Mexico weekly ledger., 1907-02-28

One OF the worst railroad WRECKS
that has occurred In the vicinity Of
Mexico for a number of years happen
ed Wednesday morning in the west
end Of the Wabash yards when the st.
Louis accumulation and the first OF, a
freight, collided with terrible conse-
quences.
One was killed and several badly
injured In the crash that followed the
meeting Of the two trains and III is
miraculous that the result was not
worse 10 view Of the existing circum-
stances.
The Accommodation was late and
making up time and entered the local
yards at a speed not less ethan TWEEN
ty.five miles AMOUR. The dense fog hid
the approaching freight, OF twenty
five cars, that was hurrying toward
them in an effort to get on a siding be-
for the passenger arrived. The freight
must have had o speed Of at least fif-
teen miles per hour. At a point half
q mile distant from the Wabash pas
senger station, and near the spot
| where the South Branch Of the Alton
crosses the Wabash tracks, the two
trains met the freight had about q
hundred yards more to go before it
could have stopped and backed Into
the siding as IL intended, unfortunte-
y 1t was running on the passe niger
time and owing to the dense fog that
hid everything thirty feet distant, the
two trains were upon each other be-
fore they knew 1t and the crash came
so suddenly that 1T could not have
been averted.
Engineer Slucing, aged Asa resident
of Moberly, who was scalded to death,
was taken from the demolished cab Of
the accommodation thirty minutes af-
ter the accident and found scalded by
escaping stream evidently having met
death almost simultaneously. The
dead nan was buried beneath the de.
bris of his demolished cab and seven
men, after hard work, succeeded in
clearing away the refuse only to dis
cover him dead but at the throttle
apparently trying to save his train
from the collision that he discovered
to late. The body was shipped to
Moberly at noon Wednesday.
Fireman Robert Maxwell, of Mob
erly, was scarcely more fortunate than
his engineer and was saved and per-
haps fatally injured terribly scalded.
]. f. Marshall, aged IS, a Mex
ice man boards at the Planters
hotel, was on the train at the
time Of the crash and had risen and
was walking to the door preparatory
to leaving the train. He was thrown
violently to the floor receiving q scalp
wound and bruises about the body.
Miss Eva Kanatcher, Of Centralia,
who was enroute to this city to visit
her sister and husband, Mr. and Mrs
Kelly, received q cut upon the fore.
head and several slight bruises. She
suffered a slight nervous collapse.
Express Messenger, Harry Davis,
was bruised and unconscious for a few
moments.
FW Blackwell. postal clerk, was
thrown to the end of bis car by the
shock and was unconscious for few
minutes. This is Mr.. Blackwell's
first trip since the recent bad wreck
In the Moberly yards when he
hsu a narrow escape.
e Surray, Of Quincy, Ill, had his
bac sprained.
Harold Burks, of Centralis, a stud
emit Of the Missouri Military Academy
bruised slightly.
W Crossan, travelling salesman, Of
Kansas City, bruised.
There were.about twenty passengers
on the train and the greater part Of
them more or less bruised.
Mrs NJ @ McGarth, of C~entralia, with
five little children, the Oldest not over
fourteen, was sitting In the last coach
Of the three that composed the &C.
commodation, when the wreck occ ur
red. Miraculously not only she escap-
ed unscathed but her little ones suf-
fered nothing but fright.
Mr. McGarth, heard In Centralia
that all Of the passengers had been
killed and when the wrecker passed
through that city from Moberly en-
route here be got on expecting to find
bis wife and little ones dead. Imag-
inc bis great Joy upon arriving to find
them we'll and entirely unhurt.
The members of the freight crew
were not injured In any way.
WOMEN MUSTERED TO INJURED
The crash Of the accident had scar
cely died away and the scream Of the
|