Hammond, Indiana
Hagenbach-Wallace Circus Train Wreck
June 22, 1918
SCORES KILLED IN RAIL HORROR NEAR GARY
WALLACE CIRCUS TROUPE EXTINCT
BULLETIN.
CHICAGO, June 22. – Early this afternoon
the Michigan Central List, subject to change,
showed 59 dead and 115 injured in the circus
train collision.
CHICAGO, June 22. – Between fifty members
of the Hagenback-Wallace circus, were killed
early today when a Michigan Central train of
empty Pullmans, running sixty miles an hour,
crashed into a special train of sleeping cars of
the show at Ivanhoe, six miles east of Gary,
Ind.
It is believed the entire personnel of the
circus was wiped out in the smashup.
Four wooden coaches in which the circus
performers were sleeping were demolished and the
victims caught in the wreckage are believed to
have been burned to death as it caught fire and
burned for hours.
Killed As They Slept.
Most of those killed were crushed to death in
their sleep. The crash came so suddenly there
was no chance to escape.
Six hours after the wreck eight bodies had been
taken to morgues and twenty-five persons were
missing and believed to have been incinerated in
the wreck.
One hundred and twenty-five persons were taken
to hospitals at Gary. Twenty others were brought
to Hammond, Ind.
At Gary it was said that twenty-eight of the
injured could not survive and six at Hammond
were reported beyond hope of recovery.
Four died at Hammond and four on the relief
train carrying it from Ivanhoe to Gary.
Manager Gollman, of the show, which exhibited under canvas
at Michigan City, Ind., last night estimated the
death list would reach sixty-seven.
Circus Stars Dead.
Mr. Gollman named the following among the
missing believed to be dead:
ROONEY FAMILY, bareback riders.
MEYERS FAMILY, animal trainers.
COTTRELL FAMILY, bareback riders.
ART DARICK, strong man, died in hospital.
ROSIE ROSILAND, equestrienne.
DONOVAN FAMILY, elephant trainers.
ROBERT ELLIS AND WIFE, aerialists.
MRS. JENNIE CODD, Bloomington, Ill., performer,
died on relief train.
JOSEPH COYLE, clown; MRS. JOSEPH COYLE AND TWO CHILDREN, said to have died on
relief train.
Heavy loss in dead and injured is said to have
occurred among the ballet of 100 girls.
Helpless to Render Aid.
Daylight was just beginning to show, when the
crash came. Those thrown free from the wreck
stood in their night clothes, helpless while
their comrades perished in the flames.
Surgeons and nurses were dispatched from
Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Whiting and other nearly
towns.
The circus train had been compelled, by a hot
box, to stop and a flagman was sent back to
protect the rear of the train by usual
precautions, none of which, it appears, were
neglected.
The signals were all ignored and the Pullman
train crashed at terrific speed into the rear of
the circus train, telescoping all of its
coaches.
Engineer May Have Been Dead.
L.W. Landman,
general passenger agent of the Michigan Central,
said that his only explanation of the wreck was
that the engineer of the train of empties must
have been dead at the throttle.
“In no other way can I account for the fact that
he ignored all of the usual danger signals
placed by the circus train.” Said Mr. Landman,
“He ran past two block signals, two red light
signals and the usual fusees placed between the
rails and throwing off a brilliant red light
visible for a long distance.
This engineer is missing. My information is
that, with the exception of the engineer, whose
fate is a mystery, not one on the train of
Pullmans was hurt. It will be some time before
an accurate list of the dead can be compiled. It
is the worst wreck in the history of the road, I
believe.”
The large number of persons in the casualty list
is said to be due to the practice of show trains
of sleeping two persons to a berth. The coaches
were Pullmans of an obsolete type converted into
gaudily painted show cars.
The wrecked train was the second section which
carried performers and officials of the show.
The cause of the accident was a mystery to
officials of the Michigan Central.
Engineman Escaped.
