Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-09-24
A Passenger Train Goes
Through Bridge Into
Raging Stream.
CL0UDBURST IS CAUSE
Is Little Hope of Identifying
Some of the Badly Mutt
lated Bodies.

Norton, Kan, Sept 24.-Six bodies
bruised and twisted into shapeless
things, remained to be identified here
today when officials of the Rock Island
railroad resumed their work of decon.
struction, following the wreck near
Clayton yesterday, in which 16 per
sons were killed and II injured. Iden-
t1fcation seems almost impossible, but
railroad officials are closely examin-
ing all clues.
Result of Cloudburst.
Clayton, Kan, Sept. 24.-Sixteen
persons lost their lives and Is others
suffered injuries in the wreck early
yesterday morning, two miles east Of
this town, of westbound Rock Island
passenger train No. 27 which was due
in Denver at 1925 from Kansas City.
The wreck was the result of a cloud
burst which carried out a steel bridge
over what is normally almost a dry
bed, turning the latter into a torrent
many yards wide and washing out
nearly thousand feet of track
PIunges Into Torrent.
The train, running at full speed
plunged into the gap, the engine and
mail car going down into 20 feet of
water. The chair car almost tele-
scoped the smoker ahead of it, many of
the passengers in these two cars be-
ing killed instantly. Others were car
ried fnt0 rne raging stream with the
wreckage and 1t was many hours be-
fore their bodies could be recovered.
Dead and Injured.
The known dead:
F. PICKENBAUGH, Goodland, Kan,
engineer
A. v. HUFFMAN, Kansas City, bag
gageman.
]. w. USHER, Denver. conductor.
WILLIAM MILLS, fireman, Good
land, Kan.
HERMAN MUELLER, Smith Cen
ter, Kan.
JOHN SLOOP, Boyle, Kan.
W. e. SHIVELEY, Agra, Kan.
GILBERT NJ. VANS, Fullerton, Neb.
EIGHT PERSONS, unidentified
The injured are:
G. ID. Bracken, lineman, Goodland,
Kan, arm injured.
Mrs. H. F. Scott, Bennings. Kan.
right arm. broken.
Victor Engle, Birmingham, Ala,
bruised and cut.
Mrs. T. H. Evans, Langdon, Kan,
head cut.
John Zigler, stratton, Colo, head
and face cut.
D. Du Ges, no address, side cut.
A H Avis, Blue Rapids, Kan, left
leg broken.
Mrs. Anna Smith, Colorado Springs,
head and wrist cut.
Henry Ahlers, Meta, Mo-; slight.
Helen Benson, Colorado Springs,
Colo. slight.
e. F. Murphy, Goodland, Kan; slight.
F. L. Only, mail clerk, Bur Oak,
Kan; slight.
Pullman Passengers Aid.
Passengers in the Pullman and the
other day coach, hurled from their
berths and chairs by the shock, hur-
ried out into the storm and gave what
assistance they could to the injured
and aided in extricating the bodies of
the dead.
Others hurrisd to Clayton, where
news of the accident was wired to d.
vision headquarters, and within half
an hour physicians and nurses and a
wreck train were being hurried to the
scene from Norton, Colby and Good
land, Kansas and Phillipsburg.
Members of the Topeka baseball
team of the Western league on their
way to Denver, were occupants of the
Pullman, but escaped injury.
Engineer a Hero.
To the GOODNESS and quick wit OF
Engineer Pickinbaugh, who lost his
life, is attributed the saving of the |
lives of those who escaped, numbering |
a hundred or more. 1t is certain that |
he could have jumped and saved him |
self, but he remained at his post and |
did everything possible to prevent the |
train running into the ditch. Exam |
ination Of the engine and air brakes
shows that he had reversed the lever |
and set the air brnke in an effort to
check the train. The three Pullmans
remained on the track, and the occu-
pants of these cars were nhurt.
The dead and injured were placed /
on relief train and taken to Norton,
Kan, where the injured were put in
hospital. None is in a serious condi-
tion, and it is reported that all will be
able to leave for their homes in few
days.