The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1857-03-19
lRsan ne Dssscis Fra gEsssA. altsh,l
~ 0soUAt1al AailrssA Massacre in Canada


04NaU4a oeSkxvoA Aeeeeets IN VAAAaA'
FROM xtsMry re ONE HUNDRED LIVES LOST.
An accident occurred on the GreatNN est
Tn Railway night before last, which forits
apltiPlied horrors and tsssible loss Of lifes
urpasses anything hat has ever occurrsa
n the American cOutinsnt We have 70.
eivsd the particulars concerning tets awful
rasedy from Ar. D. D. Cook, Of the Miles
who was at Niagara Falls al the
ime OF the accident, on his way home from
" ashinaton, and came on In the next train
o the scsne OF the Disaster. He arrived
here in few hours after ito occurrence
\, the time OF HE departure. nothing had
,esn done in the way Of clearing up the
wreck, with the exception Of the extrication
Il what dead bodice wsre within reach from
he outside Of the cars. We give what par
iculars he WAS able 10 obtain In the bustle
md confusion Of such an unexsmplsd oc-
,urrence.
The . o'clock p. n. way passenger train
from Toronto. going west, consisting Of 10.
comotvss tender. baggage car, and two
passenger cars, ran oGtne track just before
the draw-bridge over lhe Dss Jar
dnese canal, one mile from Hamilton, c..
w, and plunging with head. long force up
on the bridge, the whole structure gave
way, and the entire train was precipitated
sixty feet into the watsr, which was fifteen
feet deep. The locomotive and tender
broke through the instant they struck the
bridge, and, with headlong leap, buried
themselves under water In an instant. The
ka wwe - - C.llowoI and t. 30 Aa.rArk
depressed the forward end Of the first pas
senger car, 20 that the coupling which con-
nscted il with the last car broke, and it was
hurled through the air, executing a COM
plste somerset. striking bottom upward in
the water, which clossd over and coveredtt
entirely. with the exception Of a few inches
Of the bottom. Not soul that went down
in that fearful plunge ever saw the light OF
day again. The second passenger car fol.
lowed, striking the 6rst with a terrible
crash, and Gliding oR at an angle of IS de-
Rrees, was buried two-thirds Of its length
in the water. The only passengers saved
were In the rear end Of this car The loco.
motive and tender were completely sub.
merged, with the baggage and fret passen.
ger cars on top OF them. The second pas.
sengsr sar rested partly on the first, which
Circumstance was the only means BY which
. single life out Of the whole was saved
We will except, however. the conductor
Mr.. Edward Barrett, who, with prudent
forethought, which looks very much like az
anticipation Of the event, had stationet
himself upon the steps Of one Of the passen
ger cara, and jumped the moment he saw
the locomotive disappear through the bridge
Nothing was known of the state Of Of
fairs inside Of the 1rss car up to the time 0
the departure of our informant, but ths
scene made the second is described as hay
ing been terrible beyond description. Ac
cording 70 the statement of Capt. Alexan
der Nc Bride, Of Port Burwell. who escape,
with serious injuries, the passengers al
| started 10 their feet At the moment OF th,
cars leaving the track, and had Just game,
the aisle in the centre when the car wen
over. Passengers, seats, stoves, aud every
thing else that the car contained wer,
thrown with terrible force to the front end
whore they lay In inexfricable confusion. =
Capt. Mcbride was caught among the ruin
In way which secured him from the reacl
Of the water, and detained him som etime be
fore hs could release himself. He describe
the scene - perfectly heartrsndinR; tn
shouts, grosns and frantic efforts of the in
jured persona, endeavoring to extricat
themselves, mingled with the kissing of III
red hot stoves and their contents Of blazin
coal, and the gurgling of the waters As the
rushed in and closed over the living mass {
tstrugglng life; while wounded and helples
persons chung to him with an energy ths
threatened to engulph him among the ger
srsl destruction. Breaking his way out {
the rear end of the car with few otherl
they succeeded in gaining the ice. and fror
that the main lsnd, and Immediately sougt
assistance in Hamilton. Gu, of the tw
crowded passenger cars, but thirteen per
sons were known 10 have escaped with life
and but one solitary person without seriou
| injury. The two cars, according to the state
ment Of Capt. Mcbride, were Is full as the
| could hold. The number could no. hav
| been less than one hundred, and it was es
timated BY some a high az one hundre
and fifteen. Nothing could be learned from
the conductor in regard TO the matter, a
he seemed to be in q state bordering on in
sanity.
Up to the time of the departure of MIR
Cook, thirty Ave corpses had been take
from the second car, which was only thos
that could be reached from the end whic
was ont OF water. A locomotive was on TIL
spot, and, with cable attached TO the cal
sas endeavering to pull II out ofthe water
but without avail. A hole had been cut II
the bottom of the frst car and one or tw,
bodies taken out
The names OF the victims recovered. a,
far a. they had been recognized, are as fol
lows:
KILLED.--6Amuel Zimmerman. banker
Alexander Brom6sld, engineer; Geore,
knight, fireman; Mrs. Stevenson, wife q
~. p. Stevenson, OF Hamilton; DonaI
Stuart, residence not known; j. Hender
son, OF the locomotive department in Ham
ilton; Adam Ferrie, Hamilton; son. o
Capt. Grahsm of Hamilton; and Mr.. Bar
ton, residence not known.
WouHDrp.--Tnose who escaped with Iif
were, a. nearly as could be ascertained a
follows:--Mr. Street, residence not known
leg badly broken and otherwise much in
jursd; Mr.. Barton, residence not known, ex
treated from the second car. badly injured
Mr.. Yeriington. Port Stanley, badly injured
John 8. 4cCollum, Port Burwell, leg badl,
fractured; Mr.. Ferson, residence not known
badly hurt in the back; Mr. Shurrell, resi-
dencs not known, life despaired; w. K
Muir, an atache Of the road, was on III
platform with the conductor and Jumped a
his bidding. lightly hurt; Capt. Alexande
burwell, seriously injured in the head; an
| Edward Richardsok, conductor of anotbe
train, who escaped with slight injury.
| A Mr.. Avery, who was somewhere il
| the neighborhood at the time Of the aeciden,
was the first to render assistance, BY cuttinl
hole through the car and drawing GU
some Of the inmates. The Gfst thing he 20
hold of was the corpse OF woman wit
| child ia her arms. The train was a wa
train, and was mostly filled with the bust.
ness men OF Toronto and Hamilton. Yer
fsw women were aboard. Mr Zimmerma
was thrown from the car in lis descent, an
wac found upon the ice near the shore. TIL
ice was of thickness OF about ten nch e
10 the canal.
The following 10 fom the Toront
Globe
Seventeen bodies were taken to the bag
gage room, laid side by side. All, with III,
exception OF two, were recognized. Tn,
following IL a list, AZ near as can be arrived