Lebo, KS.
PEARL HEWITT. Lebo, Ks.
MRS. KATHERINE HEWITT and baby |
boy. Lebo. KS
EDWARD COWLEY. Lebo. KS.
MRS EDWARD COWLEY, Lebo KS. |
FRED JONES, Lebo. ks
FRED l.. EMERY. Denver.
MRS. w1NONA HEWITT. Lebo KS
SERIOUSLY INJURED.
Patrick Murphy. Florence. col.
L. Peters. baggagemaster
James Proconone. immigrant.
Miss Mabel Fields.
T. A. Hewitt. Lebo. ks
e. e. House. Cham. ~. NJ
l. Kessell. New YORK head injured
A Gerber. New York. ear torn.
c. y Wright. New York, head slightly |
injured.
J l.. Lotion. Bellehower. Mo
OPERATOR CONFEsSES.
when advised OF the report that the
iight operator az Swallows. :. r. Lively.
had made confession in which ne
acknowledged his responsibility for the
collision of the two passenger trains on
ne Denver ard Rio Grande railroad near
Florence early yesterday morning which
resulted In q disastrous wreck. and that
Lively claimed - have been IN n condl-