The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1906-11-14
~ IMMIGRANTS KILLED.
In Collision Between Passenger
and Freight Train.
Second Section of a Through Immi-
grant Train Crashed Into by an
Eastbound Freight-Disaste Said to
Be Caused by Blunder of Railroad
Employe-Harrowing Scenes.

Employe-Harrowing Scenes.
Chicago, Nov. 13-More than one
half the passengers ON an immigrant
train on the Baltimore G. Ohio road
were killed and injured in collision
yesterday between the passenger and
a freight train near Woodville, Ind.
One hundred and sixty-fve passen-
gers were on the train. Forty-seven
either we're killed outright or were
burned to death in a fire that broke
out in the wreckage Immediately after
the collision. The names of all the
dead probably never will be known, as
40 of the bodies were consumed in
the flames or we're so badly burned
that identification will be out of the
question.
Thirty-eight persons were injured
and several of these will die. Eighty
others escaped unhurt, but lost nearly
all their baggage and clothing.
The disaster was caused by blum.
der of railroad employe. The pas
senger train, which was loaded with
Russian Jews, Servians and Poles,
all Of them recent arrivals in this
country and bound for Chicago or
places northwest, was the second sec
tion Of through train from Balti-
more.
The engineer of the freight train,
on instructions received at McCool,
Ind, waited at siding at Babcock,
Ind, to allow the immigrant train to
pass. One report is that the engineer
of the freight train had not been in
formed that the passenger train was
running in two sections; the other is
that the first section of the passenger
train carried no lights or signals of
any kind indicating that second Sec
tion was close behind.
Freight Crashed Into Second Train.
AS soon as the first section of the
immigrant train had passed the
switch at Babcock. the freight train in
charge of Engineer Burke and Con-
ducter Moste started eastward. A
light snow was falling which increased
the darkness of the early morning and
as the freight was rounding a sharp
curve just west of Woodville the sec.
ond section of the immigrant train
came in sight a short distance away
tearing toward Chicago at the rate of
40 miles an hour.
The two trains came together with
unslackened speed and in the crash
six passenger coaches and several
freight cars were knocked into kind
ling wood and together with the loco
motives went rolling down the 10-foot
embankment.
Fire broke out almost Immediately
in the wreckage and, although a num-
ber of the injured were saved by the
desperate efforts of the train crew and
surviving passengers, the greater part
of those who were pinned down in the
debris were burned to death.
The flames spread through the
wreckage so rapidly that it was i'm
possible to save number of persons
who were only slightly hurt, but
were held fast by timbers that weight
ed them down. These were burned in
plain sight of the throng that stood
around the scene of the disaster ut
terly unable to lend assistance. The
fire continued until all the shattered
cars were entirely consumed, and of
the AZ persons whose death followed
the collision As were burned to ashes.
The crash of the collision was so
loud that number of farmers and
other residents of the neighborhood
came hastily to the scene, but they
could do nothing except lend assist
ance to the injured who already had
been taken from the wreckage.
Narrowing Scenes at Depot.
Relief trains at once were sent out
from South Chicago and Valparaiso,
Ind. with every available physician,
and every possible aid was given to
the injured. A large number of the
relatives of passengers on the ILL.,
fated train were in Chicago awaiting
their arrival and when the report was
received that many had been killed
and injured in a wreck the scenes
around the Baltimore & Ohio station
were narrowing. Men were there who
had come to this country to escape the
massacres in Russia and who after
months of hard work had saved enough
to pay for the passage of members of
their families, and their grief when
they learned that possibly all their
sacrifice and effort had resulted only
in the death of those whom they loved
was pitiful
Crowds of Russians and Poles
waited around the station all day for
news from Woodville and when train
came in bearing the 3S injured persons,
all of whom were taken to Mercy hos
pital for treatment, it was with the
greatest difficulty that the police were
able to open passage way for the
wounded
Several of the foreigners became so
excited that they attempted to attack
depot attaches whose uniforms led
them to believe they were employed
by the Baltimore & Ohio railroad.
Aged Woman Burns.
GrppnShurp pa Nov IL - Mrs