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TERRIBLE WRECKTrain* On ti e B M O. Collide—A wf il HU. a«t«ranil Heath.tbtrVC!uA terrible wreck occurred at. Tiffin. Ohio, on Tuesday last, in which many lives were lout and the injured were numerous. The •ars tehswped, aud then bcgau burning, and beingdrv thev went liken tinder. In less than live minutes from the moment of lhv collision, and before un V o rammed effort at n-scue could Ik* made, the lire of the Overturned stoves communicated to »hc . woodwork and the flumes leaped high in the uir, their roar mingling with the cries of j ^ anguish of tie imprisoned victims, to whom death in its most terrible form was a horrid ! \c pres.nre. The tr unmen and uninjured Nrs*engers were powerh-*s, and could only»k upon the pyre and hope for a Njieedy termination of the sufferings of t he vic tims.The passenger train was in charge lt;( «‘om-ductor Toin fcankett. Engineer Lem Eastman and Fireman Wm. Frederick,and con-slated of engine No. 726, a mail uud baggage car, express, smoker, coach and two, •U-epers. Tke freight train nun in charge of i ? Conductor Fletcher. Engineer Kdrr and I n Fireman \V. J. Cuinisuu, and consiittcd of engine No. £25 and sixteen and one-half loaded and a few empty gondolas. I,The smoker contained from twelve to fifteen pa-sengers. some of whom ere ini- I it migrants, ami but two men eseujatl alive, ! and oik* o! them, an Irish immigrant, was o bo terribly bruised mid burned that he can | 1 not recover. The name of the man *ho es cnj»ed uninjured could not be learned. Baa* A gagemaster W. F. Gates, of Newark, w ag P the only man in his car, and he was hurt j* in both legs, the led leg being cut in iev«rul J , places and u spliuter or rod run into hi* right foot. I C. I’. Bradley, of Washington, D. C., was tl found hanging from the window of tin* «j smoker, but hs legs were fast and he could 1 not be removed, and there ho remained un- | V til he wus burned to death and bis charred re Ilia ins fell to the ground a black ami I k shapeless mass. He was conscious and * gave his adilress to bystanders, and also I * •aid that he was an officer of the Knights I 1* of Labor organisation. He gave his watch 1 and other things lie could g*-t frjm his pockets to Engineer Fletcher, of the freigut train.Joseph 1*. stlethwAit. aged 57, and two Boas, bpencer, aged 18, and Henry, 11, were bitting in the same neat in the smoker, and their charred remains wen* found in the | h ruins of the car. Mr. Post lethwmt, h.n wile their two buys and u 7-yesr-old girl by A I C-former wife and a little boy of 5 years | vand n baby girl of 2 years, hadSolti their farm of 160 acres in Wet- I jtel lt;ounty. West Virginia, mid were moving J . to Chillicotlie, Mo., near where I‘oat let h wait I had a brother living, and where he intended | t to make his future home. He had about $200 inearth, a check for $600 and several I h rso»e* in bis pocket, nnd these were burned | w with hin tnwly, leaving the poor widow, with three children, no clothing except what she wore and only fifty cents in money. Her khrthand anil the two boys had left her but a few moment before and gone from the coach to the smoker. Postdethwait, as a half-melted medal found in the wreck indicated. was h soldier in the Union ranks in I i* the late war, lwing a soldier of CompauyA. I ^ 17th Kegiuiriit West Virginia Volunteer In- I | fan try, and drew a pension of $6 j»er month I t f«»r an injury to his eyes during the service. I t The reporter found Mrs. Post let li wait i nnd the little children at the home of C W. I t Grortscup. She in 34 years of age. and ap- I 1 pears like a fiue woiuun. Her cuse is indeed a pitiable one.Wm. Fredericks, fireman on the express, was caught I*etween the tender and the engine. and lived for two hours, but it was found impossible to effect his release. His mother is a widow, and lives in Washington, I | !.(’. He irt a member of the Brotherhood j of Firemen, which organisation took charge of his rean.ins, which were removed to a Chicago undertaking establishmentItHprepared for burial. The face in death de- ,pic tod the agony of his sufferings before death came to his relief.M. 11. Parks, whose address your correspondent was unable to learn, was also wedged in the wreck and burned to death after handing his money, letters and cards to one «»f tli** railroad employes. Ilfs body was also consumed, as was also those of several others whose names ure not known, and p« rhajrt never will be.A number of »i U-hes were found in one wreck, and one of them is described as fob lows: “0|en face, marked I. W. «t Co. on barral bridge, three-ounce case, seven jewel mounted, Springfield movement case No. fK12.0'.9.Pierce, the express messenger was burned to a crisp. His home is at Wheeling, where a bride of a few months awaits a husband who will never return.A circunndnnco which leads to tne belief that still others |erialied was related by George Westerlionae, of Pcmberville, Wood County. He had been to visit relative-* north of Republic, and was on his way to the villingeto take the morning train for home. When near the town he met a man, apparently insane, who told him of the mishap, and exclaimed:“My wife and two children burned up in the wreck.Eleven bodies have been recovered from the wreck and several others are known to have been entirely consumed. The In of life will probably reach tweuty persons John Towhill, a passenger at Chicago 1 I Junction, was in the smoker on the Haiti-* more and Ohio train, about three seats ' from the stove. He felt the shocks as the* engines came together as if he had been ‘ struck in the back, and saw two persons _ shot upward nearly to the top of the coach. e Then began a horrible crumbing and the| baggage car came into tin* smoker through I , the end. He was caught between the osuts, j and within a minute fire was raging all a around hi«. He made a fearful effort and e pot out through a window. He says he saw two men crushed, and heard their shrieks* as the flam's began to pour out from the ' dry material. Towhill’a hair and whiskers* an- All burned off and his shoulder dis-’ located. The skin has all slipiied from hin f face and sculp. John Gates, the baggageman, was seated just in front of Towhill.p lie says at the first shock he was thrown { upward by the bending of tho floor of the j car. and saw the wheels come through the* floor. The next moment he was carried* bark over top of the seats along with the f debris, and passed over the men who were - ! being ground to a pulp by the portion of* tV* baggage car which was sliding into and above the floor of the smoker. Gates is terribly rut about the ankles. He got outr I of a window. He was sent to his home at* i Newark.
Newspaper Details
Madison Times
Tallulah, Louisiana, US
Sat, Jan 15, 1887
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
John S.
USA 24 Apr 2022
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