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Show TRAINS COLLIDE ' MHILLEP Horrible Disaster on the Rio Grande Near Pueblo, Colorado. Tragedy Caused by Failure of Open ator to Deliver an Order Which Changed the Meeting Place of the Trains. Pueblo, Colo. In a blinding stons which mado It almost Imposslblo foi tho trainmen to seo ahead, two trains collided head-on at a point midway between Portland and Adobe, twenty-flvo miles west of Pueblo, nt 2:20 o'clock Friday morning. Immediately Im-mediately following the collision sov-ernl sov-ernl of tho wrecked cars burst Intd flames and wero consumed, a numbci of passengers being burned to death Ove thirty others were Injured, bul of these It Is not thought any wcr fatally hurt. The cause of tho wrecV Is attributed to the failure of an em ployo of the road to deliver an order which chnnged tho mooting placo ol tho two trains. Conservative estimates on the to tal loss of life placo the number o! dead at thirty-five. Rio Grando of flclals Insist that tho exact number o: persons on tho two trains cannot hi ascertained; that It Is Impossible. P. V. Lively, night operator at Swallows, Swal-lows, whose alleged failure to deliver orders to train No. 1G 1b supposed to havo been tho causo of tho wreck, has been employed by tho road foi many years. Ho was relieved from duty and will be suspended until the matter Is thoroughly Investigated by tho officials. Both trains wero running at thfl usual speed, the deep snow and high wind making it necessary to exerciso exceptional care. Suddenly both headlights flashed out from the darkness, dark-ness, and It was realized for tho fl rat tlmo that something was wrong. According Ac-cording to tho story of Fireman J. H. Smith of tho westbound train, Engineer Engi-neer Wnltcr Coslett opened tho emergency emer-gency brake and tho train was checked for an Instant, hut tho slip-pory slip-pory rails and tho momentum of tho heavy train carried It on. Immediately aftor tho collision a sheet or flro ran through tho cars on both sides or tho engines, nnd In a twinkling the crackling sound of breaking timbers started the men to nctlon. In tho forward coach of the westbound train ovcry seat was occupied oc-cupied by paspongors, most or whom wero homescokcrs on their way to tho northwest. A number or foreigners foreign-ers ero among them and in their terror they gavo up life without making mak-ing any attempt to reach sarety out-sldo out-sldo tho burning car. Paralyzed with fear and with prayers upon their Hps, they sank to tho floor of the car and wore roasted alive. Tho cooler ones In tho car, seeing their danger, rushed for tho windows and doors, and with tho aid of tho passengers In tho roar1 of tho train and thoso mpmbors of tho train crow who were unhurt, man-aged man-aged to reach tho open air. Many of them wero Injured moro or less seriously seri-ously by tho rough handling they ro-eelved ro-eelved or from flying glnss and timbers. |