Deputy Coroner Green at Hammond said at noon
that the engineer and fireman of the Michigan
Central train escaped, but that he would not
divulge their story of the cause of the wreck
until the inquest.
Their train consisted of empty Pullmans which
were returning from the east where they had
taken a detachment of troops.
There was no fire fighting apparatus at Ivanhoe
and the wreck burned for hours. The bodies
removed from the wreck were burned beyond
recognition. Those who were thrown from the
wreck stood helpless watching the horror, and
some were later found wandering half crazed in
the woods in their night garments.
Wires Down; News Slow Getting Out.
News of the disaster was slow in getting out as
the wreck tore down the wires.
Ed Ballard,
of French Lick, Ind., owner of the show was in
this city when notified by telephone. Relief
trains with doctors, nurses and fire engines
were sent from Hammond, Gary, East Chicago and
other nearby cities. The firemen, however, found
their apparatus useless in the absence of water
connections.
Four sleeping cars, gaudily painted, but of
obsolete type in which performers were sleeping,
and a way care were demolished and the
destruction completed by flames. They were of
much lighter construction than the modern steel
cars of the troop train.
Later Deputy Green
said that the engineer of the empty train was in
a hospital too badly injured to talk. The
fireman, he said, was in custody.
Engineer Asleep?
There was a flagman on duty near the wreck and
it is reported that he saw the approaching train
on the Michigan Central. When the engine passed
him he threw his lantern through the cab of the
engine, awakening the engineer, who, it is said,
was asleep. Both engineer and fireman jumped.
Officials of the Michigan Central reported that
the fireman, G. Krause, of Michigan City, Ind.,
had gone temporarily insane from shock.
The engineer was T.L.
Sargent, of Jackson, Mich.,
Many deeds of heroism and sacrifice were
reported. One woman, screaming in agony beneath
the burning timbers, saw the flames near those
who were trying to release her. She shouted,
“Get away, get away, quick, or you’ll get burned
too.” The rescuers wee unable to release the
woman and her cries were stilled by the flames.
Removal of bodies is made difficult by the fire,
which is still smouldering.
Due to Fault of Signals.
(By United Press.)
DETROIT, Mich., June 22. – E.D. Bronner,
federal manager of the Michigan Central
divisional headquarters, in a statement today
said the wreck of the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus
train near Ivanhoe, Ind., was due to a default
in signals.
The circus train of twenty-four cars had stopped
on account of a hot box and a flagman was sent
back to head off a government equipment train en
route to Chicago. The equipment train was not
stopped, however, and crashed into the stalled
circus cars, telescoping twelve of them.
Further information was lacking.
The Fort Wayne News and Sentinel, Fort
Wayne, In 22 Jun 1918
Transcribed by
Loraine Jordan. Thank you, Loraine!
ENGINEER SLEPT AT THE THROTTLE
Admitted by M.C. Officials He Did Not See
Signals and Caused Circus Wreck.
TWO INQUIRIES AFOOT
(By Associated Press)
HAMMOND, Ind., June 24. – Attorney Charles J. McFadden, representing the Michigan Central,
issued a statement today explaining that
Engineer Alonzo Sargent,
of the empty troop train, which crashed into a
circus train near Gary Saturday, was asleep
owing to illness and did not see the signals of
danger. Sargent, he said, remained near the
wreck for six hours and then, being worn out,
left for Kalamazoo.
According to Oscar Timm, flagman of the circus train, wrecked with
heavy loss of life near Gary, last Saturday,
there was no one visible on the engineer’s side
of the cab of the engine which a minute later
crashed into the show train. Timm estimated he
was thirty-five car lengths back of the circus
train and having frantically signaled the train
to stop, stepped to one side and threw a fusee
through the window of the engine cab. He
reported to his superiors that the engineer was
not visible to him at that time. Michigan
Central records give the engineer’s name as L. Sargent. His
full name, however, is said to be
Alonzo Sargent.
Says Engineer is Released.
(By Associated Press.)
