People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 September 1893 — THE “BIG FOUR” DISASTER. [ARTICLE]

THE “BIG FOUR” DISASTER.

The Revised List Show* Eight Dead and A boat Eighteen Wounded Criminal Negligence Charged Against Trainmen. Kankakee, HI., Sept. 20.—Eight persons killed and eighteen injured is the record of the “Big Four” collision at Manteno, IIL Three more deaths may yet be added to the list. The list of injured is about the same as already published. The revised list of dead is as follows: Charles Dickendasher, Columbus, O.; Miss Minnie Dugan, Lower Albany, Ind.: David Jackson, Cynthiana, O.; Christ. Kimmel, Dayton, O.; James W. Powell, New Vienna, Q; Mrs. Mattie Scholter, Ripley, O.; Jake Simper, Columbus, 0., and L L Sweet Louisville, Ky. Daylight brought little mitigation of the horror of the accident. It increased the list of the dead by one and the responsibility of those to whom were intrusted the lives of the passengers on the train. Monday night there was talk of a heavy curve in the track, of blinding clouds of dust, and of lights that could not be seen. Dawn showed many things. It showed a stretch of track straight as a taut bowstring and bedded with dustless road metal. It brought to light the testimony of a man who saw the lights on the rear of the ill-fated train, and with jt came the ugly rumor of an engineer asleep at his post and a flagman negligent of his duty.

Train No. 45 leaves Chicago in two sections, ten minutes apart Each train is made up of mixed sleepers and day coaches. Ahead of the first section Monday night was train No. 23 of the Illinois Central. A Tittle south of Manteno No. 23 got a hot box and had to pull up. A flagman was sent back to flag the approaching No. 1 section of train 45. The signal was observed and this section stopped. Oliver C. Duncan, brakeman of this section, says he swung off his train and went back to flag the second section. Section No. 2 of 45 was pounding along behind at the rate of forty-five miles an hour, but the brakeman claims he had time to go back quite a distance. He says that he signaled the train. His alleged signal was not heeded and the second section tore down upon the rear of the train ahead.

The track was straight, and is straight for miles each side of the spot, yet it was not until the headlight of No. 930 gleamed upon the rear coach of the train ahead that Engineer Ames reversed his lever. As he did so be jumped. His fireman stuck to his post. What happened then is soon told. Driven on by the ponderous weight of engine No. 930, backed by momentum, those two heavy Pullman cars simply came together. Caught between their mammoth mass was the little day coach, and the day coach went to pieces. It was annihilated. The roof was flung off bodily, aiift one side fell out, but of the remainder not a piece the size of a man’s hand could be found. All the dead and all the injured were in the coach that was demolished. There was no telescoping of cars; engine No. 930 is a bit bent and the rear sleeper has lost its roof, but nothing else was damaged. It was only the one ear that suffered, and of the people in it not one escaped injury. They were caught and -crushed. Eight were tortured to death. f After the collision the crews of both trains vanished as they had never been. Among railroad men in Kankakee the belief is.openly expressed that the engineer of the second section w#s sleeping at his post. At any rate, according to the statement of Flagman Duncan, given above,, no attention was paid to his signal. Duncan’s story is corroborated by Ms conductor, W. B. Tanner, one of the oldest employes of the Big Four systemy especially, that portion of it which: declares that his signal was not heeded'.

J. T. Tamscott, fireman of the engine pfclling the second section, flatly denies all this. He says no light was sent hack and that the first section had no business to be where it was. He said: “The first section sent back no light. It wag due in Kankakee ten minutes before the time when the accident took, place and we never thought of its being just ahead of us. When we approached Manteno I saw Ames, my engineer, step to the side of the cab and lookout. I also looked out and saw. a. little red light ahead that seemed to.me to be a»turned switch light I had no time to jump. The next minute we struck the car ahead at us. The engineer jumped, hut I stuck by the engine-and came out all right” Coroner Willman, of Kankakee county, in which Manteno is situated, impaneled a jury and began, taking testimony Tuesday afternoon. The two engineers and Fireman Thometz were the only persons examined so far, the inquest having been, adjourned until this morning at 9 o’clock. The evidence so far as given, tends to.show thait the cause of the wreck was the lack of bright-red lamps on, the rear of the first section of train No.. 45.