Norwich bulletin., 1912-07-05
FOrty-0ne Lives Sacrificed Because Engineer Fail
 ed to See Signal Obscured by the Fog
TRACK WAS BLOCKED BY A CRIPPLED FREIGHT
Passenger Train Loaded With Excursonss Stood Main Track When, Express Travelling 65 Miles HOur
 Crashed Into -Only 24 of the Victims Identi6ed-Be- tween 50 and 50 red-Lackawannas Worst Wreck.

Excursion Rates Made Traffic Heavy,
 Taking advantage, this Fourth of July morning, of the excursion rates, he Laekawanna had offered from He- heken to Buffalo and Niagara Falls, many excursionists had boarded No. 9 at all points from Hobeken, inciud ing Scranton, Binghamton and Elmira, There were also many passengers for the west as there was direct connec- tion through to Chicago at Buffalo. There was such load of travellers by the time the train reached Elmira that a second engine was attached there to take the train over the hill at Grove land, eB miles west.
 Long before No. g left ElmiRa, extra freight train No, 61. bound for Buffalo from Scranton, had pulled through, When the heavy grade at Gibson was reached drawhead pulled out and No. 61 was crippled. Signals which she put out stopped No, as the latter came up with her two engines. The first engine was upcoupled and set at work to push the dead end of the freight into siding to allow No. g and No, Il. which were due in 25 or 30 minutes, to pass.
 Signals Set Against No. fl.
 The work was slow and considerable time elapsed, During the monotonous wait many passengers from the day coaches got out and investigated the cause of the delay
 Meanwhile the signals had been thrown against No. II, which was tear ing along at 65 miles an hour toward the stalled trains. These failed to stop the express and the crash followed.
 Rescuers were quickly on the scene. In fn sI.T.. time, hundreds of automobiles had lined the highway By 8 o'clock physi- clans had started all of the wounded on their way to the hospitals or were giving emergency attention to victims on the scene. The only exceptions were few persons who had been pin ned beneath wreckage which was so | difficult to penetrate that it was some time before they were released.
 Bodies Badly Mansied.
 Thirteen of the injured and ten of 1 the dead were taken to Elmira on a special train. All the other dead were taken to undertaking rooms in Corning and the remainder of the injured were conveyed to the Corning city hospital. All the physicians in the city have been summoned and many ministers and priests were called to administer last sacraments and receive messages for relatives and friends from the dy- ing.
 Most of the bodies found were badly mangled The cars themselves were one heaped-up mass of wreckage, tafn- ming into each other in telescope fash lon The last two cars on train Nc Il remained on the track and later were used as hospital coaches, A spe, eial train from Eimira had brought as, sistancS from that city and it wae this train that afterwards aided in re. moving the dead and injured.
 Baby Among Unidentified.
 At the Corning hospital, which hat accommodations for only 40 patients some of the injured had to lie upof the floors until the physicians coulC reach them and give them necessar, attention.
 Those who visited the scene of tn, wreck before the hospital forces hat had time to finish the work of renapva witnessed many scenes of horror, On, man picked up small white shee which lay upon the ground, only f, draw back ashen faced as his act re Yealed the body of baby only a fev months old. At 8 late hour the chiI, had not been identified.
 Priest Performs Last Rites.
 The Rev. John T. Cassidy, Cathpli priest, was one of the early arrival at the wreck. He ministered to tn injured and performed the last rites o the church for those about to di, Once he halted long line of auto mobiles and several wagons bound fo the morgue while he performed tn rites over the body of little gil which lay across the highway. Tn automobilists and the bystanders stoo about with bowed heads.
 The people of Corning have Opene their homes to the injured who coui not find accommoda tions at the hospi tals or whose injuries were too sligh to warrant their crowding other per sons from the institution.
 A Human Skull Picked Up.
 This afternoon the workmen at th scene of the wreck picked up g hums skull which was entirely devoid ( marks which would indicate whether
 came from man or woman. A gol . bracelet bearing the initials 'E. 4. H was found in the wrecksge this after noon. It had been pulled nearl ' straight. It is supposed to have bee upon the wrist of Mrs. Edith Hess ! Scranton, Pa, who was among thos
 who were killed in the wreck. Although Engineer Schroeder of u express declared there was no fiagma !. to warn him of the presence of tt
 stalled train ahead. Lackawanna off
 cials declare tonight that a flagma , had been sent back in the rear of N | when she was held up.