Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1906-03-22

received its orders and expected to
meet the westbound train at Beaver.
Brakes of no Avail.
! Both. of the trains were running at
the usual speed, the deep snow and
high wind making it necessary to ex-
ercise exceptional care. Suddenly
both headlights flashed out from the
darkness and it was realized for the
first time that something was wrong.
According to the story of Fireman ].
II. Smith of the westbound train. En-
gineer Walter Cosslett opened the
emergency brake and the train was
checked for an instant but the slip
perry rails and the momentum of the
heavy train carried it on
Impact Scarcely Noticeable.
! From stories Told by several train
men who survived and who were in
/ the forward part of the train, the i'm
pact was scarcely noticeable, but the
| crushing, grinding noise that followed
warned them something had been
struck. The helper engine on No. 8
evidently acted as a sort of cushion.
minimizing the force and weight OF
the heavy mountain engines that haul
the trains where the grade does not
require assistance. This helper was
crushed together like so much paper
and the monster machines ran
/ thr0loh Ioclfno tban,eo1ro<. +-.-o4pz
Fireman Smith was the only one of
the engine crews to escape. The
baggage car of No. broke in two
and three coaches were squeezed to,
getner. The baggage and mail car
and coach of No Is buckled.
but none OF the cars was telescoped.
Flames Quickly Follow.
Hardly had the trainmen and pas
sengers reached the realization that
all was not right when the other
horror, sheet of fire, ran through
the cars on both sides of the engines.
and in a twinkling the cracking
sound Of burning timbers started
them to action. In the forward
coach of the westbound train every
seat was occupied by passengers,
most OF whom were homeseekers on
the way to the northwest. A num-
Der of foreigners were among them
and in their terror gave up life
without any attempt to reach safety
outside the burning car.
Sink to Burn Alive.
i Paralyzed with fear and with pray
ers upon their lips they sank to the
floor of the car and were roasted
alive. Cooler ones in the car, see
ing their danger, rushed for windows
and doors, and with the aid of pas
sengers in the rear of the train and
those of the train crew who were I'M
hurt, reached the open air.
Heat Prevents Rescue.
The rescue of the unfortunate in
the burning cars was made impossi-
BILE by the intense heat and the res
cuers were compelled to leave them
to their terrible fate.
One of the pathetic tragedies OF
the disaster was the wiping out of all
but two of the family of Taylor
Hewitt of Lebo, Kansas The father.
mother daughter, grandchild and
wives of the sons are missing. Two
sons, E. A. Hewitt and w. L. Hewitt.
are among the injured in the hospital
here. A. E. Hewitt said last night:
Pathetic Story Of Survivor.
Our party consisted of my father
Taylor Hewitt; my mother, Lillian
Hewitt; sister, Pearl, aged Is; broth
en- w. L. Hewitt; sister-inlaw, Wi
mona, aged 81; wife, Catherine, ageo
| II; our four-months-old baby,
Claude; Mr.. and Mrs Edward Con
ley and Fred Jones. We were going
to Joseph, Oregon, to work in a saw
mill for my grandfather, H NJ. Rick
er. A dream that | had several
months ago in which our family was
all killed kept coming into my mind
| saw, just as | later saw the real
wreck, everything that took place,
after the collision. saw people
trying to drag themselves out of the
cars, saw strong men plead to be
killed, saw my own wife and baby
consumed by the fire before my eyes
and as | struggled vainly to rescue
them, | awakened in terror with colo
beads of perspiration crawling slowly
down my face.
Il went forward to my party Ny
wife was sleeping soundly. Our lit
tie baby was just half asleep. Cath
crime awakened and said Good night,
sweetheart leaned over ant.
kissed her and she smiled
Il sat down again and closed my
eyes, but in a few minutes was
aroused by the crash. When I tlieo
TO move | found that my leg was
broken. | heard my wife calling me.
but could not go to her Some one
dragged me out | screamed for
some one to rescue my wife and baby
but nobody paid any attention. Men