Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1855-11-13
AWEUI, CsTAsTRO9q Sc
Fail of a Railroad tridge-Great sacrifice Of HUI
,aas Lije-1irenty meaKiiied and fifty Wonn>

heart. and made desola;e many bright hearth
stone Thursday morning at the Seventh street
DEPOT of the Pacific Railroad, large crowd Of
happy persons were gathered prepared for the
excursion to Jefferson City, to celebrate the
Fiction of the road 10 that point 1t was hap
py hour. Gay greetings were spoken and con-
gratulations were joyously exchanged between
friends, who were glad each to fad that the other
was going Many who did not 20 came to wish
pleasant journey and God speed those who did
Some who could not so then, promised to join
the excursion the next day-Friday Two mill
tary companies, with stirring music and gay uni
forms, added 10 The pageant
At half past eight the train started, freighted
with six hundred happy hearts, and followed by
the good wishes of all whose hearts beat respon~
sveiy to those of the parting ones. All was
bright and pleasant, and although he twelve
constituting the train crowded TO such an
extent tha. many had TO stand in tie aisle be-
tween the seats, and others on the platform
side. yet there was universal good feeling. and
"a xent merry marriage bell" The people
at the stations and villages along the road cheers
ed US onward aud shouted, and waved hats and
! hankerchefs in response to the merry music our
Brass Band entertained them with As came
| into Hermann, cannon pealed forth the glad
| greetings Of the hearty citizens
| But how the scene destined 10 be chan
/ ged How soon was many of those bounding
| hearts to be pulseless No one dreamed that
death was near, and yet it lurSed for US only a
/ few miles further At one O'Clock left
! Hermann preceded by locomotive and tender,
which had been sent forward to see that TIE way
! .eas clear, and 10 danger impending Soon we
came in si-t of the bridge across the Casconade
! river. about nine miles from Hermann and about
/ thirty five from jefferson City. lhe oiIdse is
approached by an embark ment, thirty feet On
which terminates in massive stone abuJnient
Forty yards f-om the abu'ment, and Just at the
edge of the river, stands another stanch stone pill
lar, three more of which reach the other Sue of
the stream, and support the bridge The river is
about two hundred and fifty yards wide, and the
bridge thirty feet high, al least The Pioneer
locomotive had crossed the structure safely, and
waiting the other side TO see the result of
our attempt. There was no fear of danger and
no apprehension of peril. We slowly moved
along the embankment, and came on to the bridge
The locomotive had passed the first span and had
its fore wheels above the first pillar beyond the
abatmeat there Being then, resting on the first
span, the locomotive, baggage car, and two heavy
! lea led passenger The weight was two
much for the long. slender tmbers which supper
ted the rails and the enormous load above Sud-
denly heard horrid crash-it rings in our
ears now--anG saw moment amongst those in
the car in which seated then there
came crash--crash-crash-a each car came to
the abutment, and took the fatal plunge The affair
was but the work Of an instant. We were run,
ming slow at the Time, and the successive crash
es came al interval of nearly a second
We ourselfwere seated in the seventh car there
being three behind US, and when we heard the
horrd sound that came up, as each car slowly
and deliberately took the leap, we hoped that
car might stop before it reached the precipice-
But no il seemed that the spirit OF ruin was be-
meath, determindedy dragging each to the
spot wrenching it fro m lis fastenings and hurl>
ing it to atoms beneath Six cars fell in one
mass, each on the other, and were shivered into
fra gments. The seventh fell on It's forward end
10 the ground; but the other rested on the top of
the abutment. Those in il were only bruised
The eighth and ninth cars tumbled down the EN-
banllment before they reach ed the ab1tment
Such wreck we never saw, and hope never to
again. 1t undist inguishable mass oil
wooden beams, seats aud iron rods. Those who
could, crawled out OF the ruin inn1ediatel ana
either sough, 10 relieve their wounds or the
wounds of their friends. Some wept tears of joy
to find their friends alive and others shuddered
to find their friends dead. The uninjured organ
lied themselves under the lead of Mr. Pride, the
Conductor and endeavored by chopping to ex-
tricate those who were yet alive, from the wreck
Here beam TO dsengage broken arm,
there an iron axle pried to relieve a mutila-
ted leg. There no shrieking and screaming
though all begged, for the love of heaven to be
extricated from some mass of iron, or beam of
wood, which pinned them TO the earth All beg
ged for water drank when it was brought, and
prayed for more. There was hardly an entirely
uniuiured man to be seen. Most of those who /
had escaped had streams of blood flowing over |
their faces from splinter wounds. Others limp, |
ed and hobbled about, looking for their friends
board shanty the only shelter to be had |
and that was soon filled with the wounded, whose /
silent speeches. agony was enough TO make the /
stou.est heart shudder. Immediately after the /
accident the heavens grew dark and black as
though the night had come. The wind shrieked |
through the leaffess trees the heavens were rent
IN twain. and from the crevice cleaned the white
lightning and the hoarse thunder beloved its
cruel mock kings at the woe beneath 1t seemed
as if the elements were holding high Carnival
over the scenes of slaughter.
Some of the bodies of the dead were marked
with unusual ant terrible mutations One of
the survivors informs that he saw two corpses
with the entrails torn out by splners.
1t is not yet practicable to give cornpIato
list OF the wounded, among so .-iany pass4-
and where few escaped without cut or coD,a
IN.
No examination has vet been made and :. :; |