The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1914-02-11
And Passengers Perished
UnWarned.
F|END|SH SCHEME OF BANDIT
Presumably For Executing ~
Of The Members Of
His Band.
MOST DEvILISH ACT OF WAR

Juarez, Mex, Feb. THE six
Americans and forty or fifty Mexi-
cans whose fate has been a mystery
since the destruction of the Cum
bre tunnel last Wednesday, were suf-
located. This information was re-
tiers of the Mexico Northwestern
Railroad. The tragedy is laid at the
doors of Maxine Castillo, the bandit
leader.
A special train carrying 20 Amer
leans, led by w. j. Farragut, of the
Mexico Northwestern Railroad, so
collins and a rescue outfit left here
tonight for the scene.
The exact number Oft persons
aboard the passenger train, which
consisted of one first-class, two sec
ond-class coaches, a baggage and ex-
press car and freight car, is not
known.
First reports put the number at
SO, while a request for collins ask
ed for rs of them. This evidently
was an estimate, however, as the
searching party, led by DR.. F C.
Herr, of MADEIRA, was unable to PEN
citrate far enough into the tunnel to
count the dead.
These, it is expected, will be
found strewn along the poisonous
trenches of the tunnel, where they
fell in attempting to escape. DR..
Herr reached a body within 800
feet of the north entrance to the
tunnel. 1t was that of Juan Fernan-
DIES, rear brakeman of the train.
AS the passenger train did not
stop until within few hundred feet
of the freight train with which Cas-
tillo had set fire to the tunnel seven
hours before. Fernandez must have
staggered and crawled nearly three
quarters of mile before he sue
cumbed to the fumes of the smoke.
In his trail it is believed the 9TH
ers will be found, unless there was
stampede in the train to escape, and
some were crushed in the attempt to
crowd through the narrow aisles
and doors.
Railroad men here and in Ell Paso
are furious at Castillo's act. Tues |
day % of his men were captured and |
executed by the rebels, and the next !
day. apparently in revenge, he cap
tured the freight train. ran it into
the south end of the tunnel about |
300 feet, and there set fire to it.
The passenger train entered the
death trap from the north unsus-
pectingly. probably travelling at its
usual rate of about IS miles an
hour. When the engineer discover
ed the trap it was too late. Just
what his actions were will be known
only after an examination OF the To-
comotive has been made.
Castillo's failure to send back
warnings of his deed is regarded as
the most cruel and murderous act of
his career of outlawry, and there is
disposition here to criticise Cen
eral Francisco villa for not having
crushed him long ago.
CHASTITY Remains.
Cumbre, Chihuahua. Feb. s.
Charred bones and several metal
buttons and buckles from clothing
were the only traces discovered to-
day of the bodies of the train wreck
ID in the Cumbre tunnel of the Mex
co and Northwestern Railway We'd
nesday. At least Is Americans per-
ished.
!, A rescue party, equipped with c
oxygen helmets to guard them \
against the effects of the smoke and a
fumes of the still-smoldering wreck a
age, made their way to-day from the c
south portal of the tunnel over the G
wreckage of the burned freight train d
to the locomotive and forward cars g
Of the passenger train. d
Nothing remained OF the cars but 4
the metal frames and trucks, and 1t D
is believed that the bodies of the inn n
prisoned American and Mexican pas h
sengers must have been destroyed d
by the intense heat. /,
The wreckage Is buried under 1,
from five to ten feet OF earth and
rock from the caved-in walls and s