The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1854-11-04
Frightful Collision.

lision with gravel train at half past 5 on
Friday morning, about one mile east of Bap-
tst creek, or nearly 81 miles from Windsor.
The express had been delayed at various
points by other trains off the track. AtSt
George, a gravel train had got off, and a
baggage train was behind One hour and a
half was spent in getting the train upon the
track again, and then. the express was
obliged to follow the baggage train to Prince
ton, at very slow pace. The train left
London at o'clock, and when out about
four miles the cylinder head burst, and it was
necessary to procure another engine from
London, to draw the train back, in order to
change engines. The train again started
with new engine, and was ordered by the
conductor Mr.. 6. T. Nutter, to run slow as
the night was dark and foggy. By means
of these delays the train was now hours
and As minutes behind time. The train
came up to the scene of disaster, at the rate
of about 20 or 25 miles per hour The gravel
train was backing into Chatham, the engi-
neer supposing that the express train had
passed
The collision was the most frightful
effair ever known on western road. The
express consisted of four first class, and two
second class cars, all full of passengers. So
torcible was the shock that the car next to
the baggage Car was jumped completely over
he ID class Car, killing or wounding nearly
all the passengers in both cars. and smash
ing them to atoms. The front first class car
was also dashed to pieces, and the passen-
gers in the front part nearly all killed. or
badly injured
When daylight dawned through the dense
fog, the most heart -rending scene presented
itself. Amid the confused pile of fragments
scattered in every direction, lay the mangled
remains of more than 50 persons. Here lay
the corpse of mother mangled beyond de-
scription, while few feet further on, was
mass of flesh and blood, which had once
been her loving child. Here lay leg and an
arm, or head, while the body to which
they belonged, was buried in the mass of
fragments. now smoking with human gore.
But sadder yet were the appeals of the
wounded, who lay groaning under the broken
cars, and writhing ia pain, worse than death
Then the pleading, fearful entreaties of
mothers for their darlings, which this calam-
ity had rendered unsightly and unknown.-I
Their shrieks even chilled the hearts of the
bravest, and unnerved many strong arm.
He who has seen the sight, or heard the ap-
palling cry, will remember it to his dying
hour, bat the hand of Divinity would fail to
do it justice.
Several of our citizens were upon the
train, of whom the son of S. NJ Holmes,
and also Robert 3. Toms, Esq, (who is our
informant,) have returned to us unhurt, but
impressed with the saddest picture of human
suffering that has ever fallen beneath their
notice. Mr.. Toms says that among the
whole number unhurt, very few had the nerve
30 handle the mutilated forms of those who
but few minutes before were as full of life
and hops as they. But there was one whose
llerosm is worthy of particular notice
Thos F. M agher. No sooner was he clear
OF the wreck, than throwing aside his coat
and vest, and seizing an axe, he began the
humane work of hel ping the surviving, and
never did man work with better will
Others, and Mr.. Nutter, the conductor,
among them, worked as men never worked
before. The cries of the wounded nerved
;heir arms, and dsregarding fatigue and their
own bruises, they worked for four hours as
earnestly as for the lives of their dearest
friends.
When Mr.. Toms left, there had been 25
dead men. | dead women, IL dead children.
Il wounded men, and 20 wounded women
and children taken from the mass of ruins
making 80 in all killed or wounded. The
ruins had not all been removed, and it is
L.. IL. IL.