Washington State journal and Adams County news. [volume] (Ritzville, Wash.) 1906-1907, 1907-07-24
THIRTY +. I. .. ]. i. r. !: :. !: !:
5. B. KILLED
55 as- $50
MOSTHORRIBLE WRECK
IN MICHIGAN. -
PASSENGER TRAIN CRASHED
INTO A FREIGHT TRAIN WHILE
GOING AT HIGH SPEED. -

Salem, Mich, July 21.-Thirty peo-
Pile are dead and more than 20 injured,
many Of them seriously, as the. result
Of a headon collision Saturday be-
tween this village and Plymouth,
when Pere Marquette excursion
train bound from Ionia to Detroit
crashed into westbound freight
train in cut located mile east of
Salem. Following lie the list of dead:
Homer Smith Ionia. a, boy; Albert
Trautwins, Ionia, whose body was cut
in two; John Tofel, Ionia; Charles
Hess, ,lonia; Herman Hess, Ionia |;
Daniel Hess, Ionia; William Corneft,
Ionia; Don Rogers. Lowell, Mich. !;
Dick Jones, Ionia; Mrs. Abraham
Eddy, Ionia; Edward Gallagher, aged
is years, Ionia; Frank Douse, Ionia;
L. X. Merrell, aged So years. Ionia;
Henry Reynolds, Pere Marquette en-
g1neer, Ionia; Charles McCauley.s Sr.,
Ionia; A. F. Herbert, Ionia; Edward
During, IRnia; Charles Broad. aged
| Is. Ionia; James Vissard, IoniR Will
lard Stager, Ionia; William Grams. a
young schoolboy, Ionia; William Gott,
Ionia; Mrs. August Richter, Ionia;
Fred Fitzgerald, Ionia; Brakeman Ed
Corwan, Fireman Knowles, William
Evans, 20 years old, Ionia;"'- Frank
Latham, IS. Ionia; Benjamin Darling,
As Ionia; Charles Fenton, fireman of
the freight engine. Harry. WILLIAMS,
H.. Ionia, and e. j. Pixley, conductor
passenger train, body ground to pieces
and scarcely enough found to identify.
The passenger train of II cars, car
rying the Pere Marquette shop en-
ployes of Ionia and their families to
the Michigan metropolis for their an
nual excursion. was running at high
speed, probably so miles an hour,
down steep grade. d It struck the
lighter locomotive of the freight train
with such terrible force as to turn the
freight engine completely around. The
wrecked locomotives lay side by side,
both headed eastward Only a few Of
the freight trains cars were smashed,
and it took only a few hours work
to remove all traces Of them from the
scene. But behind the two wrecked
locomotives six cars Of the passenger
train lay piled in a hopeless wreck.
! -Four of the passenger coaches re-
manned. on the track, undamaged,' and
! were used to convey the dead and In
jured to Ionia- One coach was entire
vi unchanged, with only its forward
trucks OF the rails. These were the
rear five cars. The two coaches next
ahead of these were telescoped.. The
next car forward stood almost on end
after the wreck, its forward end rest
ing on the roadbed. ' ,l,'a . ."' ,s,.
Responsibility is put squarly upon
the crew Of the freight train by Of
ficials of the road. Those who arrived
at the scene Of the wreck soon after
the accident secured from the crew of
the freight the orders under which 1t
was -, running and which clearly
showed the position of the passenger
excursion train and that the freight
had encroached upon the other train $
running time 'n"4'H " '. ',',., ~, y ~,
+ Every family had It's LUNCH basket,
land many of them were eating. when
1.-The two trains crashed together. The
Impact was terrific and q number .of
passengers sitting near the windows
in the rear end Of the. undamaged
coaches were u thrown Through the
windows to- the ground, There was a
panic among the uninjuned coaches
for few moments. Then, as the tiIi-
injured people realized that they had
not been hurt, they rushed from the
| cars,,to the rescue of their friends and
relations who were pinioned among
the awreckage ahead of them. Fami-
lilies were scattered among the differ
ent cars and there were frenzied
searches for missing relatives, Moth
ers ran screaming up and down
searching for ~ their children, while
many of. the young people were as
tfrantically calling for their parents,
I John Eddy, q 20-year,old Young man
from IOnia, had a .horrofying expert
ence. He was sitting in auseat with
his mother, and when he regained his
lenses Jafterothe crash she lay dead
beside him, They were, In the. FIRST
car. va ~, . ~ al mi ~is
ii. Engineer Looked at Watch.
h. ..-.sa t..f41yts-Nf is.aA .
i One Of the passengers who Jumped
| from window of the rear coach, after
the collision alighted on Engineer Al
word OF the passenger train, who
leaped from his engine and sat down
on the bank. watch ii, hand, trying to
learn from 1t whether any. blame for
the mistake which had cost SO heavily
rested with him, o. -. d; 2, aoisv,1S
The crash Of the colliding trains
was heard for a great distance up and
down sthesttrackA and many farmers
working nearby, realizing that StraSgs
edy had occurred, hurried from their
homes with bedding, cloth for, band.
ages and stimulants- They Joined ia.
the rescue work, while ,physirtans lnnfs
ried tO5the scene from all ptheo neigh
boring towns. Numbers Of ithe- uAins
jured women passengers store istrips
from their clothipg t9 i,haip Hapdage
up the wounds of aihei,suffettng -lIic-
tims,..betete the phpyys sii a6 ss yaSe1.:ea'
the ReliAf ,araans.,ci.a .r emo adj II n