Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1853-11-18
InterestIng to Firemen.-The I

of the Cincinnati Commercial speaks as follows OF
the fire department of London
ain a conversation with firemen to-day al the
| main station, in London, learned that of late
years their system has been materially changed.
Formerly, each fire insurance company kept its
own engine, hose, and corps Of men at stations in
different parts OF London. AT each station were
1 from thirty 10 forty men, and there were about
| thirty stations. The insurance companies who
| supported these establishments have now Joined
together and keep in order sixteen stations, where
! guard is kept day and night, and two where only
night watch is kept. One or more engines, with
hose, &c, are kept at each of these stations, also
/ two 10 four horses and four men TO each. With
supernumeraries the number of men in the SER
vice is nlneysix, for all London and the envrons,
thirty miles in circumference. The number OF
| fires IN year average about one thousand. In
| some parishes small engine is kept under the
control of the parish authorities, but il seldom
amounts 10 much.
The men are paid. on entering the service, at
the rate of about SIS per week, which, / under
stand, is increased by length of service. There is
reward equal to 81 SO for the first engine which
arrives at fire, So for the second, and 81 80 for
| the third. The work at the fire is done by hired
laborers, who are paid % cents for the first hour,
and half that for succeeding hours. There are
always sufficient men in the crowd willing TO work
for these high wages. The firenen attend to the
! hose and nozzle.
The engines throw 125 feet perpendicularly
| through 4 men HOZZie, ana weigh, uii cOlHpctc,
from 1000 10 $500 pounds. The cylinders are 5
inches diameter, with s inches stroke. They are
very efficient, serviceabe machine, and have
side-breaks. Buckets are carried along with the
| engines as III many cases fire may be reached
and put out without laying on the water and il is
the practice here not TO damage mans property
by water unnecessarily, because he is unfortunate
| enough TO have or have had fire III his house or
next door, In this respect therconduct is worthy
OF emulation in city with which have some ac-
quantance.
The dress Of the fremen is a coarse, thick
wooden coat, with thick leather helmet and very
heavy boots. Each man carries Ratchet in a
| belt, TO make his way into house.
Fires are nipped in the bud in London. Five
minutes is all that is allowed, even at night, for
all hands TO be of out Of the house, with horses
1 harnessed and hitched
i These together with the fire escape stations, of
which there are 40 in London, the provision
in this vast city against what is generally under
stood as the devouring element.
Great Collision - Miraculous Escape.--
About 9 o'clock p M, on the 9th inst, the express
! train from Buffalo came in collision with tree
blown across the track, three quarters of a mile
east of Springfield, station twenty-five miles
4 west of Erie. The severe gale from the lake had
| torn up hemock two feet in diameter, and cast
il anguarly over the track. The tree struck the
rails about twenty feet from its roots. The even
| ing was dark and stormy. The accident occurred
in the woods, which rendered objects-less distinct.
The train had been delayed some hour and hall
at Erie, waiting for the arrival of the Buffalo train.
| When the collision happened, it was moving at
the velocity oftorty miles per hour.
| The crash was awful The tree, two feet in
| diameter, broken in three places, and shiv-
cred as if struck by thunderbolt. The locomo-
| tive was smashed to pieces and destroyed. II
| turned over and over three times. The boiler was
broken, letting the steam and scaldng water out,
4 TO add to the alarm and danger. The tender and
two baggage cars We're hurled upon the fragments
Of the locomotive, and smashed into one common
wreck.
| pie, were dashed upon the ruins of the baggage
cars and engine. They were badly broken and
turned bottom side up. The last three cars Of the
train were not thrown from the track, nor very
/ badly disabled.
| The horror and confusion Of the scene were in
describable The train had over 400 passengers.
The shock hurled them from their seats, and piled
| the them up among seats in terrible confusion.
The collision occurred before the engineer had time
to whistle down breaks, let off steam reverse the
motion, or even jump for his own life. He was
pitched out head formost into the dich among the
| limbs The fireman followed suit, and the baggage
| masters piled after them, all Of whom received
| severe flesh bruises but strange to say, escaped
! instant death, and managed to crawl from under
! the ruins of broken cars and fragments of smashed
| baggage. But more miraculous still, none of the
passengers were killed, or even had broken bones.
| Many received slight injuries, and all were more
/
The train made three or four rebounds and adj
vanccs, after striking the tree, before it came to a
| halt, each of which added g confusion worse con-
founded" to the general crash, and panic among
| the passengers. .-.
The screams, yells and shouts that filed the
night air, after the accident, We're horrible. The
men behaved with less GOODNESS and presence Of
mind, in many cases, than the women.
Immediately after the smash the conductor and
breakman started for Springfield station, to stop
| a q which IVOnIl n
| in few minutes, and made no stop at that point.
] They barely succeeded in reaching the station,
and, holding up red light before the train came
laundering along. Had it not been stopped, in a
minute more another and more terrible collision
would have happened. This train left its passcn-
| gers at Springfield and took on those of the
wrecked train and proceeded back to this city
| yesterday mornng.-Clereland Democrat
Another Indian Muyder.-We learn. by let
ter from Fort BelLnap, that wagon with five ami
| mails, accompanied by Mexican teamster, Mrs.
! Wilson, from Eastern Texas, and two boys, whilst
on the road from FL Paso 10 Eastern Texas, and
/ when near the head waters of the Colorado river,
and eighty miles on the west Of Phantom Hill, was
attacked, about the 9th of September, by party
4 Of four Indians, and Mrs. Wilson and the two
boys taken prisoners and carried off; the Mexican
shot, lanced, scaped, and left for Dead the animals
stolen, and the wagon plundered. That German,
who was some distance behind came up after the
deed was DONE found the Mexican badly wound
ed and tried TO bring him along, but could not, as
| his horse tired out. He then left him by the road
side to die and himself wandered for several days,
living mosquito beans, ill finally found hid
| away in hole about fifty miles west of Fort Bel
| KNAPP by party of Dragons sent out to seek him
by Major Merrill That the Mexican, being still
able to walk, wandered for several days without
! any food, in the direction of Phantom Hill, till
| finally coming into friendly Comanche camp, a
runner was sent by them TO Major Silly, at Phan-
| tom Hill, where he was brought in and is doing
well. He saved his life by feigning death, after
| being shot, The tribe who committed this act was
| not known by the Mexican Three men, who ac-
companied this wagon till the day before it was
attacked, had left il and gone to Phantom Hill.
| A command of dragons had gone out 10 search
for the prisoners, and obtain information on the
subject.
1 A complimentary dinner was TO be given TO
General Rusk, by the citizens of AUSTIN on the 9Th
| instant.
Railway Discipline In England.-Mr. T.
Lddell the railway station master Mt Stamford,
| was taken into custody on Wednesday, and
charged before the Rev. G. Atay, at Barrowden,