The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-26 00:00:00

THE I.)REAnFUL ItAILIV A CAT AS-
TROPHE 114" MISSOURI:

FURTHER PARTICULARS.
(Froda the St. Louis Republican, Sept. 7.)
From Mr. A M. Hager, baggage-master on the
Hannibal and St. Joseph Railway, we learn vely
interesting additional particulars of the'terrible
catastrophe at little Platte Bridge, on that road on
mltiTaoharucegioel
emssdaogantoyi night last. The train consisted of the
dva
Californiane
wtai
tony oai tnsfeaeneixdni
,pegrrea,erso
express
omae
agaf:rttheat
eeiggere:h
htcTaacia
There
leogo
neawtdeaeenri dnedi
fneywr.g.
oi
way
85 to 100 persons'
ladiesT he andtra children.train
reached
on board, many of them being
the bridge where the awful
disaster occurred at fifteen minutes after'll o'clock
p.m., running at the customary rate of speed.
There was nothing unusual about the appearance of
the bridge, and therefore not the least danger was
apprehended. It was a very substantial work of
the Howe patent, having a span of 16') feet--the
largest on the road, except that which crosses
Grand River. At Platte River the grade is about
35 feet above the bottom—a frightful chasm info
which to precipitate a mass of humanity.
Before narrating incidents of the accident, it may
he here stated that the torch of the incendiary had
been applied underneath the bridge, burning the
timbers below the track. After the fire had pro•
greased a certain degree, or sufficient to weaken
the bridge, so that it could sustain little more than
its own weight, the flames had been extinguished,
thus making the work a mere shell and a trap of
death. Upon this feeble span the train, lighted
only by a calcium blaze upon the front of the
engine, and suchbrightness as the stars emitted,
plunged into the jaws of destruction.
Scarcely had the locomotive measured its length
upon the bridge when the structure gave way with
a tremendous crash, opening for forty or fifty yards
an abyss of darkness and desolation. The engine
turned completely over, landing in the bottom of
the river, and half burying itself in the quicksand,
the water in the stream being about a foot and a
half in depth. The freight ear followed, thunder-
ing upon the upturned wheels of the engine. Then
came the baggage car, which dropped with crush-
ing weight upon the freight car, flattening the
latter completely out, and tearing it to splinters.
In some way the baggage car retained its position,
standing nearly or quite level, bound west. The
top of the baggage car was thus left about 20 feet
below the summit of the abutments. Rhpidly the
two passenger coaches rushed into the chasm, de-
scending at an inclination of about 45 degrees, amid.
the shattering of the cars and the piteous shrieks
of the terrified passengers.
All the seats were torn up a"-1 shoved in front,
carrying men, women,,tnbs, o
(laenrdettr thildrreonwiinngathpermomoiust
of the cars the
of e
-
cous heap down the .clivity, and burying them
echrelloseghehdth ie
broken sides.
.Tagged pieces
impaled some ; some were mangled
amongt
of flooring
by maetinery tearing through the timbers; several
were caught between planks pressing together like
a vice ; others were struck by parts of the roof as it
came down with mighty force ; still others were cut
with pieces of glass, while wounds and blood and
agony prevailed all over the frightful scene. Shrieks
of pain were mingled with cries of terror, and prayers
with oaths of despair. In this way the two last cars
of the train went down, pitching the passengers
into the wreck, or throwing them into the water.
An agonising catastrope like this cannot be de-
scribed. But few on board escaped without severe
injury. Only three persons—Mr. J. W. Parker,
threemai ndte there
of
e
was not
superintendent of the United States Express; Mr.
Waus, mail agent ; and Mr. Hager—were able to
afford assistance 0
eats hs.
neot suffering,Bseosmi
de s
es these
the remainder
into j ur
After
y.
those who were not killed outright being so dis-
abled as to be he
cane
g 7 .all that it wee
eeere„l:ee
for th,e requiring immediate attenuance, Mr.
muer, at midnight, left the wreck to go to St.
.-emeph, a distance of nine miles, for medical and
other assistance. Mr. Hager walked five miles of
the way, when he found a hand car, upon which ho
proceeded the remainder of the journey. Two hun-
dred yards west of the bridge he discovered a heavy
oak railroad tie strongly strapped across the track-,
and two miles further on he found the trestlework
over a small stream on fire, which, however, had not
yet been so badly burned that trains could not pass
over it, or could not be easily extinguished.
Arrived at St. Joseph, Mr. Hager proceeded at
once to the express and post-offices, and seen the
alarm was spread throughout the city. Although
it was one o'clock at night, 75 itten, including all
the physicians in the neighbourhood, had quickly
volunteered their se.vices to go to the relief of the
sufferers. A locomotive was promptly filed up, and
at half-past 3 o'clock the train, comprising three flat
cars and a passenger coach, was at the scene of the
occident with blankets, sheets, and every other
article that might be of The wounded had all
emerged from the wreck, and were lying on the
banks and upon a sandbar in the river.
wane the physicians moved around among the.
injured, attended by squads of the citizens of St.
Joseph, such as were not thus engaged went to
work to remove the dead bodies from the cars and
the river. Seventeen dead bodies were recovered,
and it is believed that this number embraced all
killed up to that time. Two were so badly wounded
that it was not expected they would survive till
morning, while many others were dangerously
wounded, and would have to be well taken care of
to recover. Many who will escape with their lives
Will be severely maimed and crippled.
Mr. Hagar, our informant, did not remain
to witness the embarkation of the wounded.
for St. Joseph, but was despatched to Brook--
field, which is eastward of the bridge,
for another train to go to the wreck. When he left,
the names of the wounded were being taken down,
and also of such of the dead as had papers or other
articles about them by which they could be
identified.

