The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1868-04-21
Terrible r. Il. Disaster.

Fge Railroad. l6 tailes above parl
Iarvis At the scene 81 The acciaenl
tho bed q tie road is cat ii the SIDE q
a blga ovcrhangrg the river Tht
ledge on which the track runs Is verv
+ narrow, and tie consequences was that
Z the cars. which were thrown from the
track by the breaking q a rail, went
down al smbaukment N twenty feet
thereby greatly increasing the loss "a
life To add 20 the horror Of the scene
which ensued, one If the cars took FIRE.
aud several passengers were burned 10
death. Thirteen dead bodies are at
Port Jsrvis depot and fifty two wounded
are At the hotels and two more have
not vet arrived. Mr.. Lynch, the sleep
ing car conductor, estimates that seven
bodies are consumed
NV YoRE, Arm l6.
Further details Of the Erie Railroad
disaster are these The Engineer SAYS
the accident took place IA miles west ~
Port Jervis, at Hollow Point, rugged
blum along which, $50 feet above the
Delaware, the track was oxcavated
The theory is that rail broke, the
engine and FIVE cars went over safely.
but the forward truck Of the sixth car
left the track and the coupling parting
this car followed by the remaining three
went on tor 800 feet, when coming in
contact with some obstacle il was
thrown down the precipiee dragging
the others with it, to the rivers edge.
The train was going at the rate Of Is
miles per hour.
The cars thrown over were three
sleeping cars and one passenger coach.
Ii was intensely dark On reaching
the foot Of the cliff, two cars were found
in the river, and one, the rear car, on
fire. Several persons were extrieated
from the burning car.
Ii persons were burned in the con-
sumed cars. Six charred bodies have
been recovered, but these it will be inn
possible to identify. The dead now at
the depot number fifteen, one only Of
whom has not been identified. There
were over 200 persons in the seven cars.
1t is not known yet how many are
killed and wounded.
Further particulars, incidents and
horrors of the terrible Erie railroad
accident at Cars Rock, near Port
Jeryis, n Y, on Wednesday morning,
and the later accounts only add to and
highten the effect of the first reports.
On Friday, the wounded were generally
doing well, and no deaths had occurred
since Thursday. j. n. Houghton of
Salem, Wis, and Mary Sterling Of
Wellsville, O., will probably die of their
injuries, making the total number of
deaths n. The entire number of
casualties will probably reach 100.
Some Of the escapes are almost mir
aculous. Mrs Daniel Noble was pitched
from the cars when they went over the
embankment, but her hoop skirt caught
in ore of the wheels, and her feet were
damned fast underneath the car in the
water the rest of her body being per
feetly free. While in this condition.
the other end Of the car took fire, and
the flames began to approach her with
fearful rapldity, and so close did they
come that the men who extricated her
were repeatedly forced to give way
on account Of the intensity Of the heat.
Yet she was finally rescued uninjured.
Mr. Harkins, a popular western com
ediar, was pitched entirely out Of the
car in which he was riding, after it had
made three complete summersaults,
and landed upon is feet unscathed, in
the midst Of the ruins. Miss Hoyt was
with her father in one scat, her head |
upon bis sholder, while her mother
and younger sister were in the seat
in front When the car went down. !
they were all separate, and the father
and mother were killed outright, while |
the two girls escaped without hurt /
A family named Snow, including seven |
children, one an infant at the breast, |
were on the train, on their way to Cal |
fornia, but only the mother was killed. |
In the midst Of the carnage some of /
.he passengers began to rob the dead |
md wounded, and one wretch, only /
lalf alive, stole silver watch from
fellow traveller, who was more seriously
INJURED than himself A lady felt some
)ne file a diamond ring from her finger,
)ut was unable to utter remonstrance,
md the villain escaped with his booty.
L is said that the track of the Delaware
division, in which the accident occur
ed, is the most carefully guarded Of
my portion Of the whole road. One
thousand cars pass over the line daily,
md men are assigned to every half
nile TO examine the rails Immediately
.fter the passage of each train. No
,reeaution, however, short of complete
II is claimed could have
the catastrophe The en-
lneer testified that he was running
My at the rate OF 20 or Is miles an
lour when the train parted, having
hut off steam half a mile before, and
hat his engine broke the rail into two
ieces. When the cars went over the
ell rope did not give him the alarm,
nd be regards the accident as unayoid-
BILE. The directors have determined
. relay the ertire section.with double
rack, at a cost Of $2,500,000. The
ars destroyed were among the best
pom the road, and many Of them cost
rom $4,000 to $4,000 apiece.