The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1906-09-19
ROCK ISLAND
TRAIN WRECK
Engine and Train Plunge Into
Cimarron River.
4S DEAD, HURT, MISSING
Accident Due 10 Drlftwood PiIlns
Up Against Bridge, Which
Collapsed.
4S DEAD, HURT, MISSING

GUTHRIE. Okla. Sept 10. Eight
persons are dead. twenty more or less
Injured aud rs many more missing as
the result OF the wrecklng OF Rock
Island passenger train In the Cimar-
ron river, three miles from Dover, Okla.
The engine, tender baggage and
mall cars. smoking car aud day coach
OF passenger train No. u, northbound,
left the high bridge that spans the O..
marion river and plunged into the
stream. which is fianked by treacher
Gus qulcksands. The locomotive dlsap.
peared almost Immediately. The mall
aud baggage clerks escaped from their
cars and swan 10 the shore.
The accident was due 10 drlftwood
which piled against the bridge and
sweryed Il out OF line.
The train was an hour late and was
running at high speed. The engineer
did not see the condition OF the bridge
until be was within a few yards VI IT,
He shouted TO his fireman and jump
ed. lie landed on the verge OF the
river and escaped unhurt The fireman
sustained severe injuries
When the engine struck the bridge
the structure collapsed. preclpitating
the engine, smoking cur and day coach
into the water. Two Pullmans re-
malned on the track.
The current whlrled the day coach
down stream and lodged II against
sand bank. The occupants were help
ed ont through the doors and win
dows. The smoking car Hoated TO
sand bar and four men were seen 10
Chamber through the windows and pull
themselves Oh top OF the car. calling
loudly for help Those on shore were
unable TO reach them on account OF the
high water and while they were beg
cling for assistance mass VI drift
wood swept them away.
Three other men crawled through
the rear door of the smoking car and
were rescued.
The most authentic accounts place
the number Of passengers In the smok
Ing car at between twenty-five and thlr
ty. With few exceptions they have
not been accounted for.
One man was fished out OF the river
at Cashlon, twenty miles from the dis
aster. Others have been reported float
ing down the river.
The injured were hurried TO King
fisher. where the residents turned their
homes into temporary hospitals.
II may be impossible TO ascertain the
exact number Of dead for several days
Many OF those reported missing may
show up safe ut some point down the
Cimarron.
Sheriff J. Z. Love of Klngfsher, who
was In the smoking car. asserts that
there were at least thirty in that ear
He said:
Just as the car was turning on It's
side l fought my way to the rear and
forced my body through the door
When I came to the surface | was
swept downstream by the heavy cur
rent When In the last stages Of ex
ilduSAlOll 4 lUuNnttl bOAlOll anu uItM
myself up ON the bank. There were
at least thirty others In the smoking
car. | saw two besides myself escape"
Colonel H. O. Wright Of Denver has
been brought I'm at Kingflsher, Okla,
after having fioated on some wreckage
about nine miles from the wreck. He
was rescued by farmers. Mr. Wright
is somewhat bruised, but will recover.
-Four men belonging to the Forepaugh-
Sells circus were in the fatal smoking
car. All of these escaped except Hank
Llttleheld, whom his companions re
port as drowned. w. II. Balmer OF
Lawrence, Kan, was rescued thirteen
miles down the river from the wreck
A negro train porter, who is floating on
wreckage, was seen about fourteen
miles down the river. He shouted to
persons on shore that he would stop
at the first station"
l.. Ii. Coy a salesman, of Kansas
City, who was in the day COACH said:
"When | left the wreck all but about
twenty-five of the passengers had been
accounted for. jumped and landed
on the short piece of the bridge that
did not go out. Mt the south end. The
chair car came up within three feet of
me before it stopped, and all that saved
my life was the fact that the engineer
threw on the air brakes before ha
jumped. The drag of the heavy Pull
mans caused the train to break in two
when the engine plunged into the
stream 1t went clear out of sight The
mail car stopped not far from where It
went down. The day coach on which
had been riding started downstream,
but swung into the bank"