Mr. Hager took a horse and rode to Osburn,
where he found a hand-car, upon which he pro.
cecded farther. Between Osburn and Stewartsville,
on Smith's branch, or 16 miles east of Platte River,
he found that another bridge had been burned. All
that part, from the abutment on the west end to
the bank, some 35 feet, had been totally destroyed,
the fire having been set after the train had passed
which met the disaster at Platte River. So it was
useless to go for the train at Brookfield, because it
could not pass west until the bridge over Smith's
branch could be repaired.

LIFE IN PARIS,

The Court of Assizes of the Seine on Saturday
tried a young man named Thevenin, a book-
keeper, for robbery and embezzlement, to the
prejudice of his employer, M. Bruneau, a
dealer in trimmings, residing in the Rue de la
Fidelite, at Paris. The court was crowded to hear
this trial, as it ,was known that M. Bruneau had
discovered an adulterous interenurse between the
accused and Madame Bruneau, ancl that the latter
would be examined as a witness. It appeared from
the evidence that Thevenin entered M. Bruneau's
establishment in 1858, highly recommended as a
good man of business and a skilful accountant, at a
salary of 1,800 f., which was afterwards increased.
M. Bruneau, in November last, went to Lyons, and
during his absence the business was managed by
Madame Bruneau and the prisoner. While at
Lyons he received an anonymous letter informing
him of his wife's misconduct with Thevenin. He
returned suddenly, and took measures for proviAn
ig
the fact of the adultery, but without success.
had
Bruneau was nevertheless convinced that he .
his fidelity •
him in one respect he began to doubt in
been correctly informed, and as his clerk had deceived
others. He accordingly employed a person to exa-
mine his account-books, and great irregularities were
discovered, the object of which was to conceal
speciaem-
bezzlements amounting to about 20,000 f. On search-
ing the prisoner's lodgings many articles were found
belonging
t
o toth
oB
uniformru nea u
of an olffily a r
ce
, e
National
lonal
be-
longing Guard, Which had been taken from his iron chest
ofgo ltdh e t
by the aid of false keys.
There were also several
love-letters and a lock of hair marked " Marie
Brune---," which left no doubt ad' to the prisoner's
relations with Madame Bruneau. The evidence
given on the trial was very contradictory, and one
of the prisoner's witnesses made a deposition so dif-
ferent from what he had given before the examining
magistrate that he was ordered into custody by the
court on a charge of perjury. Madame Bruneau
in giving her evidence admitted her guilty rela-
tions ~
with the accused. The prisoner, in his de,
fence, declared that he had deposited 9,000 francs
in the hands of Bruneau without taking anY
receipt for the sum, thinking it sufficient to blov_e
the deposit entered in the ledger. ' No mer.a
of any suchsum could be, found in the books!, a,
nu
t bad
the prisoner declared that the loaf containin, g
f-aelposed
been torn out by Bruneau. One witnrteted by a
that the embezz;ements had bean 4°13%1 addressed
predecessor of Thevenin. M.
.1-Ale
r,
and did not
the Court in defence of the prisoner,
The jury then finish his speech till. slate houtrb.e
morning returned
re-
tired, and at two o'clockofins
ot guilty. The Court
into court with a verdoicbte
set at liberty. M. Bru-
ordered the -
prisoner to that Thevenin should
neau'e, counsel buen.
tore the sums due to his client,
be -zondonned to res .
Court, after M. Lh a hearing at au for Theve-
nin, thelatter to
n• condemned the pay Bruneau the sum
1 in'
of 10 00f• as damages,
with all the costs incurred
byinaking that demand. Before the Court rose the
-President ordered the release of the witness who had
been arrested._