The Detroit times., 1910-09-22
OFFICIALS PROBE
WRECK IN WHICH
40 WERE KILLED
Will Fix Blame for Crash Between
Two Traction Cars at Sharp Curve
In Indiana-Ann Arbor Man
Among the Dead.
Trolley Official Says Motorman's Dis
regard Of Orders Is Responsible
For Disaster.
THE DEAD.

xoI OlSdstcI.
THE DEAD.
w. e. BOWMAN, BIunton.
A. h. HYDE, Pennviiie.
>. h. STUCkEN, Vera Crus.
WILLIAM >. BEERS. Biunton.
LLoh ID BROWN, blsffton.
l.. Z. yusTus, biufiton.
n. u. COOK, Hutton.
EhN EST GROt SIC, blunton.
SiLAs THOMAS, Warren.
RALPH WALsER, BIunton.
W. ID. BuRGAN, BiuntOn.
OSCAR xIMMER, BIunton.
MISS PEARL sAYLER, Hutton.
II. r. FOLK, Washington, Ind.
JACOB sWARTZ, UniondaIe.
JOHN W. TRIBOLET, Biunten.
MRS. GARRETT MAXWELL, Gar
CHAIR Es HEBER, Uniondale.
nLANCHE ARCHBoLD, Ossisn.
Franz Franz K ISD HSb WIFE, WIFE, Warren.
SON OF LLOYD BROwN, Biuntoa.
HAROLD NELSON, Hutton.
JOHN JOHNSON, Markle.
JESSE HOFFMAN, Marion.
ID. w. THOMPSON, Ann Arbor, Mich.
MRS. HIRAM FOLK, Dlvntop.
MRS. MYRTLE HARLEY. daughter
MARY DAUGHERTY, Biunton.
DANIEL DEBACH, Petroleum, Ind.
j. -. SWARTZ, Hutton.
JOSEPH SAWYER, Blunton.
JOHN SMITH AND WIFE, Montpe-
ner.
JOSEPH EDENs, Hartford City, lad.
GEORGE sEMTHu RST, Warren, Ind.
BEN CRAMER, Frankfort, Ind.
JOHN 4. ROBBINS, Concordia, Kas.
JOHN REED, Battery K. Fifth artii-
1ery New York.
FATALLY INJURED.
A. Ellenberg, Ellen, Ind.
SERIOUSLY INJURED.
James snoweii Porter, Mansfield, leg
Mrs. 3. stoIIey and two chiIdre., Den
yer, internal Injuries.
Mrs. James Cone, Manistee, Mich, in
). l.. MiiiiYan, Marion, arm broken.
Robert sadier, Los Angeles, right leg
Levi. Kidder. Little Sioux. badly
Jacob KIpeine, Prospect, o., hip frac-
tured. internal injuries.
M. Bitusch, south sharon, PA, arm
Charles Ball, Decatur, Ind, bruised
/. r. Plumste.d, Marlboro, N. ", knee
Cecil Ekro., Blair, WIS.,, head badly
cut.
+. y. FerraII, Buffalo, slightly cut.
Mrs. +. +. Ferrall, back broken, mny
Ray Gordon, Columbia, Pa, bad cash
On head, may lose eye.
elizabeth w hbOn, ncbe Scnter, Osy
hand crushed, hurt on head.
FORT WAYNE, Ind, Sept. "a
The authorities OF Wells county and
officials OF the traction company to-
day are making rigid investigation
to ascertain the cause of and attach
responsibility for the collision OF two
traction cars on the Button line OF
the Fort Wayne and Wabash Valley
Traction company yesterday In which
forty persons were killed and eight
injured. Early today Frank l. Hardy,
superintendent OF transportation or
the traction company. stated that dis
regard OF orders caused the wreck
and that Is. T. Corkwell. motorman Of
the southbound train probably Is the
one to blame.
The disaster, the worst in all inter
urban history, occurred at sharp
curve near kingsland. six miles from
Button. The line Is operated under
a block system and until the railway
makes public the orders issued the
crews 1t will not be definitely known
which motorman was negligent. 1t Is
said that Corkwell was to wait at
Greensboro. q station beteen Kings
land and Ossian for the northbound
train. but that instead OF doing this he
tried to meet the other car at Kings
land.
The southbound car, the one going
to Button was manned by Conductor
Del Wilson, OF Ossian and Motorman
B. T. Corkwell, of Fort Wayne. The
northbound car, which was crowded
to the steps with sightseers, was In
charge OF Conductor +. A. Spiller and
Motorman Charles Van Dyne, both OF
RlufYton. The four trainmen are
alive with good chances for recovery.
The crash came within a moment
after the northbound car had left
Kingsland. The collision occurred al
most exactly at the center Of the
curve, the cars being telescoped al.
most their entire length.
Out of the forty-five or fifty persons,
passengers and trainmen, but one man
has so far been discovered who es-
capped entirely unhurt. Most OF the
deaths were instantaneous.
The spot where the dreck occur
red is particularly isolated and 1t was
an hour and a half after the collision
that physicians arrived on the scene
from Button and Fort Wayne and the
actual relief work began. The dead
were laid in rows In a grove nearby
The bodies were horribly mangled.
Legs and arms were severed and
heads gashed and in some cases near
ly cut from the body. Relatives OF
the dead arriving at the grove cried
heartbrokenly and Historically, max
ing the work OF the sorrow-hardened
doctors almost impossible.
The Identification was slow. The
dead were loaded into two cars and
taken to Button, the wounded to
Fort Wayne.
Conductor Spiler OF the Bluffton
local was practically uninjured and
was enabled to perform deed OF
heroism which probably averted an
other accident of even larger proper.
lions. When Spiller saw the extent
of the catastrophe he ran back to-
ward Kingsland and tagged and stop
ped the indianapolis Limited, which
was coming at full speed In a few
seconds, had II not been stopped. IL
would have crashed into the strug.
Cling and dying mass OF humanity
which was left In the wake OF the
crash.
John r. Boyd, OF Marion, Ind, was
, probably the only passenger aboard
the Inflated local car who escaped un-
hurt.
Boyd owes his life to the fact that
he was compelled to hang onto the