The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-08-18
IA ARE KILLED IN
RAILROAD WRECK
Wreckage Caught Fire in Several
Places and Flames Were Con-
trolled With Dificulty-The
Greatest Loss Of Life Oc-
CURED in Smoker Coach.

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.-Spe-
clal.-FOurteeD persons are known
TO be dead and several are miss
ing Tuesday rs the result OF col.
Hsion on the Northwestern Pacific
Railroad at Ignaci0 last night.
More than n score or passengers
and trainmen were injured, half
dozen of them fatally.
Several of those killed were tho
victims OF axes and picks welded
by reScuers.
Running at high speed, a local
passenger train, bound for Santa
Rosa, crashed into a construction
train. The first cars of the local
were telescoped and the wreck
age piled up along the track. It
caught fire ut places and the
flames were controlled with diff
Guilty.
The preliminary investigation
tended to show that n misunder-
standing OF orders caused the dis
aster, which is one OF the worst
that has occurred on the Pacific
Coast I'm years.
The List OF Dead.
The known dead:
w. A. Bangs, Rockport, Cal.
Herman Bogen, Santa Rosa, Cal.
Henry w. Emerson. messenger, OK
Petaluma.
Pincus Levin, of Levin Tannery
w. Nelson, gardener, of Black
Point.
w. A. Hoffman. messenger. OF
Petaluma.
George Riley, capitalist. OF Santa
Rosa, Cal.
T. w. Richardson. Petaluma.
c. G. Orivolene.
John Wilkinson, guard at San
Quentin.
A. NJ. Bangs. of Rockford Musical
Company.
One unidentified man. at San RAJ
fael, supposed to be X. Mclean. OF
Glen Ellen.
Unidentified man.
Fred G. Lahm, former purser OF
steamer Gold.
The trains met head on.
The giant locomotives were crum-
pied up like tin, and the great tanks
holding their fuel-they were oil
burners-buTst. The wreckage be-
came saturated with crude petroleum
enhancing the danger from fire.
The first reports of the accident
placed the number of dead at thirty.
Within short time a relief train was
hurried from San Rafael, the south
ern terminus Of the line on the Marin
county shore, across the Golden Gate
and on the north side OF the bay from
San Francisco. Word was flashed to
San Francisco also and an emergency
STAFF of doctors and nurses was gath
cred, TO be dispatched by special boat
and train to the scene Of the wreck.
about thirty miles to the north.
Threw Up Hospital.
BY the light of bonfires and lam
terms a. field hospital was thrown up
along the side of the track and
a temporary morgue established.
Throughout the night the surgeons
continued at their task and morning
was well advanced before the last of
no l. fast
The greatest loss OF life occurred in
the smoker the passenger car near
est TO the engine. The women and
children passengers were in the last
three coaches. and to this circum-
stanc is due their escape Not a pas
senger on the train. however, came
through unscathed. When the crash
came, they were pitched about and
many were pinioned under debris as
the cars turned turtle.
So terrific was the impact that seats
in the day coaches were torn from
their fastenings, being whirled about
and piled on top of the passengers
From the countryside about and from
Ignacio, corps of rescuers was Sc
cured within a short time. =
Under the leadership of the rail-
road men they attacked the wreck
with more force than discretion. By
the ftful light OF bonfires and the
blazing debris they went to the wreck
Several of those who had been trap
ped are known to have been struck
by the implements. In some cases ex-
animation of bodies showed that in
slant death had been caused by these
blows; in others. fearful injuries
The cries Of the injured were
agonizing.
Again and again many of them beg
ged to be put out of their misery. But
through il all the women who were
on the train displayed remarkable
After the first moments OF panics,
when they had accounted for their
relatives and marshalled their chill
1ren, they turned to the work of
the injured, stripping their
petticoats and gowns for lint and
Not till the hospital
trains had left with the victims for
san Rafael did they cease this work.
The cars were crowded with Red
Men on their way to Santa Rosa to
attend the State convention of their
order. The delegates took a leading
part in the rescue work and in sum-
noning help from Ignacio, the nearest
point. which was two miles from the
sCann