The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-01-03
CHARRED BONES.


which seemed to be eagerly reaching out
its thousands of red tongues 10 oeVour
him could speak Spanish but the IAN
euage he used then was the universal
ii one We knew what he .said-every
word as though he spoke the. P ules.
English When 1 saw him last he was
still alive and the look in MS eyes VIII
i haunt me to my dying day. me names
! had won and we. his would-be rescuers,
I -retreated in defeat. to transfer our
| EFFORTS to some other mangled wreck OF
F., humanity.
saThis was only one of the many such
/ sights we saw as we hurried from one
/ place to another, lodging in now ana
! then in an attempt to drag out someone
/ who seemed accessible TO rescue; steao-
! iIy driven back by the fast spreading
I flames. In attempting to drag the negro
! porter of the westbound train think
| his name is JoneS-frOm under the car
We pulled his leg off. He Is sun any, nv,
| American whom 1 saw killed was w. h.
! Osgood, of Mitchellville, Iowa. He was
dead before we gould arag MN hil1, troia a
bank book and papers in his pocKet--L
took $65 in money from pocketpooA
! found on him.. .
| ThomDson's presence of mind that was
| the means of preventing the burning VI
the four rear sleepers on the westDoun lo
! train. AS soon as the flames hau 50
| completely enveloped the smoker ana
| chair car as to make 1t Impossible 70
| continue the attempts at saving Hves
|
| orders to the crowd and to the tram
| men-and. they obeyed. AS 1asl as d
| coach could be uncoupled 1t was moved
off down the track to sar fit+ daSe arIny
! of uninjured men acting as molEe
power.
| ers in the train We're saved. and, accord
| ing 70 the statement made by Mr..
| Thompson last night, the fifth could
have been saved had 1t not been tnat
/ f1a
| derstood the couplings between the cars
| became so excited as to have SEEM
| ingly forgotten all they ever knew
/ about the etchnicalities OF passenger
Until it was all over" continued Mr..
! Thompson 1T did not realize that l was
over my body. Ny back had been
wrenched, my neck was badly strained
and I had received a bad cut on the
head. In the excitement 1 had not no
ticed it,
Mr.. MeIcher's Statement,
Mr. Melcher. the general manager
of the Rock Island system. issued this
statement about the wreck yesterday
afternoon:
1.-The eastbound train is not badly
| damaged and no fire occurred in this
train. Apparently none of the cars
was derailed: and the damage is the re-
suit of the baggage car having skidded
over the smoker and crushing it's roof.
From present information the
wreck was evidently caused by the
failure of the night operator, John
Lynes, at Volland. Kan. who had
been on duty since p. m. the previous
evening, to deliver to the westbound
train orders which he had for that
train. This operator, apparently real
| izing the mistake that he had made,
advised the dispatcher that No. 29 had
gone and that he had gone also. A
statement has not yet been received
from the dispatcher on duty, but it
I1o%
properly issued. -.--- 1s
Superintendent ourke.- now at the
wreck, states that .thirty-five people
were killed, ten bodies having been re-
covered. Nearly all of the killed were
Mexicans and other foreign laborers,
who were riding in the smoking car of
the westbound train. Twenty-one peo-
pie are more or less injured. but all
| injured reported as slight are now in
the hospital at Topeka.
The Kansas division upon which
the wreck occurred had just been
equipped with the block signal sys-
tenn, which was placed importation a t
1901 a. m. January 1.
Lynes Makes Affidavit.
John .Lynes, the operator, on whom
is placed the entire blame for the
wreck and who is in Jail at Alma,
swore to the following statement yes
terday afternoon:
state Of Kansas, Wabaunsee county,
January 2, 1907. John Lynes, ISL
years old, being first duly sworn. upon
his oath, deposes and saith that the
night of January 1 he was in the en-
ploy of the Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific railroad company as night OPP
orator at Volland, Kan.
II had been awake all night and was
perfectly sober. AT about or 5 |
O'Clock this morning the dispatcher
gave me four orders; one was for sec
ond 20 to meet No. 80 at Volland in |
stead of Altavista No 20 also to meet |
I a a 1V0a0 ffT170
No. 29 headed into the east switch and |
let No. IA pass, backed out of east
switch and headed down the main line. |
thought it was going to stop at the |
depot to take water, as trains have |
been doing, but instead it went by at |
from six to ten miles an hour. Both |
boards were at danger from the way
the lever stood in the office. / clear |
ed No. IA by pulling down the right |
hand board for that train, as had no |
orders from No. IA, leaving the west
bound board at danger as my lever
was in proper place in the office. but |
No. 20 did not stop. and 1 ran out with |
my lantern, but with two swings across |
the track 1T went out. 1 then ran to |
the pump house, grabbing the pump |
er's lantern. waved it, a few times and |
it also went out
ct also called the pumper, telling |
him what had happened. 1 went back
to the depot and told the dispatcher |
that second No. 20 was by. and we
Wdteu " see II lAey were going 10 |
come back or hit told the Dispatch |
er that 1 was coming to Topeka and |
was trying to get there.
(signed) JOHN LYNEs."
News Agents Narrow Escape.
William h. Cameron, of 9O6 Oak |
street, Kansas City, Mo-, was the news |
agent on No. &c, the westbound train |
and his story of his experience after |
the wreck is terrible enough to fright |
en- the dead. Cameron has been a news |
agent for sixteen years and has been |
in dozens of wrecks. Only two weeks |