Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1918-07-03
CIRCUS TRAIN
Y
IN WRECK; IS
PERSONS KILLED
Empty Troop Train Crashes Into
Hagenbeck Special.
VICTIMS BURNED TO DEATH
Many WeII-known Performers Caught
In Holocaust When Engine PioWs
Through SIeepers at ivan
hoe, Ind.


persons were killed and many injured
as the result of a wreck west of here
early Saturday, in which an empty
Michigan Central train crashed into
and ripped through the second section
of Hagenbeck- Wallace circus special
at Ivanhoe, Ind. Fire broke out al
most Immediately following the crash,
and more than half Of the deaths were
the results of burns.
Horror ruled at the scene; women
pleading for their children lost In
one of the four coaches demolished
first by the crash, and brought to ashes
by the cOnf1agration men begging to
be shot, rather than be left to burn
to death; clowns, their jests turned to
tears, sobbed for friends of the cam
vas they could not find.
Troop Train Hits Circus.
There were something like 800 of
the circus folk on the wrecked train.
The first section of the circus train
had gone ahead to Hammond earlier
from Michigan City, where the circus
played Friday night. In the first sec
ton were most of the animals. A sec
ond section carried about $50 perform
ers and help.
The troop train of "a coaches was
returning empty from the East. 1t
was said to be travelling at a speed
of sixty miles an hour when it crashed
into the circus train.
Most of the dead were circus per-
formers of the highest class.
In addition to the circus list of miss
ing, Fred S. Whipple of Michigan City,
division trainmaster of the railroad, is
unaccounted for. He is believed to
have been a passenger in the circus
train.
Lantern Hurled at Car.
One story that has reached the ears
of the coroner is that man from the
circus train ran back far beyond the
point where the automatic and emer-
gency signals should have stopped
Sergent and waved his lantern fran
tically in front of the engine, after
ward throwing it in desperation at the
window of the cab.
Neither the engineer nor the fire.
man, however, has mentioned having
seen the lantern or that he noticed it
SCATTERING against the side of the en-
CINE, even if 1t did not enter.
The property loss to the circus was
tremendous, in addition to the effect
on the personnel Of its organization.
Says Engineer Was Asleep.
Hammond, Ind, June 25.-Engineer
Alonzo Sargent was asleep at the
throttle when his locomotive tore into
the Wallace-Hagenbeck circus train
and caused the known loss Of 62 lives
on the Michigan Central railroad at
Ivanhoe, Ind.
This statement was made at the In
quest in Hammond by Charles ]. Nc
Fadden the law firm of Winston,
Strawn & Shaw, counsel for the rail-
road company, after the testimony of
several witnesses pointing to this as
the only explanation of the wreck had
been given. The testimony showed
that the empty troop train drawn by
Sargent's locomotive was running
about twenty-five miles an hour in
stead of sixty as at first reported.
Admits He Was Asleep
Conductor Lewis Johnson of the
troop train testified that Sargent said
to him after the crash. II must have
been DOING"
Sargent was brought to Hammond
from his home in Jackson, Mich Po-
lice Captain Baitke of Gary read a
warrant to Sargent, charging man
slaughter, and took him into custody