Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 September 1884 — APPALLING CATASTROPHE. [ARTICLE]

APPALLING CATASTROPHE.

Ten Men Burned to Death in a Cirous Train Near Greeley, Colorado. A Number of Others Terribly Injured —Many of the Victims from the Northwest. [Denver telegram.] The train belonging to the Anglo-American Circus, Mlles Orton proprietor, left Fort Collins for Golden, via the Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific Road. Forty minutes later, when near Greeley, the sleeping car, in which were seventyfive men, employed as roustabouts of the circus, asleep, caught fire and was wholly consumed. Ten men perished. Two were seriously and five slightly burned. The fire was communicated from an open torch with which the car was lighted to a quantity of gasoline which was being carried in the same car. causing an explosion. The blazing gasoline enveloped the sleeping men. One door of the oar was blocked by baggage and the fire cut off retreat through the otbbr. Before the train could be stopped men were dropping along the track from the oar windows, many being badly bruised as well as burned. The absence of water rendered efforts to check the fire Imjossible. As soon as the fire permitted, search in the ruins was made and ten charred bodies found. The bodies were taken to Greeley and an Inquest exonerated the railroad company, which had no control of the cars. It is impossible to get a complete list of the dead, as many were engaged but a day or two, and their names are unknown. The wounded men were brought to Denyer and placed in a hospital as follows: E. E. Fairbanks, aged 22, arms, legs, and face badly burned, residence unknown; Albert Borden, aged 17, Logan, Kan., arms and face badly burned; Thomas Golden, aged 17, Detroit, Mich., very badly burned on the back and legs; N. J. Zimmerman, aged 18, St. Lords, Mich., terribly burned about the arms, legs, back, and face; Frank King, aged 22, Menominee, Mich,, hands and feet badly burned: Michael MoGlenn, aged 28, Holton, Mich., face and bands badly burned; Hugh O'Donnell, aged 56, New Orleans, badly burned and in a critical condition. Alexander McLeod, Marinette, Wis.; Thomas McCarty, Independence, Iowa; John Kelly, New York City; Silverthorn, residence unknown; others, called respectively Andy, George, Frank, Frenchy, and Smithy. Last named unknown. Frenchy was from Detroit. The men were in the habit of entering the oar with torches and were culpably careless. The accident was due solely to that cause.