Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-03-17

Denver Colo. March 1I.--,At the Of
flee OF the general manager OF the Dem
YER & Rio Grande railroad today the
announcement was officially made that
$. I. Lively, night operator at Swal-
lows. was wholly responsible for tho
collision at Adobe yesterday morning.
He was asleep at his post, Il was said,
when train No, 3, to which he was 10
have delivered an order, went by and
later he reported to the train dispatcher
st Pueblo that No. had not passed
Swallows
Two operators are employed at Swal-
lows. Lyely's regular shift was from
o'clock IN the evening until O'clock in
the morning, when he was regularly re-
lieyed by the day operator. officials OF
the Denver & Rio Grande deny that
Lively had been required to work over
time and say If he had done so the ac-
ton was voluntary on his part.
NUMBER OF DEAD UNKNOWN.
Pueblo, Colo, March 17.--whlle thv
exact number OF lives lost in the Adobe
wreck near Florence on the Denver a
Rio Grande railroad will never be
known, It VIII undoubtedly take rank
among the great disasters in the his
tory OF railroading. In other wrecks
there has been greater loss OF life, but
none has been productive OF greater
horrors. Conservative estimates on the
loss OF life place the number OF dead
at 36. Seventeen charred, mangled ut
teTly unacceptable bodies lie in the
Pueblo moTgue. two others are in the
morgue at Florence. several other per-
sons are known to be dead and possibly
score OF bodies were burned TO ashes.
There was not single entire body
recovered from the wreckage, with tbs
exception OF the engine men. who. al
though horribly mangled. had not been
reached by the fierce flames which
swept through the wrecked cars.
Bits OF charred flesh and piles OF
bones were all that indicated that a
holocaust had occurred but trained
eyes picked out the pelvic bones from
the charred masses and from these IL
was seen that so far as the search had
progressed no less than 70 human be-
ines had persisted.
ADDITIONAL DEAD.
The following names have been added
to the list OF known dead
Patrick Murphy Florence, Colo.
Ray Field, aged 10, Keystone, Wyo.
Mrs. Bella Webb, keystone, Wyo.
Mrs. Grace Cowley's child.
Missing after the Adobe wreck" will
he the only eptaphs Of the remaining
victims.
Patrick Murphy q Florence oil well
driler, sacrificed his life In the work
of rescue. After escaping from a burn
ing care and dragging two others out TO
safety. he dashed back IN search OF
other unfortunates. Then followed a
gas explosion IN which he lost his own
life and his body was Moderated.
OPERATOR LIVELY.
5. \. Lively. the operator. whose fall
urc TO deliver train order 10 the west
bound train resulted IN the disastrou.
collision. had been acting as station
agent at Swallows about 10 days. Hs
Is said to have been an experienced
man, and to have seen CONSIDERABLE SER
vice at other points on the Rio Grande
system. II is alleged that Lively, who
Is % years old. worked excessively for
several days past and had been de-
priVed OF a great deal Of his natural
sleep, sitting at his key In the hours
following midnight listening to the
roar Of a fierce storm, Il is thought
that for a moment he dozed aud while
he slept the train passed his station
unchecked Whether this be true or
not the fact remains that the train did
not receive she orders which would
have aNerted the catastrophe, and the
OF the road, and the cor
ouer as we'll viii make searching In
qulty iu order thar tho responsibility
for the disaster may be accurately
fixed.
Operator Lively has not yet been ar
rested aud probably no action against
him VIII Be begun until after the IN.
quest on the wreck victims has been
concluded. HIS explanation OF his fall
ure 10 deliver the order which would
have ayerted the collision IL comprised
In the few words
~ was asleep. That's all
Further than this he declined 10 be
interviewed
All the injured IN the hospitals hers