The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1853-05-07

From the Chicago Democratic Press.
TERRIBLE ACCIDENT!


! . TERRIBLE ACCIDENT!
Collision at the crossing of the Michigan Cen,
| rai and Southern Michigan Railroads!
| Monday evening. as the people of Chicago
were retiring to rest, a scene of appalling hOr
r0r, OF eXcrutiating suffering. was occurring al
the crossing OF the two Michigan roads. some
eight or ten miles from the city The emigraui
| train on the Celtral was comm" in and the Ey-
press train on the Southern going out when
the two came in collision, under full healway
the Express train passing through the other
literally tearing it into fragments, and strew.
| ing the killed and wounded, together with the
wreck of the cars, in heaps of indiscriminate
| ruin. Three of the emigrant cars. and tie loco
motive, tender, baggage car and one second
class passenger car of the Express train rcceiv
ed the brunt of the shcck, and their inmates
were nearly all either Killed or wounded. Ono
| of the first-class passenger cars of the Express
train was also thrown from the track but for
tunately none of those within it were very ser
ousiy injured.
| The scene of confusion and horror which en-
sued battles description, and can never he real
| lied save by those who beheld it. Imagination
may busy itself in picturing scenes of anguish
| OF strong men and lovely women and tender
children, manned and manglcd dead and diving
of shricks which startled the midnight air
and of grOans that were but faint echo of the
physical and mental anguish which the unior-
tunate sufferers endured. But Imagination
cannot equal the result as it presented itself
| there in the wild and dcsolatc region where il
occurred beneath the cold light of moon and
stars.
The number of the dead had not been asccr-
taincd at the date of our last intelligence from
the scene OF the disaster. Probably il will not
fall short OF fifteen or twenty, while the number
wounded Will reach sixty. some of whom cannot
recover.
TO give our readers some idea of the manner
IN winch the collision occurred it is necessary
to state, that tor some eight Or ten miles from
the city, the Southern Michigan road lies west
OF the track of the Central. At the distance
named they cross each other at an acute angle
the track of the Michigan Central lying cast,
o rather south Of the Southern for some miles
wIcn they again cross. 1t was at the first eros
sing the accident occurred. As to the collision
itself. we are not yet sufficiently informed to
s,cak confidently. We would not visit with
u ldcscrycd blame the unhappy men who were
IN charge of the trains. Nor would We spare
them If they are blame-worthy. Let this mat
ter be Investigated with the utmost rigidty,
and the blame, if any, attach where it rightful-
ly belongs.
Immediately after the collision occurred, the
locomotive of the cmgrant train was detached
and brOght news of it to the city. In as brief
space as possible Drs. Palmer and Clark were
sent for and conveyed to the scene of disaster
These gentlemen administered to the suffering
with their accustomed energy and skill. To-
wards morning the survivors were brought
back to the city. OF the horrors of the night
which they had passed, none but themselves
Know; but to them 1t will be an cver-prcscnt
reality.
Further Particulars.
The place at which the collision occurred is
Hat and swampy, and was covered with water
to the depth of several inches. Some of the
passengers were undoubtedly drowned. The
locomotive and ears that went over were part
ly submerged in the water and mud, and some
OF the dead will hardly be recovered until these
shall have been removed
Immediately after the collision, Mr.. Whiting
conductor on the Express train. hastencd on
foot to the junction of the Rock Island road
where he fred up locomotive, came into the
city Tor train. and, with Darling. returned for
the wounded. The train reached the scene of
the disaster Il little after two o'clock and be-
fore daylight the sufferers were brought to the
city. We are particular to note this fact, be-
cause blame has been cast upon the agents of
the Southern Michigan road for not sendinr q
out train at an earlier hour. The fact is.
they had no knowledge of the accident until
the arrival of Mr.. Whiting, and upon the arri-
val OF the cars with the dead and wounded.
Capt. Gray. of the Southern Michigan road.
was indefatsahle in his efforts to obtain com
Portable quarters and medical attention for
them. and in a short time they were distribu-
ted around in the ncighboring houses. and Drs.
Bra:nard, Herrick, Palmer. McVickcr. Hitch
cock, Haven and other physicians who were on
the ground, but whose names We have not been
able to obtain. engaged in ministcring to their
necessities. The scene at the depot was almost
as hcartrcnding as at the crOssinr-but we
shall not attempt to describe it, Let the cur
tain be drawn, for the present, over the pain
and sorrow of this appalling calamity.
Later--The Dead.
The following embraces list of the dead:
Thomas Lawher, Irish boy.
GOodli Wagner, German woman.
Joannah Sildolph her son.
John Hunter Earl, American boy.
An Irishman, unknown, supposed to have a
wife in this city.
German child, name unknown.
Susan Scott of Little Falls. n V
Stephen ID. Gray of WheelOck VT, aged 81
years.
Edward Miscner. about 1G or Is years of age
Man, unknown. with S7l 45 in his pockets.
Boy. name unknown.
Woman, unknown; S32 81 found in her pock-
ct.
German man. unknown.
w. W. IIaincs, a German child about two
years old. In all sixteen.
Stephen ID. Gray, of Whcclock, VT, had in
his pockets 1920 q. We did not ascertain on
which of the trains he was.
Edward Misencr had in his pocket draft
from Adams & Co., San Francisco, for $500,
payable in New York, and some small change
He had letter i'm his DOckct dated at MinnpsO-
ia City. Feb. 2S, 1853, signed S. +. Kellogg
He is lad about l6 or lS years of age.
Mrs. Scott was accompanied by her husband.
They had been on visit to Elgin. where two
children and son-in-law reside. Her age was
about iifty-thrce. Her husband was sitting be-
side her at the time of the accident. His feet
were caught in the timbers, and he narrowly
escaped being drowned. Mrs. Scott may have
been seriously injured internally, but the pre-
sumption is that she was drowned.
John Williams lived about two miles from
Lake Station. .1e was alive when brought to
this city, but died about one o'clock p. N.
We have no definite information as to the