The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-05-16
THIRTY SHR|NERS
DEAD IN A WRECK
Several Roasted Alive in California
Disaster.
CARS PILE ON TOP or LOCOMOTIVE.
Defective Switch Was the Cause of
the Wreck of the Special Train
Carrying New York and Pennsyl-
vania Mystic Shriners Back From
Los Angeles.

Santa Barbara, Cal. Especially -
Thirty dead and a score injured com
prise the casualties of the wreck at
Honda Saturday OF the Ismailia spec
ial train Of New York and Pennsylva-
nia notables of the Mystic Shrine.
who were returning home from the
annual meeting OF the Imperial Coun-
oil of the Ancient Arabic Order of the
Mobiles of the Mystic Shrine at Los
Angeles.
The train, carrying las Shriners
and friends from 1smailia Temple,
Buffalo; Rajah Temple. Reading, Pa,
and neighboring cities, was rushing
northward so miles an hour on the
5outhern Pacific Coast Line, when
the locomotive struck a defective
switch at the sand-swept seacoast sid
Ing at Honda, near the waters of the
Pacific Ocean, along which the rail-
road runs for hundred miles north
of Santa Barbara. The locomotive
turned a somersault into the yielding
sands. The cars swirled through the
air and landed on the fiery mass of
wrecked steel. The coaches were
crushed to debris and took fire.
The flames were soon extinguished
by uninjured persons from the two
rear coaches. AS Honda is isolated
It was not till late Sunday that def
mite information could be collected
The bodies of 25 victims now lie in
Santa Barbara, and more are at
San Luis Obispo. The injured, many
Of whom are terribly hurt, and some
OF whom may die, are in two sani-
tariums at San Luis Obispo.
The wreck occurred at 2.35 o'clock
an hour and 40 minutes after the
conclave visitors, forming a merry
party, had left Santa Barbara, where
they had spent all the morning sight
seeing. The statement that the train
was making a terrific speed when It
struck the defective track is borne
out by the fact that 1t covered the
81 miles of crooked track from Santa
Barbara to Honda in 100 minutes.
The locomotive in leaving the rails
tore up the track, twisting the huge
nteel rails into fishhooks. The bag
gage car half buried itself in the sand
on the right side of the locomotive.
1t was smashed almost to kindling
wood.
The dining car, in which we're 80
persons eating luncheon, leaped into
the air and fell directly on the de-
molished locomotive. Nearly every
person in the dining car was in
stantly killed Scores were scalded
by steam escaping from disconnected
pipes. The rear coaches rushed on
the first wreckage, jamming it on
those who might otherwise have es-
capped. Several, pinioned in the de-
bris, were roasted alive.
Engineer Frank Champlain was
pitched with the cab 25 feet beyond
the engine He got up and ran a
mile, seeking help, before he discov-
cred that his arm was broken and
that he was severely scalded.
An instant after the smash those
who were not incapacitated by the
terrible impact jumped from the
train to render aid, but they were
unable to do much beside extinguish
the fire, and they had to wait long
hours before relief arrived.
Frightened women peering through
the windows of the undamaged sleep
ing cars tainted when they saw the
bodies of their friends strewn along
the roadside, blood from the wounds
staining the sand drifts all about.
Men who toiled hard at the task of
rescue collapsed.
Mrs. John w. Cutler, of Bingham
ton, N. Y, was in the baggage car at
the time of the crash to rearrange her
trunk. Her body was driven through
the floor, and the wrecked car had
to be lacked up before the body
could be released.
Mrs. Fred Greenwood, of Bingham
ton, was with Mrs. Cutler, and also
went down under the tons of bag
gage and broken timbers, but she
was covered by an arch of trunks.
When rescuers burrowed their way
to where the two women lay Mrs.
Greenwood reached out and grasped
the foot Of one Of the men and
shouted: T'u not let 60 until you
get me out" Then scalding steam
enveloped her and she was terribly
burned. She was rescued alive, how
ever, and was. among those taken TO
San Luis ObisDo.