The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-05-22
DETAILS OF THE CATASTROPHE ON THE
LAFAYETTE AND INDIANAPOLIS RAIL

hUAD.
The recent floods in this State have caused num-
per oi serious accidents and much damage to pro-
pcrty but by far the most lamentable catastrophe
1t has yet caused occurred on the LAFAYETTE Rail
road on Saturday morning, about l O'Clock The
train that left this city at IL O'Clock ON Friday
night was precipitated into a creek about forty
four miles from here, the bridge over which had
been undermined by the rapid and rising current.
and three men were killed, the locomotive wrecked
and the cars torn to pieces or greatly injured In
order to ascertain the truth, we got ON the train
that was going up to bring down the passengers
VINO had come from Lafayette, and went to the
scene of the catastrophe
All along the road the country appeared stceped
in water till it would hold no more, and the super
fluffy was running off in a thousand streams, ex-
temporlZed for the occasion. Little eullies that
would hardly float chip in ordinary seasons were
great creeks, foaming and surgng along covering
with drift, and eating into their banks like full
grown rivers. Greeks that ordinarily are mere
rls were spread out over the adjacent bottoms for
hundreds of yards. And in many places for miles
the whole forest seemed inundated, and no ground
in view anywhere. BY half-past 9 we reached the
scene of the disaster. 1t was creek almost a mile
beyond Midway, in Clinton county, called Potato
creek.
In ordinary seasons it is prairie gutter run
nlng through wet grassy plain, with patches of
willow and brush here and there along its course
But now the treshet has turned the adjacent prairie
into lake, probably a half mile wide. and trans
formed the sluggish "sluicc" into a turbulent river
that would have fioated the biggest steamboat on
the Ohio. The bridge over it was an ordinary
,trestIe bridge probably sixty eighty feet long.
The current had washed out the supports from nm
der this bridge, and left mere shell on the top al
most floating in the water upon which the unfnrtu-
nate train ran, and sank instantly in the rushing
torrent No warning was g iven, and there was no
way the accident could have been avoided except
by stopping the train and examining the bridge,
which, as trains passed it safely but few hours be-
fore, would very naturally be thought unnecessary
Some residents in the neighborhOod, we are told
mad been at the bridge late in the night, and saw
that 1T was unsafe, but wouldn't wait for the train
or take any steps to it of the d nger The
scene, when we it, was terrible. The locomO-
tive had crossed the bridge to the opposite bank,
and then fell back, the lower part sinking into the
stream, while the upper lay along up the bank, the
chimney protruding considerable distance above
the line OF the track. The tender was entirely in
the water, and over it the baggage car had crushed
splitting right in two, onc-haf floating off to the
left the other to the right, while the floor forced
along with the left wall, ran up on the bank, and
was lying thus tilted up when we saw it.
The two passenger cars filled up the rest of the
creek, having been forced by the current into
sort OF shape, the forward car inclining up and
the hinder down the stream, the coupling holding
them together. The rear end of the hinder car
was away above the track, while the forward part
was buried in the water to the roof, living so near
perpendicular that one could not easily have clam
bered along the roof. The forward car was deem
IN the water at the back part, while the forward
portion was raised somewhat and stood nearly clear
OF the water. The hinder Car did not appear to be
much injured, but the forward car was badly bro
ken. The front was smashed n and near the left
hand front window huge beam had been driven
splinter of which entered the skull of the con-
ductor James w. Irwin, who was sitting close by
killing him in a short time atterward The seats
were broken in pieces, the windows smashed, and
through the open spaces and the rich red
cushions the turbid water whirling and boiling
turiouslv.
A lamp on the side of the car was still burning,
but too far down to be reached without wading in
the water. a drift of splinters-some painted and
vanished, with gliding or bits of flowers on them,
some great beams and stcks-had gathered on the
upper side of the dam made by the cars and
among the pieces were tops of trunks floating,
with the lining still perfect, and an umbrella frame
with pieces of cloth and dead leaves.
The cars were deepest in the wster at the cou-
pings, and rose from there, the hinder clear above
the bank this way, the other just to level
with the farther bank, and across them temporary
passage way had been made, along which baggage
was cnrried to the train, and curious spectators
walked to see the ruin. Where the baggage car
smashed on the locomotive, splitting in two, there
was the worst wreck, for the first passenger car
had dashed into the baggage car, driving it clear
over the engine, and to either hand and was itself
lying nearly over the tender. The ruin here is in
describable. 1t was here the engineer and firemen
were Killed. The whole scene was one of wreck
and ruin such rs we never cquaed.
The accident, so far we could Judge, happened
thus: The locomotive, the "Albert s. White"
passed over the bridge to the farther side when it
sank titing up the ends of the sills at this side
of which struck the advancing baggage car dashed
through it and then penetrated the first passenger
car, in which it extended eight ten feet the whole
train sinking down at the same time, leaving both
the forward and rear ends out of water the latter
clear up on the embankment The sill as it passed
through the front end of the passenger car struck
Mr.. James w. Irwin, the conductor as we have sta
ted. and splinter entered his skull, wounding him
fatally. He died about an hour after the occur
renee lie was sitting on the left hand side of the
forward car near the stove. Mr.. Lilly, the Super
intendent, sat few seats behind him.
When the crash informed Mr.. Lily that some
accident had happened, he dashed out window
near him, and hearing the rush of water, got out
through the window and climbed on to the roof of
the car, when he got the first idea of the extent of
the catastrophe. He at once set to work to rescue
the passengers all of whom, so far could be as
certained were saved without injury, any of
sequence. This is remarkable, considering how one
car sunk in the water, and another hanging al
most perpendicularv in the water from the bank
The water, however, does not appear to have en-
tered the cars at first. Mr.. Irwin was found and
laid in the aisle on some cushions. Search was
made for the engineer and fireman, who were found
towards morning, dead. The first, Mr.. Jacob Belt
niger, found with one arm ammed in the wreck
so that he was held fast. Some of the iron work
had struck him in the back, cutting his body almost
entirely in two, except small strip along the abdo
men. He was dead when found.
The fireman, Patrick Maloney, was discovered by
one hand sticking above the water His thigh and
arm were smashed, and his body seriously bruised
He was doubtless killed instantly. These were the
only persons much hurt. A brakeman, who was
standing at his post the end of the first pas
senger car was struck by the next car but luckily
was standing by the window, so that the blow
dashed him partly through it, and saved him, ex-
cept little cutting from the glass. II it had been
against the wall of the car he would Nave been
killed instantly. When the engineer taken out
of the creek, his watch found in his pocket bro
ken to pieces The accident had stopped the hands
ot ona ~ Jo,rnoJ