The Opelousas patriot. [volume] (Opelousas, Parish of St. Landry, La.) 1855-1863, 1859-07-30
OBJECT OF THE WAR
The Late Accident on the Sou. hern MichI-
gen Failr0ad.-Horlihie Scenes.

san ihle Scenes.
W. j.. Hawks, Est.. of CharleStown, Vir.
gInia, furnishes the Free Press with a thrilling
account OF the late horrible accident on The
s"hther, Michigan railroad. Mr.. Hawks,
after stating that he was a passenger, and tina,
he was swept forty yards down the stream from
"ltre the train was I,lecipitaled into it. says
On reaching the shore | stumbled over II
man turned, and fund him alive. asked
HIM his name he It piled WaIwur,h.'
could not save him, and went to the cars for
assistance, passing ten or twelve dead budies
on the beach. Arriving AT the wreck. | found
some one had prucnled a light returned and
found Wa!worth dead. lie was a large fine
looking old gentleman. | afterwards assisted
bis son IN his last moments =
1.-The first thing that arrested my attention
IN entering the car thai 1 had left was that !
was standing on a pile of dead bodies, One
man Thought alive and gazing in'o my face,
turned The lamp around, aud the glazed eye
OF death toid= me thai all was over. A lady
had her arm ciasl,ed around his neck. with a
frightfnl wound in her head. her fee, cauph,
and crushed IN the wheels of the car. AT their
feet lay a beautiful buy. with MS head severed
from his body as clpse as it could have beer,
done by the gnillot lie. Some were lust in
The langs If death. Others. caught and crushed
by The falling timbers, begged me to kill them
aud put them out Of their misery. There was
u lady gong to meet her husband. with her
daughter six years old ard a babe u, her
breust. The mother and little girl were killed.
The mother bad ciasped the babe in such a
manner that it was unhnrt.
: The ground was strewed with heads. arms
legs. and dead bodies. l saw several with their
backs broken aud their lower limbs laralyzf1
writhing in the sand. Some which i, was
almost impossible To free myseit, spyerai
beautiful boys and girls were taken from the
water and laid upon The bank. They were
drowned, bnt looked beautiful in death. Others
were crushed between the wheels, with their
faces aud hands upturncd in a s,pplicatinp
manner. passed a woman who begged me-
TO hid her children. She was crying, oh, nv
lear family oh my six chiIdren! Both IF
her legs were crushed off below The knee. She
lived ten or fifteen minutes. | afterwards
assisted in taking two Of her children from III.
wreck, dead. Two more fine bows Of hers were
found, one with his leg cut ntf; The other had
lost an arm, and both were living when | Ipt,.
After assisting ONE time ut the wreck |
led an old man TO the farmhouse, who had
u frlghtful wound in his foot. Twelve or
fourteen Of the wounded had been CARRIED
'hlther on a litter made of carpets. Abou,
daylight four physicians had arrived franz
South Bend aud Mishawaka. and were doing
all in their power to alleviate the suffering or
the wounded.
!" Stepping over a man that was stretched
on the floor, he caught me by tn, hand and
cried out, Friend, kill me; give me SOM
opium; something 10 put me out Of nv misery.
His lungs were broken. and he said he felt he
should burst and wanted me to . ruo a knife
into him. He Was a fine looking Young man.
about twenty-five years of age. asked the
doctor to relieve him. He told me be was past
recovery. | ut last prevailed upon him 10
pierce his bteast. He pierced ii in four places.
and told me to press the wind ont. it soon
relieved him. The wind in escaping made n
noise like a whistle. He held me BY the hand
would not let me go; said his poor father
lived in Adrian, Michigan, and had been 10
Kansas for him, and that they were both now
on their way home / said his name was
Wa'worth. then recognised The resemblance
between him and the old gentleman that died
oa the beach. ! did not tell h:m his father was
dead. He said he hoped his father was SPARED.
but, it dead, that be had gone to heaven; tina,
he was a Christian that he wished be had
lived as his father had done. He asked me