Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1907-07-25
Thirb-one People Killed in a Wreck on the
Pere Marquette
Crew OF Freight Train to Blame by
Designating Orders
Crowded Passenger Coaches Crushed
Together in Narrow Cut

Salem, Mich, July 21.-Thirty-one
people are dead and more than 20 in
jured, many seriously. as the result of
a head-on collision Saturday between
this village and Plymouth, when a
I Pere Marquette excursion train bound
from IOnia to Detroit, crashed into a
westbound freight in cut at sharp
curve.
The passenger train of IL cars,
carrying the Pere Marquette shop
employees OF Ionia and their families
the Detroit for an annual excursion
was running probably so miles an
hour down steep grade. 1t struck
the locomotive of the freight with
such force as to turn the freight en-
CINE completely around. Only few
freight cars were smashed. :.
Behind the two wrecked locomo-
tives six cars of the passenger train
lay piled up in hopeless wreck.
Five passenger coaches remained on
the track unchanged and were used
to convey the dead and injured to
Ionia. Two coaches next ahead of
those were telescoped. The next car
forward stood almost on end after the
wreck, its forward end resting on the
roadbed and the rear high in the air
upon the two telescoped coaches.
Applied the Brakes.
James Boyle, farmer, working in
a field near the track, saw the acct
dent. He says the passenger engineer
shut on the steam and applied the
brakes and the crews of both engines
juIiped just before the crash. He
ran to the tracks where he found the
uninjured passengers from the rear
coaches running forward and joined
them in removing the dead and in
jured from the wreck.
The dead were placed in a row
alongside the track and the inju ed
taken to Ionia and Detroit The cs
dead bodies first taken from the
wreck were shipped to Ionia
Later in the day the body If Ed
Corwan, head brakeman of the pas.;-
enger train, was taken FROM the
wreck Fireman Knowles died on the
relief train en- route to Detroit. bring.
ing the list of dead to 81, with the
possibility that more bo lies might be-
found in the wreckage and several in
jured may die.
Freight Crew Respon sibIe.
The responsibility is put upon tho
crew of the freight train by officials
Of the road. Those who arrived at
scene of the wreck soon after the
accident secured from the crew of the
freight the orders under which it
was running and which it is said
showed the position of the passenger
excursion train and that the freight
had encroached upon the other TRIMS
running time.
The collision occurred at $50
O'Clock and the freight should have
reached Salem at $40 to be within
their orders.
People Thrown Through Windows.
The impact was terrific when the
trains struck and a number Of passen
rear and unchanged coaches were
thrown through the windows to the
ground. after a momentary panic the
uninjured people rushed to rescue
those pinioned among the wreckage
Families were scattered among differ
ent cars and there were frenzied
searches for missing relatives.
Rescued Mothers MangIed Body.
Jay Eddy of Ionia was sitting in a
seat with his mother and when he re.
gained his senses after the crash she
lay dead beside him. They were 10
the first car of the train and Eddy
said he could see ). the freight ap-
preaching as the excursion train
swung around the curve
THE next moment the trains came
together with horrible crash" lie
said. The air was full of flying OBJ.
jects and terrible noises. When I re
gained my senses was pinned in the
wreck. looked around for my
mother and there she was dead. One
OF her arms was cut on, and lay
couple of feet away and she was hor-
ribly mangled. | managed to release
myself and dragged mother out OF the
wreck"
The crash of the colliding trains
was heard a considerable distance
and many farmers hurried from their
homes and joined in the rescue work
while physicians hurried TO the scene
from all neighboring towns
Two more lives we're lost Saturday
night as the indirect result of III ?
Pere Marquette wreck. Daniel Rum
mel, foreman OF the wrecking gang
was killed by switch engine In the
yards at Plymouth and member OF
the wrecking crew was crushed to