Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-07-25

JuIeu, many 5SIiOuSIyJ d. LIE LS5 uIL VI
a head-on collision Saturday between
this village and Plymouth, when q
PeTe Marquette excursion train bound
from Ionia to Detroit, crashed into a
westbound freight in cut at sharp
curve.
The passenger train of II 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 a steep grade. 1t struck
the locomotive of the freight with
such force as to turn the freight en-
CINE completely around. Only a few
freight cars were smashed.
Behind the two wrecked locomo-
tives six cars Of the passenger train
lay piled up in a 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 we're teIescOped. 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, a farmer, working in
field near the track, saw the acct
dent. He says the passenger engineer
shut off the steam and applied the
brakes and the crews of both engines
jumped 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 IS
dead bodies first taken from the
wreck were shipped to Ionia.
Later in the day the body Of Ed
Corwan, head brakeman of the pass
engeT 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 DO los might be
found in the wreckage and several in
jured may die.
Freight Crew Responsible.
The responsibility is put upon the
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 trains
running time.
The collision occurred at $50
O'Clock and the freight should have
reached Salem at 9:1O to be within
their orders.
People Thrown Through Windows.
The impact was terrific when the
trains struck and a number of passen.
gers sitting near the windows of the
rear and unchanged coaches were
thrown through the windows to the
ground. ter 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 in
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" he
said. The air was full of flying OBJ
jects and terrible noises. When I re.
gained my senses I was pinned in the
wreck. looked around for my
mother and there she was dead. One
of her arms was cut off and lay
couple of feet away and she was hor.
ribly mangled. I managed to release
myself and dragged mother out of the
wreck"
The crash Of the colHding 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 were lost Saturday
night as the indirect result of thu
Pere Marquette wreck. Daniel Rum
mel, foreman of the wrecking gang
was killed by a switch engine in the
yards at Plymouth and a member Of
the wrecking crew was crushed to
death while at work at the scene of
the wreck.
List of the Dead
All the dead were from Ionia ex-
cept two The dead are:
Don Rogers. Lowell, Mich.
Homer Smith.
Albert Trautwine.
John Tofel.
Charles Hess.
Herman Hess.
Daniel Hess.
William Cornell.
Dick Jones.
Mrs. Abraham Eddy. *