Arizona republican., 1907-07-21
DEATH HID
 IN THE CUT
Thirty Were Killed On the
 Pere Marquette
A Passenger Train Struck a Freight at a Fifty Mile Rate.

Salem, Mich. July 2O.-1mrtS peOpie are dead and more than seventy in jured, many seriously. as the result of a head-end collision today between this village and Plymouth. when a Pere Marquette excursion train bound from Ionia to Detroit, crashed into westbound freight in cut located in a sharp curve of the Pere Marquette railroad about a mile east of Salem.
 The passenger train of eleven cars. was carrying Pere Marquette shop em- ployes of Ionia. and their families to the Michigan metropolis. for the annu al excursion and was running at rapid speed, probably fifty miles an hour down a steep grade. IL struck the lighter locomotive of the freight train with such terrible force as to turn the freight engine completely around.
 The wrecked locomotives this after noon lay side by side both headed east ward. only few of the freight trains cars were smashed and it took only few hours to remove all traces of them from the scene. But behind the two wrecked locomotives six cars of the passenger train lay piled up in hopeless wreck. Four passenger coaches remained on the track undam- aged and were used to convey the dead and injured to Ionia. One coach was undamaged with only the forward trucks off 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.
 Fireman Knowles died on the relief train en route to Detroit bringing the list of dead to thirty. with a possibil ity that more bodies might be found in the wreckage and that several of the injured may die.
 The responsibility is put squarely upon the crew of the freight train bv the officials of the road. Those who arrived on the scene soor after the accident secured from the crew Of the freight orders under which it was running. and which clearly showed the position of the passenger excursion train and -the-freicht had eneroached upon the other trains running time. The special was due at Salem at 9:10 a. IT, and at Plymouth at 30 a. m. It passed Salem on time. The time card of the special was telegraphed to the freight crew in the form of a train or der and this order with the signatures of the freight train crew attached was secured b. the officials.
 The freight crew left the scene early but the railroad officials say they ex- plained simply that they had forgot ten.
 The collision occurred at 9:13 o'clock and the freight train should have reached Salem at 9:10 to be with in their orders. The excursion train left Ionia, crowded with men, women and children at o'clock this morning. IL was the annual excursion of the shop men of the road to Detroit Every family had lunch baskets and many of them were eating when the two trains crashed together.
 The imoact was terrific and a num- Der of passengers sitting near the windows of the rear end of the undam- aged coaches were thrown through the windows to the ground
 There vas a panic among the Occu- pants of the coaches for a few minutes. As the unfortunate people realized that they mad not been hurt they rush. ed from the cars to the rescue of their friends and relatives who were pinion- ed among the wrecked cars ahead. Families were scattered among diff ferent cars and there were frenZied soarchers for missing relatives. Moth CTS ran screaming up and down. in search of their children. while many young people were as frantically call ing for their parents.
 s. Dennihr. young man of Ionia. was in the last coach, while a sister was in one oc the middle coaches. and his father and mother were in one of the most seriously damaged cars.
 We felt the jar when the air brakes were applied" said MT. Dennihy. Then, before anyone had time to stand up or leave the seat. came the crash of the collision. In the con- fusion of the moment did not realize that the car was undamaged. and. seeking the quickest exit to the open air. jumped through an open window to the ground. I found my sister sev- eral cars ahead, uniniured. but my mother was standing supported by a couple of men, with her head and hands covered with blood. Father was sitting inside the window of one of