Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1856-07-21
K nc II MOND WHIG.
THE COLLISION ON THE NORTH PENNSYLVANIA
RAILRoAD-FURTHER PARTICULARS

The COLLISION ON THE NORTH PENNSYLVANIA
kAiLkoAD-FURTHER PARTICULARS
ne fhiiAdephs papers furnish details Of tb. terri
DIE disaster on the North Pennsylvania Rao, Of rhih
American saws ' .'"'"'
ihc three FOREMOST Of the eIenr-oo train nth
th'r precious burden of human life wrre crushed 20 n
60 ui'oh The locomotive and tender and whe a..
number of the occupants were in-tan.Iy kill.I go. -
sict in horrible HaDnsr the shriek- OF the vo,r,di
ana :" hose ~ho though unhurt cried out in agony of
Itc'I-se"i thrill OF terror nre hearts OF an xbo
heard them that never b. forgotten To Ia q, ar
hofors oi the seee the broken engine set fire to IN, ,
ur excursion train, and nuraLer of the passenger.
mo were unable to get out actually roasted aive,
Lines oi men formed Who speedily ptor,r, h.eL
cts and aIr-, Nth which they eudeavorrd 10 extip;h
.he n.nes and rescue the unfortunate passengers The
hre ragged with fuy, howeyst, aud u-iiy .fed H.,
uo- OF these persons. who comp,ed Tn witness die
shocking spectacle Of men, women and children bn,,
Jun :" aeath without having 1t la their poser To ex.
tend any aid At this tim. the a-Ict of I'M. x,.rl s H.
TIE car- ht up With the deyOurng dame. and ,s,,,
ghasty 10y the projection of nangled limb, Wa too bor
S'e 70 dwell upon, and calculated sckeu the -tern..i
A the number OF assistants increased the flame. x,.
nor VIGOROUSLY assaIej and large numbers of wounded
we're eNtr'csted and placed by the roadside Person. u
-" !" Tue nearest iarIn houses. and the country p.op.
hastened with all the applications al hand IN ,b, -.
o' horror. FINALLY the flames of the burning - ,,
rhuhguished, principally through the and ot ill., C,,,
h' f'rr Company, and then the persons At tb. seem
~ho ~ere uhhnri had ample opportunity TO TAX r.st,
measures "r attending to the wounded ami rrn,oying ill.,
remains from among the ruins
Nov ir,sh series of borror. EIy., - -
'' ana childen had been burned to death ia ON. chr
iheb were canght under OF the -id,- and r,,sf -
that the remains when eGincat.-i u,.>..t,. I.l;,
'c'ieir The mnngled remains of four men and .on-S
ai child we're dug from beneath the engine. and tender
he remains Of AZ infant found under the r,- az
he engine In the ash pan The remains of az otL.r
'ouie- "~t- ked cut If the ashes and ranged side Ly ~
Oh thu grass ~ W e
We copy the following from the Phl.drphia Enqnir.r
he Three forward ears la the excursion tram ~ere torn
70 Aeh'ents aud iIoni the force the collision s-,e
P'ei up PyraIniicaly upon the other The hr- f,
be locomotive communicated these runs a seIl A. 10
e othe car and "a .e~ seconds the whole presented
sheet oil hane' The Immediate victims we're those m
u'e IO'"aid cars, many OF whom killed almost H.
.anHy Sat Others suffered f,um the IRE tb. ,Inok. n
'he confusion, and the shrieks groans OF the ding
'"i wounded thrilled and appalled, the stoutet heart Pa
eHAs sii Shlllreh mingled prOmscaoi-ly toS.thr
7ni not lev al those Who escaped uinureJ .er 6,,
The Tune, insahe wth excitement and ANXIETY M, Nm
per- Tue 'o"deeor ct the passenger train vas severely
Hu .i,H M Harms, the engineer of the excursion tr,i
~a- hghuuliS mangled. and died on the spot III
'4ds Nas iOr ~aterl water and A. responded 10 AZ m
p"P a. Poosibe The dead presented an asfu sp.ctacl
nan! "tie ~ dieadlnls burned that il was impos-hl. t
distinguish whether they male OF female OtbeT ,f
,err- "ere s"anhg with broken legs arms and with
bruises all over their bodies ~
Quite a number oi women wer. burDt IN doth - a.
