Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-09-24


chorus Of the cracsling dame Of the cars.
the agoniGiug groAns Of men, And the
reading shTieks aud screams Of women
and children, powefless alike either 10
quenOh the flames oF rescue the hApleSS
VlcimO from their prison Of Gre. But one
axe could DO obtained, although little or
nothing was accomplished even with that,
one or Two openings being cut through the
sIansaEed baggage ear. Six persons, In
oil, were rescued from the car, the remain.
der, being estimated a least forty persons,
were either crushed 10 death, OF having
been wounded were burned alive.
One young lady, come sixteen OF seven.
teen years Of age, they struggled 10 drag
from window, bot being fast under the
baggage car, she al last drew herself back
again and persisted within. A man who
bad dragged himself partly through win.
dow louhd himIOlf alt Alao, and laying
himstll ID Tie side q window, Vab con-
som1d before the Oyo. or tho hoffihed ebeo.
iatofa. o.. ltho, $50 Il1es al-stnes ttlinI u
toidisr Win oue lsg succeeded 10 getting
Il through the window, but was unable to
force his way farther, and perished 40 he
was, his ehAEred remains, after the wood
work had sufficiently burnt away, falling
headless, armleSs mass upon the other
track. One woman, with four children,
are known to have been among the number
Of victims,
Conductor John Mullison and first brake.
man Emory, were last seen sitting 10 this
car by the stove, and Gs they have not been
seen Sines, ho hope 10 entertained Of their
escape. How many and what persons were
buried In that fery tomb, may never be
told, % everything was literally consumed
TO ashes, and utterly beyond recognition;
the only tell tale TO waiting hesrthstones
being the unbrOken absence Of loOkedfor
footsteps, and the voicelesS, endless va.
oAncy Of missed faces and remembered
voices.
Meantime some Of the passengers sue.
ceeded In getting out some dozen trunks
from the forward part Of the baggage car
whilst others uncoupled the rear three
passenger cars, and pushed them back out
Of reach Of the fire. The forward platform
OF the third passenger car having been
driven upon the rear one Of the second, It
was made impossible to detach them they
accordingly very quickly took ERE, and were
rapidly consumed. There were q number
OF wounded in these care, but none killed.
All were gotten out, although it was by
almost herculean efforts that the doors,
which as the first passenger bad been
locked, were broken open, and the inmates
rescued.
The scenes which now ensusd beggar
words and defy description in the sicken.
ing and narrowing character Oftheir details.
The dense mass OF baggage matter aud
human remains which the wreck Of the
two forward cars contained caused them to
burn couple Of hours longer than the
two following, On the right Of The tyaiu,
early 10 the progress of the Gre, q charred,
shapeless and heAdlsSs mass rolled smoking
into the road down BY the side of lhe lraef.
High 10 the air and restipg upon q tangled
mass OF iron rods and tin shetting VaS
another one With arms drawn up upon the
heart, and legs burned of to stumps, from
whose extremities the femoral bones stood
out with 4 horrible distiuctness and naked.
ness into the air. By it's side was another
equally charred and disfgured.
just under, and lying upon the Hauge Of
wheel was another black mass, which,
with the encircliug springs Of hoop skirt
were all that remained Of woman. The
smaller ribs aud other bones OF children
getting out from the burning mass, pre-.
sented, 1t possible, more sad and la
mentable sight, 0u the left side, resting
between the wheels, and on he after truck,
the tre soon revealed a human head, about
which the flames Tapped and licked until
the white skull shone out, and the satures
gAped and grinned as il iu moCkery Of the
horrid carnival.
What with the Kissing, steaming, frying,
masses OF shapeless humanity, and the
white calcined forms Of ribs, vertebral. hip,
and teomral bones, staring from out the
smoke and ashes, with the other narrowing
details of the calamity, we pray never again
to be confronted with such sight.
Or the wounded the most seriously
hurt was Mr. Brooks, mail agent be-
tween Philadelphia and Harrisburg, who
resides at Mifln, and got on the train at
that place. His injuries are internal,
and thought to be severe. lie was taken
home on the westward train. A lady
who had been rescued from the first pas.
senger car, and taken to the station
house, suffered very severe internal inju-
rieS. Surgical attendance was procured
at an early hour; and all the rest of the
wounded were doing well.
Great indignation and strong feeling
was eVinced by the passengers against
the custom Of locking cur doors, as pres
venting all efforts at escape in the event
OF such n catastrophe. The railroad
company doubtless consider that they
have good reasons for pursuing such u
course. Be this as it may, we are of
opinion that the accident yesterday points
out most cOnclusiyely the necessity for
having IL fuller supply of axes and bucks
cts for each train, as in the present in.
stance but one axO and no buckets could
be found.
The accident above stated occurred at
four O'Clock yesterday morning, and a
message being Immediately sent for AS
sistance, two construction trains arrived
simultaneously from the east md west
with largo force Of wOrkmon, and al
the necessary appliances for clearing the
tracks and replacing the rails which had
been bent from shape by tho heat. In {
very short space Of time tho large force
had the track cleared aud repaired fol