Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-12-25
4 Terrible Railroad Disaster.

1errIDle railroad Disaster.
The public have been Mortified the past
week by the particulars Of the most frighttul
country A train on the Lake Shore road
was approaching Buffalo. when the two rear
cars filled with passengers were thrown from
the track and after being dragged nearly
across bridge, plunged fifty OF sixty feet
into the ehasm spanned by the bridge OF
the more than fifty passengers supposed to
be in one of the cars, only three escaped alive
A Buffalo paper says of it
1t is easy to imagine the frightful wreck To
which the reduced by its terrible
descent. All, or nearly all of its passengers
of course, were precipitated into Il mangled.
struggling mass at the lower end of the car
buried under a heap of ruins, and even the
slightly injured, if any there were, unable
to extrcate or help themselves
The horror of the situation was sufficient
without that which instastly became added
by the igniting of the splintered wreck from
the overturned stoves. A moment. a. one of
the three survivors describe it, and the whole
wrapped in flames. Who can attempt
to depict the unimaginable horror of the
scene that ensued Nearly fifty human be
ings being roasted in death, or in the pangs
of diving from horrible wounds. or in the full
vigor of life. buried in an inextricable posi-
ton and committed to the flames without
hope of rescue. The shrieks. the groans the
imprecatons-let those who who heard them
forget this side of eternity if they can
1t was some moments before any could
reach the scene to attempt assistance The
second car. in the meantime-the ear first
thrown from the track-had plunged over
the opposite side of the embankment, falling
a less hight. but suffering almost as complete
a wreck. and its few uniniured passengers
had enough to occupy their attention. The
train. which had run some distance before
being stopped. was backed 10 the scene a.
speedily as possible and those on board set
to work with promptitude and energy Bur
the steep and ice covered slope l. the car.
most horribly situated, was no easily de
scended, and when helping hands reached it
they were without weapons for fighting the
flames or for breaking into the wreck
As soon. of course, As they could be sum
moned. the people of Angola and nearer IL
hahitants ran to the spot, and il was not
long before many buckets were employed in
pouring water on the burning wreck hut
raging fire L. not 10 be overcome with hu.k
cts, and those desperately laboring ut The
work had TO suffer the unspeakable anguish
IL 4
hideous, renors cess flames cracked ON the
shrieks died into means. and the nI5an~ into
4 silence more terrible, as the pail of death
drew over the scene. Except one little frag-
ment of the side of the ear. nothing but
heap of smoking cindcrs was left for those
gathered round to search into with sickencG
hearts
As we have alrerdy stated. the ear next
the rear one was that with which the disaS-
ter originated, but its fate was less terrible
than the fate of the car following The
headlong plunge of the latter threw II over.
but not until the bridge had been passed.
and it made its descent on the opposite or
right side of the embankment. where tie
hight was not more than twenty-five feet
The crash was only less awful than that de-
scribed. 1t was not followed. however. by
the more frightful calamity of the fire Twice
the car was kindled by the Goals from the
broken stoves, but the passengers were not
in helpless situation. and the flames were
extingushed.
One man only in this car. Mr. HARDWOOD.
gent of the road at State Line met death
outright. As the car pitched down the bank
it was broken in two near the middle.
the break in the roof opening for an in
slant, and at that instant Mr. Harwood
was flung upward into the tSsurc which
closed again before he fell and crushed his
body to Jelly. Several others in the ear re-
ceived mortal injuries, among them our la
mcnted tOwnsman, Mr.. Forbush. who was in
A dying condition when taken out, and who
expired soon after. Very few of all the in
mates of the car-and it was well flled-es-
capped injury, and between twenty and forty
are in the list of wounded
One of the three persons who escaped from
the rear ear was MIR. l. Mayer, the travelling
agent of RistOri, who is now at the Buffalo
General Hospital, under treatment for severe
out probably not serious injuries in the back.
head and ankles. Mr.. Mayors statement to
our reporter was as follows
9 had just stepped out of the closet when
felt the jerking of the car as it was thrown
rom the track. | sprang up instantly and
'aught hold of something in the roof Of the
ar, suspending myself This saved me when
he car went over the bank from being
pitched forward with the rest of the passen-
,ers into the heap where every one was help
essly buried in the crash of the ruins Ex-
lctly how | crawled out | do not know. |
vas one OF the only three that escaped.
aw an old gentleman and his wife get out of
he wreck | am sure that not another one
lid. The was full-not less than fftv
'ersons, should think, within it Those
Who were not killed outright We're burned
o death. The wreck was all in flames in n
noment. | do not know how even and the
wo | have mentioned could have escaped. >,