Daily Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1854-1855, 1854-11-01
rranIurE ACCIDENT ON THE GREAT
WIsTERN RAILWAY.

We are indebted to Mr.. W y. hugg'es'
Of Vermont, for the following interesting
and thrilling description Of fearful catas-
,rophe that occurred on the Great Western
Railway, in which he was passenger, on
Friday last
Mr.. EptToR:
About 2 p, NJ. Thursday
2eth inst, we left Niagara Falls Tor Detroit
with I first class and second class cars;
arrived at Hamilton safely. After leaving
Paris we were detained by locomotive be.
ing OF the track which delayed Us an hour.
Our cars were poorly lighted with sma1
pieces Of candles. which burnt out soon, leav-
ing US in total darkness for the remainder OF
the passage. Two miles west of London
i the head Of one Of the cy finders burst, which
Idelayed Us two hours; finally another en-
zine came from London, drew US back and
then started again with new machine
The several delays on the road made US
many hours behind time.
| About Is miles west of Chatham, or 81
miles cart of Detroit, on "Baptist creek
Flats" we came in collision " tn gravel
train of Is cars, loaded and backing east at
the rate Of 10 miles per hour--our speed
was 20 miles. The collision was awful
There was a dense fog on the Flats at the
time Is o'clk. A. NJ. Friday and NE had but
one light aboard the train. No one knew
what had occurred, but the screams and
croans of the suffering told too plainly that
we had met with terrible accident. The
Conductor was in the rear car at the time
with bis lamp; he went forward and an
nounced collision; but we could see no.
thing A fire was hastily built on each
side ofthe wreck, and soon the blaze lit up
the scene--a horrible one it was too, Our
locomotive was turned bottom up, the bag
gage car remained on the track; the I'd
class passenger car Immediately behind was
thrown completely over the one following
and FILLING on the lst class car behind crush
cd it; the three cars occupying space only
sufficient for one. The car between the
LIST class car and the front I'd class car was
crushed to atoms, and all in it horribly mu-
tilated. The light Of our fires revealed the
most heart sckening sight imaginable
limbs torn from the bodies lay scattered
about, some bodies entirely severed across
the middle, others SO mutila,ed as to be be-
yond recognition-the cries Of the wounded
for help and for water were heart-rending;
some dying wished their sufieriEgs ended
by death. The uninjured passengers rush
ed forward to rescue the uniortunates when
stumbling over the mang!ed bodies and sew
cred limbs of their fellows, turned back hor-
ror stricken at the sight, and were for u
| time unable TO render assistance.
We had no axe or saw on the cars and
were in the middle ofa large swamp with no
house or aid near; but the passengers fell to
work tearing the wreck to pieces with their
hands to extricare the sufferers. After some
time an axe and saw were procured and the
work of mercy proceeded faster, the dead
bodies were laid on boards by the side of the
road, the wounded were placed in the rear
cars on boards placed on the seats covered
with the cushions. We lad no physicians
aboard. A man was dispatched to Chatham
for aid and to telegraph to Detroit
We worked five hours and still all were
not xtricated-friends were seeking friends.
and their grief on finding them dead or hor-
riby mangled beggars description. One
poor man lost six friends, all that he had with
him; his life was saved by his going into a
rear car to warm. A child Of few months
lost its parents, and as no trace could be
found of their name or residence, it never can
know who it belonged to. The arm of an
other child was found but no body to CORES
pond. One man remained at Niagara Falls
to attend to his baggage and sent his wife,
son and small child by this train, he follow
ing on by the next which came up to the
scene of disaster about / l o'clock; he found
his wife with both legs broken, his son killed
and the child a mass of human gore.
Whole families were killed, but being for
eigners, left little or no trace of their names
or destination. One man hung by the wreck
1 hours before he was extricated, and found
not to be seriously hurt. We might multi
ply individual instances of death and suffer-
ing in this terrible catastrophe, but it is of no
use 1t has been asccrtained that 81 were
killed and about 40 wounded None in the
three rear cars were injured, yet the third car
from the rear had the front end completely
broken in. Most of the sufferers were emf
grants to whom life was equally dear as to
others, but their loss will not be fel. so So