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Show Death Toll May Reach 55; Boats Patrolling River MILES CITY, Mont, June 21 (U.R) Sheriff's men in boats patrolled the Yellowstone river at Glendive and Terry-today Terry-today in search of bodies from the Olympian, crack Milwaukee Milwau-kee road flyer smashed in the bottom of Custer Creek Sunday Sun-day as a flood-beaten bridge gave way. Three railway porters told officials they saw seven people peo-ple swept away as the train struck. The final toll may reach 55. Glendive is 50 miles downstream from the crash. One body was recovered there late Sunday. Terry is about 15 miles below the wreck. ,'!9 Known Dead Thirty-nine were known dead and railroad officials said they expected to find at least 16 more in a mud-filled tourist sleeper upended last night from its position at the creek bottom. Four bodies have been recovered from the sleeper. Railroad crane operators estimated the coach contained about CO tons of mud which filtered through vestibules and around windows. All windows were intact except one in a washroom. Two 100-ton cranes holding the car were being braced against the heavy load. Removal of bodies was halted until the operation was completed. Many Bodies Washed Away Removal of its bodies will provide a fairly accurate check of the dead. Some bodies, however, may have been washed downstream or buried in the mud. The body of one women passenger was at Glendive, 50 miles down the Yellowstone river, where it was washed by the "flash flood" which swept down the dry bed of Custer Creek and weakened the trestle just before the Olympian roared onto it. The outstanding hero or the disaster, dis-aster, Lewis Williams, negro sleeping car porter, was pressing company officials for a new assignment. as-signment. Credited with having saved at least 20 lives, he was fully recovered from his slight injuries in-juries and modestly dodging persons per-sons who wanted to praise him. Gets Passengers Out Williams' car tottered for per haps five minutes on the brink of the flood before it plunged, in. He had the choice of saving himself or trying to herd out his passengers, passen-gers, who had all retired for the night, and probably drowning. He chose the latter course and got all his pasenger out and even rescued some of their -baggage. A second or two later the car went into the creek. In morgues here were 34 bodies, many still unidentified. Most of the victims were in night attire and the lack of identifying cards or belongings caused confusion. Six Need Treatment Only 26 of the 67 passengers injured in-jured remained in hospitals today.' to-day.' Twenty were to be released within "a day or two," hospital attaches said and six were expected expect-ed to require further confinement. The six were Mrs. R. C. Daniels, Dan-iels, Deer Lodge, Mont,; Mrs. M. J. Wearin, Springfield, Ore.; Albert Al-bert Dobbins, Chicago;. Mike Smy-kowski, Smy-kowski, Chicago; Harry Buckley, Chicago; and Janet Flager, Cologne, Co-logne, Minn. Of those hospitalized, only one, Lucille Strumley of Keldron, S. D., died. Two Escape The tourist sleeper, which fell in the deepest part of Custer Creek, was the last car to be searched for bodies. Only two men, Dean Hanscom of New-York New-York City, and A. W. Olson, Ta-coma, Ta-coma, Wash., were known to have |