cars with their children in their arms, They coulJ mo-,
MAKE the'r escape mercenary wretch is reported 10
nave asked ten dollars Tor the OF his wagon to 90 in
search oi physician. lie driven OFF the ronnd ui,b
indignation Thirteen persons men wome,, ,1d b,I1
were burnt 10 death in a single car
disaster so terrible IN its character and so destruc
e Ia lie results has rarely occurred in any part of the
country fearful responsibility rests upon the offender
anu thorough investigation will of couSe take plac.
Sh view TO the adequate punishment OF the guilty.
many oome that was bright and happy Yesterday morn
!ng' was iuil OF sorrow and OF anguish few hour- Aft,
Inc tragedy was terrible and shuddsr With horror a.
death. "'''"S' "'"ou ana
TIE Philadelphia BuIletln of Friday evening s.vs
AttAe Cohockans Stslion ther. rsmaD- s;I totie .,
p"reos''-Sd FHar of tnem charred so badly that
'ry never can DE known the Others those OF boy
a'u woman The limbs OF the female are burned en-
nrey on, and the remains are in a shocking condition :
me boy appears to have been crushed death and then
The recognition Of some Of the bodies must have been
very questionable kind OF an identification
lhe total humber OF dead and missing whose names are
known, i FIFTY
gregate OF FlFTY-SlN KILLED! Others who are wound
ed will inevitably die 0"'O
Ihe bodies OF those who burned beyond recogni
'o" we're gathered together. In blacksmith shop near
~here the accident occurred counted fenfo,e 5,r
bodies "
Cuder Temporary shed Law the bodies of eiobf o,b L
man ceigsl 50 chafred be utterly unrecoguzable
Near where the engines came in collision noTtions of
nuAh bodies lay among the smoking mbers and the bent
We will not shock readers by a description of the
condition OF these bodies. All were burned In the most
horriole manner and OF the whole number there were
many that were so mutlaed that there the slightest
-NNa'tHtN+
OF their clothing left their bodies and the heads and
hm's OF many were burned entirely eff This morning !
there were fifteen bodies the Master street Depo that
cannot possibly be recognized
Some OF the bodies of the victims were without doub,
entirely consumed. ExLeut Davis in SEARCHING AMONG
the ashes under some portion Of the machinery found
lev ealcined human bones in two places They were
without doubt, all that LETT Of two human benys =
ne f"G"s ot 6oih could readily be held 10 the palm of
Eretelae'H n regard 10 tie Conductor OF The Dorm
Lrdin-his Subsequent Death, dc-At the scene of the
disaster the excitement among the surviving passenger.
ana those who came 10 the ground at one time drcc
ted sginst Mr. VIM Vanstavoren the conductor of the
down tran whose violation OF the rules of the road was
alleged to have caused the appalling calamity That gen
ehian had borne the reputation Of being careful intel
hgeht aud reliable man. and were At los to ex.
plain his conduct Soon after the accident he came t
the city and Immediately proceeded t. his residence Al
Tenth and Botlonwood streets There it said he an
Peared TO be aboHng under gloomy excitement either
proceeding from mental trouble injuries received y the
shock oi the collision. He out and returned about
dinner time, when he retired TO bed About O'Clock In
the afternoon he found dead
The story that be had committed suicide bv taking
arsenic, was spread throughout the city fnrinsbin mate
nal Tor the gOssps who have never sufficient mouth
iu when calamity of this kind occurs Others aid th,t
gnei aud renorse had killed h But the brother OF Mr
ant Noren called at Once inform as thar the uo
fortunate Conductor had died from internal inlr, re
cssed by the shocE Of the collision