Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-09-16


tains and the freight train. with
score of heavily loaded cars lumbereo
up the long grade toward Canaan AT i's
usual speed. On the other SIDE OF lhe
curve the Quebec Express. well Hileu
with sleepy excursionists, had rounoea
the curve at a lively speed, when the
headlight of the other locomotive
flashed before the eyes of the ensln-
eer.
In another instant cane the crash
and both engines were lying mass Oh
wreckage in the ditch.
The baggage car, next to the passen-
ger locomotive, was driven back lnto
the passenger coach. telescop1ng IT,
crushing the lives out of half car
load of people.
Nearly every one in the car was in
jured in some way Those in the sleep
ing cars We're saved by the greater
strength of their cars.
The accident occurred at 4:24 a. nl.'
just as the dawn was showing.
A moment after it happened the
train hands who escaped injured ana
train hands who escaped unfnjured
and the passengers in the sleeping cars
were looking upon one of the worst
wrecks ever seen in New Hampshire.
The locomotives lay in tangled
pile, the baggage car, partly dera,led,
was held nearly upright by the wreck
age of the demolished day coach. one
side of which had been ripped on,
while the remainder was ground to
splinters The smoker behind the day
&1s 1ayit
demolished and windows broken. me
sleepers were practically undamaged
Heroism and Pathos in Disaster.
The wreck was not without its he-
roes and one of these was Frank
Ryan. a brakeman on the express.
Ryan was caught in the wreck and
had an artery severed. He was un-
conscious for nearly fifteen minutes,
and when he regatned his senses MS
first thought was of the Montreal ex-
press, which he knew was thunderlns
down on the wreck with no brakeman
in the rear to wave a warning signal.
In a few words Ryan told OF the ap-
preaching danger, and the Montreal
express was stopped only quarter of
a mile from the rear of the wrecked
express also assisted in the work or
rescue and the care of the wounded
Among the West Canadian farmers
who aided in the rescue was Benjamin
Briggs, who was one of the first at the
scene and two hours later he drew out
the body of woman. On turning up
the face Mr.. Briggs looked into the
features of his mother, and almost col
lapsed with grief. Mrs. Briggs had
been visiting friends to the north ana
was on her way to Boston.
AS soon as practicable the more Sc
riously injured were taken by train to
Hanover, N. H., where they were CIV
en- medical and surgical treatment at
the Margaret Hitchcock hospital at
Dartmouth College. But before the
train reached Hanover eight of tho
injured had succumbed to their in
iuries, which brought the death roll
up to twenty-four. In all, twenty
seven of the injured were taken to
Hanover, while the bodies of the dead
we're removed in two trains to Con-
cord.
q Read as o Costs 25 Lives.
Superintendent Ray of the Concord
division began an investigation of the
cause of the disaster yesterday after
noon gave out the following statement:
s"The accident was due to misun-
derstanding between j. A. Crowley, the
night dispatcher at Concord, who has
been in the service for seven years
and John Greely, the night operator at
Canaan, who has seen twenty-five
years service in transmitting train
orders. One Of these two men made
the fatal error Of taking a cipher for a
four The train order which Conductor
Lawrence of the freight signed for at
the Canaan station said that train No.
80 was running one hour and ten min
utes late.
"On this order the freight conductor
could easily have made the sidetrack
at West Canaan and this was his in
tention. Ordinarily train No "a fol-
lows No. 80, thirty-five minutes later,
but the freight conductor held a train
order received at West Hanover that
No. "a was forty minutes late. II
was the freight conductors intention
then to keep on to West Canaan. Train
Dispatcher Crowley of Concord states
that he told the Canaan operator that
No. 81 was an hour and ten minutes
late 1t was this mistake of taking a
cipher for four that caused the
wreck"
NORTHWESTERN is PROSPEROUS