New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1856-07-25

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CINcINNATI,; July "a. Flour, So Is to Sc 80.
Whisky, CSC. Sugar 9s to Oh. Lard Oil stiff at S5c
~ #.S SSls Y $ River Intelligence. n
Louis VILE, July river is falling slowly,
with two feet ten inches in the canal ts sgfs *
} The steamboat Rock City, which sunk at Amster-
dam, is to be raised if5is5F ;i 8ltsf
a LOUISVILLE, July 24--The river has fallen one
| inch since yesterday and is still going DOWN
canal will close on the lst Of August,
is1f M 81 APHALrIN q Acc IDENT
ON THEN oRTH Penn sYLYANIA RAILROAD!
Over Fifty Persons KILLED Burned IL From
Eighty to One Hundred Wounded !it5
copy in condensed form, the following account
Of this awful calamity from the Philadelphia Ledger
of the 18th instant IL 5i 81 s " aI${ q II 5ttT
g We are called upon this morning to record one Of
the most appalling railroad accidents which has ever
occurred III this country caused by collision between
two trains the North Pennsy vana Railroad, one
being an excursion with six hundred children
attached to the Sunday School of ST. Michael Gath
Ole Church. Kensing ton. II ~
afew minutes after six clock the excnIsonsts
reached Camp ELL, near Fort Washington; some thir-
teen miles from P iladeph and while passing
around the curve at this point, and the track being
also hid by deep cnt, the locomotive while pulling
the train at rate Of about thirty miles per hour
4 which left GWynedd at six O'clock and which was
under the charge of Mr.. VIM. Vanstavoren. The en-
gineers the train did not see the danger until they
4 were within one hundred yards Of each other the
4 breaks were Immediately put down and the engines
reversed but not in time to break the force of the
conclusion. isf7 y 9i6s5s - sl{HG 5 &s2l
4 The fireman On the excursion train, John Butcher
Twas thrown about 80 feet in field, and escaped with
but slight and not at all dangerous wounds The engi
neer Mr. H. Harris fell between the engine and tender
and was almost Instantly killed Five Of the excursion
cars were broken to atoms scattering their living load
upon the ground. 70 add to the confusion and hor
ror Of the scene, several of the were set on fire
from the rebo8 Of the locomotive, and many of the
passengers crushed beneath those who were endeav
orig to flee from the burning car were suifocaed or
burnt.to crisp Among this number was the pastor
Sof the church to which the Sunday school was at
tached, Father Sheridan. He was so badly dis6g cured
| that his face could not be recognized. sllssi5 y
4 The down train escaped with but slight damage,
and no one upon was seriously hurt, except Joseph
Edwards the baggage MASTER who had one of his legs
broken, caused we understand, by his jumping from
il tile train. @5:&5A E@ INA. z
The scene 1T this time is described as most terrible
The shrieks of the dying and wounded and the amen-
atons Of those who had escaped themselves but lost
relatives or friends by the accident, all combined to-
Il render the event of the most appalling that has
Il ever occurred in our State a H, i7953t
At the point Of the road where the accident occurred
there are two hotels, one dwelling house, a black
smith shop and small shed, within about 800 yards
Of the scene, and to these places the wounded were
first carried. Not tree is to be seen for consdet-
able distance on any side, and the glarng sun bear
downtupon the dead the wounded their rescuers and
their hal crazed friends, who were hocking to the
scene. iz q l.a5.ijs ~ &j@ j5@7E 40 T
"a gentleman who saw the accident and was within
fifty yards Of the spot where the collision occurred
states that the cars both trains running about
! thirty miles an hour. On coming in sight Of each
other both Whistled for down brakes but the dis
lance was too short, to prevent collision. On COM
ing together, both engines struck with tremendous
force reared up and fell on their sides. The first
two passenger performed the same evolutions as
the engines the third car being piled on the first two
making complete wreck of all, the force of the col
lision scattering the burning cnders among the cars
and setting them on fire. Two freight cars belong
j ing to the down train containing milk were also
burnt--lnaling the scene one of the most terrible
ever beheld. vi n ls$ ~ &.G ~ 1900,
Z . Mr, William Swain was at Chestnut Hill, about
three miles distant when the disaster occurred he
Immediately fastened to the spot, and furnishes the
4 following statement 545t II & ia se. a.lfa
S The scene was the most awful I ever witnessed.
