Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1909-08-07
A FRIGHTFUL WRECK
NEARLY A SCORE KILLED A
FEW MILES FROM SPOKANE.
Two Inland Empire Electric Trains,
Loaded With Land Seekers, Crash To
gether d-On-Hnman Beings and
Cars Piled High in One Mass-List of
Injured Enormous-CauseU Unknown.

Two Inland electric trains, travelling
at terrific rate a few miles out of
Occur 'Alene late Saturday afternoon,
crashed headlong into each other with
out moment Is warning, and out of the
splintered wreckagc were taken 10 dead,
at least four who died short time
later, and rs passengers all more or less
seriously injured.
The accident, without parallel in the
railroad history of the northwest, made
two cars into kindling wood and held
up trains crowded with landseekers for
four hours until the wreckage could be
removed.
Smoker Scene of Slaughter.
1t was in the smoking car of the
westbound train, an extra, that all
the deaths occurred and most of the
serious injuries were received. The
car was packed to the doors, the aisles
being full of the standing passengers,
and when the crash came the parti-
tions separating the motorman from
the rest of the car were swept backward
and with them the front seats.
Passengers in the front of the car
were thrown on top of those in the
rear, while the eastbound front car
telescoped the smoker and smashed
the seats, framework and window
glass into an inextricable mass, from.
which the victims were with difficulty
released.
The accident occurred few hundred
yards west of a little siding called Gibbs
or La Crosse. No explanation is ad-
vanced for the collision other than that
orders must have been misunderstood.
as the trains came together in broad
daylight on a track with but a single
curve.
Bodies Frightfully Mangled.
Many of the bodies and number of
the injured were badly mangled. An
unknown woman was pierced through
the heart with a great silver of wood,
dying instantly. Ten year old Dallie
Golden, son of Thomas Golden of E212
Third avenue, was in one of the front
seats and his little body, crushed and
bleeding, was among the first to be
taken from the debris. With a foot
cut so that it hung by but thread
of skin, man pinned between two
seats smiled and told his rescuers to
take their time and to get help to the
women first.
Word was quickly sent to Spokane
and a trainload of physicians and
nurses was at the scene in less than
an hour. The wounded were taken
from the homes near the scene of the
wreck, which had served as improvised
hospitals, and rushed to Occur d 'Alene
where the large hospital was filled te
overlooking.
Three Hours to Clear Wreck.
1t took the wrecker, sent from Coeui
d'Alene, nearly three hours to clear the
track SO that traffic could be resumed
Thousands of landseekers were held il
Occur d 'Alene from about 4:04, thu
time of the accident, until 1880.
Whittlesey, the conductor, is an OLE
railroad man and was formerly with thu
Northern Pacific. Campbell, the motor
man, was considered one of the bes
motormen in the company's employ.
Partial list of dead as result of Sat
urday Is wreck on Occur d 'Alene Spo
kane railroad, near Occur d'Alen'
Idaho, follows:
William Ward, Wenatchee, Wash.
A P. Whitley, Memphis, Tenn.
Orville Pauterbaugh, Elkhart, Inc
identified by nephew; Odd Fellow an
Elk.)
John A VERNE, Springfield, Mo.
Dallie Golden, 10 years old, son o
Thomas Golden, E212 Third avenue
Spokane.
w. A. Dahlquist, Esterville, Iowa, al
sistant chief clerk for o. R. g. N. roa
in Spokane.
]. H. Cox, Medical Lake, logger.
w. J. House, Scotia, Wash Qdent
fed by letters.)
Wash. identified by cards)
William Wonsetler, Harrington, Was
identified by cards.)
A. B. Mcdonald and wife, Drur
mond, Mont.
Fred Garry, teamster, Spokane.