Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1907-07-25
PERE MARQUETT's
AWFUL WRECK
THIRTY.ONE KILLED AND ONE
HUNDRED CRUELTY
MANGLED.
DETAILS ARE CHASTITY.
Excursioni,,.c From lonia Are the Vic
Tins Of the Catastrophe and That
City io Stunned BY It.
The Scene of Death.

The Scene Of Death.
Rushing down the steep grade four
miles west of Plymouth shortly after
O'Clock Saturday morning, special
Perc Marquette passenger train, con-
'sisting OF ten coaches and baggage
car, filed with employees Of the road
from Ionia, and friends. crashed into
westbound local freight, p!ling the
trains up in a hopeless mass.
The wreck snuffed out the lives of
81 persons and seriously injured about
100 others. Six coaches and a bag
gage car were smashed to splinters.
The accident occurred in what is
known as VanSickle cut, the road
making a sharp curve between high
entertainments that block the view in
either direction. The passenger train,
In charge of Conductor E. j. Pixley,
and carrying 500 employees of the Pere
Marquette and their families on their
annual excursion TO Detroit, left Sa-
lem at 9:10 and was due in Plymouth
ten minutes later, according to the
statement of railroad officials.
A local freight, running so as TO
avoid the special, which was given the
right of way over everything but first
class passenger trains, pulled out of
Plymouth just about 8. Stories as
TO how the mix-up in orders occurred
differ. Engineer w. l. Rogers and
Fireman Robert Fitch, both of Ply
mouth, state that the special was for
gotten. This is In a measure borne
out by the fact that the freight was
not travelling rapidly at the time of the
collision.
On the other hand, ii is asserted
that Conductor William Hamilton, in
charge of the freight, admitted know
ing that his train was running off
schedule but believed there was suf-
ficient time to reach Salem, letting
the special pass there.
Where the trains met there is a cut
some twenty feet deep. Never was a
more thorough job done in the way
Of demolishing rolling stock, and the
wonder is that any of those in the six
coaches shattered some of them to
unrecognizable masses of debris, man.
aged to escape instant death.
The Wreck.
Penned in like rats in trap, with
out chance to save themselves, the
occupants of the coaches were thrown
hither and thither. In the twinkling
of an eye the trainload of happy ex-
cursionists were converted into hor-
rible morgue. The deafening roar as
the two engines came together, the
crashing of splintering timbers, the
hiss of steam, contributed TO make a
scene of indescribable horror. Pande-
monium reigned Above the crash
there came the groans of the dying,
mingling with the shrieks of the in
jured. 1t was all over in a second.
Those on the trains were unable to
describe the sensation. There was a
sharp blast of the whistle, grating
as the airbrakes were applied and
then came the crash.
The Dead.
William Colt, John Tofel, Ed Gal
lagher, Jas. Wizard, Albert Trautweir,
Henry Reynolds, Charles McCauley,
w. J. Cornell. Frank Douse, VIM.
Evans, Mrs. Richter. Ed. During, Chas.
Hess, Herman Hess, Daniel Hess,
Frank Latham, Mrs Ed &c, Ben Durl-
ing, f. Jones, Harry Williams, l.. K.
Merrill. Don Rogers, Fred Fitzgerald.
man named Smith, Chas Broad, AL.
bert Hurbert, E. j. Pixley, Ed. Cowan,
Harlie A. Knowles, Willard Stager,
Kansas City, Mo, Chas. Fenton,
Grand Ledge.
The Injured.
OF the hundred people injured there
are some who will not recover, others
will be cripples for life, some dishg-
ured and others will go through life
practically nervous wrecks. Fifty.
nine of the victims of the wreck are
cared for in Ionia and there are forty.
one in the hospitals of Detroit.
The Blame.
The railroad officials blame the
| crew of the freight train for the cal
amity. The wounded engineer Rog-
ers, is now technically In the custody
of a deputy sheriff under orders of
the Wayne county coroner. The prose
cutting attorney was unable to see the
engineer. Conductor Hamilton in a
measure is considered responsible
Rogers says he lost his orders and
forgot the special. 1t is claimed that
the freight left Plymouth in defiance
of the orders.
Bitter Feeling in Ionia.
Citizens of Ionia who tried to reach
the wreck TO give such aid as they
might are very bitter and claim they
were unnecessarily delayed. 1t is
| claimed that some whose relatives
we're killed were held at South Lyon
till the train with the dead had pass.
ed. The city is stunned by the awful
catastrophe.
/
BY the falling of stove which he
was assisting to unload, U. p. Whiffen
of Flint, was seriously injured. The
heavy weight fell on his face, crushing
in the jaw bone and otherwise severe
ly bruising him.
] South Haven council has been ask.