The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1857-03-21
gSe Canada Railroad Slaughter.


an - TIE Canada Railroad Slaughter.
The following full particulars Of this most
terrible slaughter, which exceeds that OF many
q hard fought battlefield, we condense from
various papers. The catastrophe happened in
the early evening not far from Hamiltion
= The accident was caused BY the engine run
ming off the track, just as the train entered
aPcn the bridge. The immense weight of the
T engine cutting through the timber OF the
bridge. produced the effect naturally 10 be ex-
'pected. The whole structure gave way, and
= with one frightful crash, the engine tender,
baggage car and two first passenger cars broke
2 through the severed frame work, and leaped,
iheadlong. into the yawning abyss below
The engine and tender crushed at once through
tMe zee. The baggage car, striking the corner
- of the tender in the act of falling, was thrown
5 to one side, and fell some ten yards from the
- engine. The first passenger car rushed after,
and turning as it descended, fell on its roof,
breaking partly through the ice and was
crushed to atoms, while the last car fell end
ways on the ice, and, strange to say, remained
in that position.
The loss of life was Of course frightfu..-I
There were ninety passengers on the train,
and the list of those who have escaped only
learn, every one in the first car was killed; :.
those who were not crushed being drowned
by tue water which filled the car About
thirty were in the last Car, of whom ten were
taken out dead, and most of the others were
fearfully mutilated. The conductor, the su-
perinendent the mail agent, and two or three
others who were outside the cars, leaped off
and saved themselves with only slight injuries.
Two or thre: others went down with the fall
ing vehicles aud were miraculously sayed.--
The engineer and fireman went down with
cpgine and were engulled in the waters.
49, The accident occurred near the CITY Of
Hamilton. As news of the terrible event
spread, the excitement became intense, and
people rushed in crowds to the fatal spot -
The train was the accommodation one and
was filled with citizens residing in towns
along the line. and every community had
some of its members in the unfortunate COM
pany. Crowds of excited people swarlned to
the spot; it was night and the scene presented
was such as to battle description. Large loco
motive lamps were speedily brought. Fires
were kndled and lurid glare was thrown
over the shattered remnants. Special trains
were dispatched to the bridge to bring home
the wounded. Ii was no easy task to descend
the steep slope to the canal. Ropes were low
cred and ladders attached to them, on which
the dead and wounded from the car which
stood endways were first drawn up. Then
the bottom Of the car which had partly sunk
through the ice was hewn away with axes,
and the unfortunate passengers, some sadly
Inutilated and even cut in pieces, and all sat
urated with water. We're taken out. Many
worked with energy end vigor; but who was
that noble fellow that every one must have
seen stripped to his shirt sleeves, standing up
IN Ia in hc for rbn
self host, did more than all the resi-? We
watched him long from the height above, as
he hewed away the fragments, and eXtricated
the bodies. Ii ever man deserved q reward
it is he.
As soon as the deal were drawn up the
slope, they were either put in the cars for con
veyance to Hamilton, or were laid in u small
house near the bridge. 1t is said that one
family were in the cars consisting of father
mother and four children. Only one of the
children escaped.
One of these little ones, girl, about fou,
years Of age, was brought to the house. The
poor little creature smiling prettily, as j
she had been sleeping and dreaming of swee
things when the accident occurred, and hat
been launched into the long sleep of death be
fore the dream had vanished from her mind
At the railway depot, when the sufferer.
were brought in, crowds assembled, an xious L
hear who were dead, and to know if any O
their friends were there
The corpses were taken into one of thu
large baggage rooms, where coroners Bull anC
Roseburgh proceeded to have them examined
and when possible, identified.
, Two companies OF the troops stationed a
Hamilton, marched TO the depot and one pro
.ceeded to the bridge, and formed a Gordon t
keep the anxious multitude from pressing upol
those who were laboring to rescue the bodie
of the victims and preserve order. At tn
depot the throng almost burst in its stron
doors In their eagerness to see and learn VIII
had been involved in the terrible catastrophe
Among the most lamented victims that la
side by side in the Charnal House, was Nj
Donald Stewart, member Of the City Counc
of Hamilton, man of wealth and highly ra
spectable; Mr. Brantiord, one of the larges
contractors on the Great Western Road; NJ
Russell, man Of wealth, on whose perso
was found large sum of money; and Ii
Samuel Zimmerman, the Railroad King
Canada, who by his intelligence and entel
prise in works Of internal Improvement. hs
conferred inestimabie benefits on the pr,
vinces, ami at the same time made himself
fortune Of millions Railroads that have e
80 many years been his hobby, the one gre;
subject of all his thoughts and labors, have
last proved fatal to him, and cut short his a
tive earthly career without moments war
ins
r-,rsr But few persons saw the fatal leap. Oh
90 man on the outside Of his workshop in Il
,s. vicinity, looking at the advancing train, su
denly saw it disappear, but he did not he
sr' the crash which must have ensued, nor 4
SyoaiZing shrieks which must have be