KALAMAZOO, Mich., June 24. –
Alonzo J. Sargent,
engineer of the train of empty cars which
crashed into the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train
near Gary, Ind., Saturday, was released from
custody this afternoon.
The Fort Wayne News and Sentinel, Fort
Wayne, In 24 Jun 1918
Transcribed by
Loraine Jordan. Thank you, Loraine!
ENGINEER SARGENT UNDER ARREST FOR
MANSLAUGHTER
Engineer Blamed for Circus Wreck at Gary
Refuses to Testify
IN FEAR OF MOB VIOLENCE
HAMMOND, Ind., June 25 – Alonzo Sargent engineer of the empty troop train which
caused the disaster to the circus train near
Gary, Ind., last Saturday was arrested charged
with manslaughter while at the inquest today
Sargent called as a witness declined to testify
on advice of counsel.
Although Sargent waived extradition and returned
from his home at Kalamazoo Mich., voluntarily he
greatly feared mob violence it developed today.
He was accompanied to Gary by night police
captain James Vodicka
of Gary and as the train neared the city Sargent
asked, “They won’t mob me will they?”
The captain assured him that there was no danger
but Sargent insisted that the officer find out
if there was a crowd at the station before
alighting. He was taken to Hammond shortly
before noon to appear at the inquest and there
was arrested on a warrant sworn out by
Prosecutor Clyde Hunter
charging him with manslaughter.
Said He Was Dozing
(By United Press)
HAMMOND, Ind., June 25 – Testifying
before a coroner’s jury, Conductor Lewis Johnson
of Michigan Central train that ran down the
Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train at Ivanhoe
Saturday, swore today that Engineer Alonzo Sargent
told him he was dozing when the wreck occurred.
After the crash I ran forward, Johnson
testified. I ran to Sargent and said, “My God,
this is awful, how did it happen?”
Sargent answered, “I was dozing.”
The Fort Wayne News and Sentinel, Fort
Wayne, In 25 Jun 1918
Transcribed by
Loraine Jordan. Thank you, Loraine!
VICTIMS OF CIRCUS WRECK WILL BE BURIED IN
CHICAGO
(By United Press)
HAMMOND, Ind., June 25. – Practically all
of the fifty-eight bodies of victims of the
wreck of a Hagenbeck-Wallace train here Saturday
will be taken to Chicago tomorrow to be buried.
The unidentified bodies will be laid in a huge
grave in “Showmen’s League Rest,” a portion of
Woodlawn cemetery owned by the Showmen’s League
of America. Identified dead will be buried in
individual graves in the same plot. Monuments
will be erected in the cemetery and on the scene
of the wreck by Edward
Ballard, an owner of the circus.
The Fort Wayne News and Sentinel, Fort
Wayne, In 25 Jun 1918
Transcribed by
Loraine Jordan. Thank you, Loraine!
85 PERSONS ARE KILLED
Sixty-Two Found in Train Wreck – Manager of
Circus Declares Over Score of Employees Missing.
Gary, Ind., June 23. -- Sixty-two bodies of
the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus employes who were
killed in the wreck six miles west of Gary on
the Michigan Central railroad early Saturday lay
in temporary morgues in Gary and in Hammond,
Ind., tonight while circus officers made frantic
efforts to compile an accurate list of dead and
injured. Only 24 of the bodies have been
identified. Most of the others were charred and
mangled beyond recognition.
EDWARD M. HALLARD, general manager of the
circus, tonight issued a statement saying
figures compiled indicated that probably 85
persons had been killed. He said a hasty
tabulation of scattered employes showed that 60
are missing in addition to the 24 identified
dead.
Lowville Journal and Republican New York
1918-06-27
Submitted & transcribed by Stu
Beitler Thank you,
Stu!
The Hammond circus train wreck occurred on June
22, 1918, and was one of the worst circus train
wrecks in U.S. history. 86 persons died and
another 127 were injured when a locomotive
engineer fell asleep and ran his train into the
rear of another near Hammond, Indiana.
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