The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1859-07-06

curing it, and at the same time recuperatlng
our health.
Further of the Great Railroad S1augh-
ter. -E r
Every report from passengers over the Mich
isan Southern Railroad only increases the idea
of its terrific nature. 1t was in fact one OF
the. worst accidents, in every particular, that
has ever occurred on railroads. The road at
the scene of slaughter, as we learn, passed by
a long bridge or embankment overa quick bog,
in the. middle. of which was a small stream,
covered by a ~culvert of eight feet in diameter.
TIL heavy rain had brought down logs and
sticks and these clogging made a dam till the
force became so great that the culvert and all
on each side was swept away leaving a gap of
one hundred feet in length by forty or more In
depth. The cars were running at the rate of
from thirty to forty miles an hour, and the
moment they left the ground plunged into the
bog and waters. The engine is buried, nearly
or quite out of sight. Many OF the bodies
were swept away by the flood into the st. Jo-
seph River and some have been found as low
DOWN as Miles.
We learn by a gentleman of Toledo that up
to yesterday morning thirty-fve dead bodies
had been found, and the probabilities were
that more than a hundred were killed outright.
TIL Superintendent of the road, the mo-
ment he heard the news repaired to the scene
of disaster, ordering, as he went along, the
telegraph operators and other employees of the
Company to keep their mouths shut. The Bag
gage Master also hurried to the place and COM
menced the pleasing duty, in the midst of the
w~ailings over the dead, of settling with the
survivors for the baggage they had lost. One
man, we learn, who lost between 800 and a
500 worth was persuaded by the official to
take S45. Other settlements were made in
like style, and to the satisfaction of the bag
gage scavenger.
INQUIRY as to whether blame is attachable to
the Railroad Company for the accident results
in finding two opinions. The people of the
neighborhood and Some others acquainted with
the locality considered the culvert to small
The officers of the Company said it was large
enough. Whether it was small, or large
enough, it is certain that it has been an error
in the construction of nearly all the Western
railroads to place culverts where they should
have been bridges, and some have in many in
stances been obliged to take up the culverts
and build bridges in their stead.
TIL following dispatch was received yester-
day afternoon:
"CHIcAGo, June 90.
Especial reporter of the jour al returned
from the scene of action this forenoon. Up to
time he left 81 bodies found-the following in
addition to those reported killed yesterday:
~"Mrs.3Summer and 2 children, Chicago; Mary
Ann Curran, Dunkirk; Mrs: TizwOld and 4
children. Not recognized IL. Mrs. Regain,
of RockfordEdied since accident"
The body of Mr.. Hartwell, the Express
Messenger, who was killed, passed through
here yesterday for interment at the East. Mr..
E. P. Gillet, of Jefferson Co., N. Y, also went
Eastward with the bodies of his wife and
child. They were occupying three seats,-the
wife forward and the child on the intermediate
seat. The husband escaped with many scratch
es and bruises, and his clothes were torn nearly
into shreds. He was unconscious of anything
till he found himself on dry land.
D. P. Rhodes, Esq, of this city, was ex-
pected here yesterday, but did not aarive. We
understand he went back to Chicago.
The Toledo Blade Of last evening, for which
we were indebted to kindness of Mr.. Smith,
U. S. Express Messenger furnishes no further
list of the dead, injured or survivors. We un-
. derstand that the second class passenger ear
had not been reached in the examination. We
gather from the Blade the following incidents
A lady who was carried down by the current
and saved by catching hold of a limb, says at
least a dozen human bodies, some alive and
calling for assistance, and some still and life
less, passed by her in the stream.
A lady travelling alone was returning from
the West to South Bend, at which place he1
brother was in waiting for her, but having fall
en- asleep and not awaking in time to leave the
train at that station, was brought on and taken
back yesterday a corpse.
Three young men occupied seats facing each
other, two sitting up and one lying down ; the
former were killed and the latter but slightly
injured.
A lady from Illinois wished Mr.. Calligan tc
say to Mr.. Richards, Conductor of the Selep
ing Car, that she ewed her life and that of hel
child, to him. She with her child was in the
water, and about to be carried away by the
current, when Mr.. Richards caught them ant
rescued them from death.
Even in this scene of death and suffering
where the humane were incessant in labors il
rescuing and relieving the poor victims of thu
catastrophe, there were not wanting fends IL
human shape, who employed every opportunity
to rife the bodies of the dead and wounded.
There was not a glimmer of light to be seer
about the train after the fatal leap, except thu
iightning's flash, until some one built SOM
fires on the bank near the chasm. 1t wa
near four hours from the time of the accident
before anything like systematic efforts eeHld b.
made toward securing the living or recovering
the bodies of the dead
The express car was in charge of Joseph W
Hartwell, Messenger, and contained from $50
900 to $40, 900 in money-about half specie
and half currency-besides other valuable
property. The car was very badly broken up
and the safe broken into six or eight pieces
The meney strange to say, was all found anC
in good condition, considering the exposure tt
mud and water, it being found some six foo
under the surface.
The daph of water at the tire Of the acei