Bloomington (Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana) Courier, March 13, 1900, p. 2. Note: In a later item, he is listed as Virgil Sanders DIED OF SUFFOCATION John Sanders Perished in a Tunnel with Gentry Show. The Gentry show No. 2 that left Bloomington Wednesday morning met with a terrible misfortune in Kentucky Thursday night. A dispatch from Somerset, Ky., says: Gentry's dog and pony show, which was attached to a freight on the Cincinnati Southern Ry., became stalled in King's mountain tunnel, fifteen miles north of this place, about 11 o'clock this morning and several members of the show were overcome by heat and smoke. John Sanders, who resided in Bloomington, Ind., died from asphyxiation. Four other members of the show were brought to the railroad hospital at this place and are now in charge of the railway physician. They will recover. About thirty persons connected with the show were on the train. Engineer O'Brien and Fireman Layton were so overcome by the gas and smoke that they were resucitated [sic] with difficulty. King's mountain tunnel is over a mile long, and the freight train to which the show was attached was very heavy. The train was pulled out by a yard engine this afternoon, and the show proceeded South. The show was en route to Macon, Ga., and left Cincinnati at 6:50 o'clock this morning on train No. 5. The train remained in the tunnel, only about half an hour, and traffic was only slightly delayed. The engineer of the stalled train was taken to his home at Ludlow, Ky., and the fireman to Lexington. They suffered greatly. The train was a double-header. Gentry's show was hitched on to the back of the freight. The show was about midway of the tunnel when the train stalled, leaving the show cars in the midst of smoke and sulphur. The escape of the train from the tunnel was due to the presence of mind of a member of the show, whose name has not been learned. He saw the danger the show was in, ran to the front engine and being an engineer succeeded in mounting an engine and pulled the train through. It is not known to what extent the live stock were injured. Sanders was 18 years old and was born in Bloomington. He has been one of the employees at the Dressel livery stable, and was a young man of quiet habits., The funeral will occur at two o'clock this afternoon from his father's residence on west Eight [sic] street in charge of Rev. Williams. Burial at Rose Hill. The remains arrived at midnight from Kentucky.