The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1907-08-16
TRAIN
WRECK
ROUNDINGCURVEN NEAR
MILAN, WASH.
NO ONE REPORTED KILLED, BUT
THIRTY ARE MORE OR
LESS INJURED.

While rounding a curve about mile
west of Milan, Wash, at 11:3o O'Clock
Saturday morning, train No. 4 OF the
Great Northern was wrecked by spread
ing rails, and fully 80 persons were
injured. OF the injured most are SUI
fering from bruises and sprains, but
several of the passengers are in a
serious condition, and their recovery
is doubtful Twenty-Five persons were
treated at the Sacred Heart hospital
at Spokane after the arrival of the re-
lief train.
That there were not many killed is
miraculous, for one of the cars, the
smoker, when 1t left the tracks turned
over several times and landed on its
side at the bank of the Spokane river.
This car was well filled with passen-
gers, and most of those injured were
in this coach.
Passengers assert that the spreading
of the rails was caused by rotten ties.
A number of them declare that they
examined the ties Immediately after
the wreck and found them all so rotten
that the spikes could easily be pulled
from them. H. E. Owen, an insurance
man of Spokae, who was on the train
when the accident occurred, walked to
Chattaroy, distance of four miles,
and he declares that not only at the
scene of the wreck but for the whole
distance to Chattaroy defective ties
are in evidence.
Officials of the railway company de-
nv that the wreck was caused by rot
ten ties, but assert that the rails
spread from some other cause.
Air had been applied to lessen the
speed of the train when the curve was
reached and it was not travelling over
30 miles when the accident occurred.
The train was composed of mai
car, baggage car, smoker, day coach
tourist sleeper, Pullman standard anc
diner The smoker swas the first tt
leave the rails and dragged the Others
with it. 1t rolled completely over sew
eral times and landed at the banks o
the Little Spokane river. The diner
baggage and mail cars did not turf
over, as did the others. The smoke
Jared worst. The couplings held to
gether and preveted the other car
from rolling into the river.
Wilson Creek Local Wrecked.
Following closely on the disastrou
train wreck on the Great Northern
near Milan Saturday came head-ol
collision Sunday afternoon between
heavy freight train-an extra east
bound-and the Wilson Creek loca
passenger. westbound, which left Spt
kane at 4:05 The crash came a
APO o'clock, two miles west of SpC
kane, near Fort Wright, just afte
Conductor Frank Smith of train NJ
PCT had finished collecting the ticket
of passengers. Trainmen profess t
be at a loss to know the cause of tn
wreck, but it was said the extr
freight should have taken the sidin
at Hyland, eight miles from the seen
of the collision, and allowed the pa
senger, which was running on schet
, ule time, to pass.
No one was killed. Those who wei
, injured received most of their wound
in jumping from the moving trai
when the cry that a wreck was lev
table arose. In jumping down tn
steep embankment frightened pa
sengers were injured by bein
: struck by rolling timbers and debr
from the coaches.
" Engineer Ed Anderson and Firema
= Thomas Forsythe on engine No. II
which was pulling the passenger trai
suffered the most serious injuries.