OF five cars nothing was left standing but the wheels
every bit Of woodwork was totally destroyed. A
number Of the dead We're lying in q heap, SO dread
fully burned that you could not tell whether they were
men women. Among these was, il is Believed, the
Rev Mr.. Sheridan, priest of ST. Michaeps Church,
I whose body was also burned. N ysz -
Under the ruins the bodies of some fifteen Or eighteen
persons could be seen. No portion Of them could be
reached but their lmbs-here q leg protruded, and
there an arm or head could be discovered. The cars
could be seen burning fer distance Of four miles,
| and the Chestnut Hill Fire Company hastened to the
I spot, and by their eXertiOns in eXtnguishing the
flames, served materially IN the work Of rescuing the
dead The people around the neighborhood fastened
to the dreadful scene, and by every means in their
power assisted in the relief Of the wounded. Fortu.
nately, there was quantity of ice and ice cream on
the train; this was given to the wounded it re-
4 freshed them greatly.
!. j AS soon as the news reached the city, terror and
alarm seized upon those who resided in that portion
of the city where the exeursionsts came FROM Thou
sands Of persons focked in the Shackamaxon Depot
at Washington and Montgomery streets, for the pur
pose of ascertaining the extent of the accident and
, the fate Of their friends and relatives. lW.
At the approach to the Stationhouse of the train
which had been sent down to the city, the rush of
those desiring admission was great that it was
with difficulty that large police force could keep
, them out, The building was then surrounded by
weeping friends, while inside the, shreks of the
/ wounded made the scene very appalling. The car
penters inside, and a number of persons to assist
them, were busy engaged in constructing temporary
filters to remove the wounded The dead were placed
side by side, on platform erected for the purpose
! AS soon as the wounded and, dead were removed
from the cars they were again despatched to the
scene of the accident for the purpose OF bringing in
the bodies that had not been removed from under the
cars at the time of the leaving of the first train
This dreadful affair, we presume, will be thoroughly
} Investigated. The blame is thrown by many upon
the conductor Of the excursion train who, it is said
disobeyed the standing instructions of the Company
by not stopping the train and waiting for the down
train, when he found that he was behind his time.
fearful amount of responsibility rests upon somebody's
shoulder, On the other hand it is said that the en-
gineer of the down train ahead Of time, and that
this was the cause of the collision The conductor
: of the down train we understand, committed suicide
yesterday, after the accident, by swallowing arsenic
He was probably driven to this rash act by the fear
the blame OF the terrible calamity Of yesterday would
be thrown upon him. He lived in Buttonwood street
:. above Tenth.
n William Lee, the engineer Of the down train, was
: arrested yesterday afternoon by Sergeant Byery Of
the First District, and was committed to await the
result of the investigation to be instituted by Coro
. ner Delavan.
The number of persons who persisted by this acci
dent has been estimated to amount to tftythree Of
t four, and between eighty and one hundred wounded
II T5#* ----s~@ $50
!. South Carolina, with a white population of 276,565
i total population Of 66s5O7, and Federal Repre-
!, sentative population of 5l4,51s, has s colleges
and theological schools 2O2 academies with ,4Gi
pupils and 724 common schools with 1855 scholars
7 There are 26 libraries inthe State; aggregate humble
I Of volumes 107,492. d. il4g all
r We learn, says the Washington Union of the lstl
81 nst that the contract for the construction of tht
!, Cleveland t0hiol custonlouse, postofice and United
States courtrooms, has been awarded by the Score
farv of the Treasury In Mr. r. w Warner FIR Ss9 5h