The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1853-05-10

The Catastrophe At Norwaik.
The New York journals filled with the details OF
this awful catastrophe. and from them we compile the
following further particulars OF the occurrence:
The train 10 which this terrible calamity has occurred
was The express train for Boston on the New Haven
railroad. Ii left the Canal-seet station al O'Clock
Yesterday morning and when II lett the upper slaoh,
where the locomotive IS attached u consisted OF TWO gag
gage and five passenger cars he number OF passeh-
gers was about 200 The train arrived al Norwak al
half-past ten o'clock. About hall a mile beyond me
Norwak station the road is carried over lbe creek OF
river by bridge In which there is draw about sixty
feet wide the steamboat Pacific, plying between nor
walk and New York. and other vessels, having ngh OF
way II at this bridge that the tnghfu catastrophe
occurred
The mode of signalling the engineer that the draw u
open, and that he must stop his tram 10 inc lowering u
large red ball. which. when the Dridge 10 cioSeo anu
the track free from mpedmenls ~ again raiseu 10 tue
top of staff Of altitude. vi course, me engineer Is
bound regulate his speed he approaches The bridge
that he can break up without aimGa as soon 90 Us
gneer appears neither 10 have so abated ms speed MOI
to have looked out for the signal Inc ball haa peeh
lowered the bridge having Just been opened LOT is
steamboat Pacific, The ain according TO the testimony
given the cocnes inquest was going at us iuil speed
So that this feau loss of lie only be charged upon
criminal recklessness the part oil the engineer winch
Is almost without parallel -,
SO terrific, indeed. the speed OF Ire Tram mat al
though the gap or opening IN The bridge was Sky zee.
wide the engine literally oyeTleaped IT and struck the
abuments the other side, very little below the level OF
the line before il fell into the water The tender fol-
lowed the and fell upon IT, ne nst baggage CA
fell partly across the tender and the second which was
smoking rosm. fell close TO It, Two OF inc passenger
cars were precptaed upon this mass and all were sub
merged the engine and baggage wagons being deeply
mbedded in the mud II high tide in The river, and
the water was about twelve feet deep The bottom OF
the third broke in two, and the fragments hung Sns
pended on the edge OF the stationary part OF the bridge
Some Of the passengers thrown into the stream a
distance OF about hlteen feet
STATEMENTS OF EYE.wiTEEssEs
No pen can describe the that followed. We
copy, however, the narratives OF some who were eye
witnesses OF this fearful disaster The first, addressed
10 the Herald, is the statement of Mr.. James A. Renaud.
engineer OF the steamboat Pacific signed also by the cap
tain of that boat
New YoRK, May 8.
witnessed the terrible accident the New York
this morning. The place where il happened Is called
South Norwak Village, where there is draw, bridge
across the Norwak river. The draw-bndge had been
raised TO permit the passage OF the steamboat Pachc
am the engineer of that boat, and was on board her
at the time the accden, occurred We had got about
thirty OF forty yards from The draw when we heard NE
guard here could everything that happened The
then coming al ull speed The draw was wide
open, and the ball down. This ball is used tor a
signal When il is up ii signifies that all is right
The locomotive under such Roadway when It ran
off, that before il reached the waller struck the aout-
the opposite sie-a distance OF about sixty teet
The tender baggage car, and two mail cars came next.
Two passenger went into The opening on The Top ei
what had preceded them; the third broke IN the middle,
killed instantly and many more were hurt how many
in all were killed do not know, but before iel al
IL O'Clock noon, between thirty and forty mad been taken
out dead they were horribly bruised and manged One
beautiful young gr about sixteen years Old had The
back OF her head knocked in. There was one child,
about four months old. and many other children Killed
The engineer and fireman OF the lrain when they sa
the ball down, jumped OFT before the cars reached the
bridge.
When the cars ran of those in the screamed
terrhcally We pu, right back and rendered what as
distance could People went 10 cutting The cars with
axes and taking out the dead. Not one that taken
out OF the second car was alive The excitement was
intense women were rushing down with quilts to cover
the dead others vainy striving to restore to life
the poor victims as they were taken out.
We brought back few OF the passengers to this city,
but most OF them preferred TO remain there
JAMES A. RENAUD.
Engineer OF the Steamboat Pacific.
Most of the details stated above myself witnessed,
and believe the above account TO be strictly correct
S. S. gYXBEE,
Captain Steamboat Pacific.
From the source we take, with some abridgment,
the statement OF gentleman who was passenger in the
train
NoRwALK, May 9.
started from New York abou, o'clock in company
with great many OF my friends, for Boston, and all
passed oil in the usual manner un we neared Norwalk,
where the bridge left open, and three and
CINE were precipa,et 10 the river distance OF about
twenty feet from the bridge The conclusion in the last
very violent and 1t not until leaped out of
II that knew the extent OF the awful catastrophe, which
description hurried 10 the edge OF Inc
and there, TO my horror beheld a that shall not
forget until The day die. The engine was stuck deep
into the mud the far sde and followed by bag
gage smoking, and two passenger cars all of them be-
ing totally submerged.
The conductor, Mr. Comstock was ia the smoking
car at the tme and escaped out OF the door into the
river there he pulled under water three times by
the drowning creatures, but eventually succeeded in
reaching the shore IN very exhausted condition, his
head being severely bruised his face dshgured, and his
wrist disocated The melancholy and heart rending po
ton oil my story yet remains 10 be told Both of the
passenger cars, as said before, wholly
the tide being high al The time, and the loss OF life was
OF course very great There were, in fact, only about
SIX or seven persons who escaped with their lives all
the rest, amounting 10 nearly fifty persons, drown
ed these two cars were the only ones IN which any
lives were lost The baggage and smoking car were
broken TO pieces, but not a single life lost
The baggage master, MIR. Fuller, had very for
iunae escape. few seconds before the accident
took place, knowing that something wrong, he
ran TO The door OF his car but could not get out He
then braeed himself firmly in the and prepared for
TIE crash, which took place in few seconds. The
beng broken he escaped through The wreck uninured
with the exception of a deep cut the nose.
AZ soon as possible the bodies OF the unfortunate
beings in the two passenger Sshed up and laid
out IN the depot and engine room, where anxious
crowd OF spectators endeavoring TO identify the
bodies. Those killed for the part medical men,
some OF whom were returning from the convention in
New York. The excitement IN the town is intense.
The eight O'Clock train from Boston passed through
here about four O'Clock, The bridge having bv that time
been safely repaired. The cars from New York were
crowded with passengers, containing the friends and
ations of the killed,
THE INQUEST BODIES
About halfpa seven O'Clock in the evening an in.
We ftQaf IN WIS in he MAJ Hal