Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-04-22


fixed upon by the coroner, unless re-
butting testimony or inducements should
lead to its being discarded for a less harsh
and less criminal theory of this second
Angola disaster, with some few additional
horrors added. ft.. ..t .,
1t is but just in this connection, how
ever, to print the informal statement o.
the engineer, though it throws no addi'
tional light upon the cause Of the acci-
dent. The following is the account oi
engineer Green: ,r
The accident occurred on the Della
ware division Of the Erie railroad, four.
teen miles west of Port Jarvis, to the train
due at this place at 3l7 am. The scene
of the accident is named Carr's Point,
and is a rugged bluff, along the side Of
which, one hundred and fifty feet above
the Delaware, the track was excavated.
The theoryis that rail broke about four
hundred feet west of Carr's Point. The
engine and FIVE cars passing over the
fracture safely, the forward truck of the
sixth car then got of, the coupling part.
ing. This car, followed by the remain
ing three, went on a distance of four
hundred feet, when coming in contact
with some obstacle it was thrown down
the precipice, dragging the others with il
to the rivers edge. The train at the
time was going at the rate of from TWEEN.
ty to twenty-five miles per hour. The
cara which escaped were three passen-
ger cars, one postal car, and one freight
car. Those thrown over the cliff were all
passenger cars, three Of them sleeping
cars. 1t was intensely dark at the time.
On reaching the foot Of the bluff
two cars were found to be in the river,
and one, the last car, on fire. Several
persons were extricated from the burn
ing car, but II is believed that at least
six or seven perished, and, as there we're
over two hundred persons in the seven
cars, this is low estimate it is feared.
The passengers saved did all they could
to rescue the wounded"
This account is too vague to prove
anything, though the engineer may be
accounted the most competent (if not
the most disinterested) judge of the speed
at which the train was running at the
time. The number of the dead foots up
q trife beyond the estimate of yesterday,
which was twenty. Six burned bodies
burned beyond possible identification
have been added to the list since last
night, making an aggregate of twenty
one, which is probably all OF the fifteen
at the depot last night fourteen have
been identified, and one, handsome
youth Of fifteen years old or thereabouts
Judging from appearances) has not as
yet been claimed. The unidentified one
was, it seems, the only one who met death
by being drowned in the river. The body
is but little mutilated or bruised AS the
matter stands it now appears that several
were bruised to death, some thirteen were
sufficiently burned to cause immediate
death and one only was drowned by the
descent of one of the cars into the river.
1t seems now that the defective rail
theory has been abandoned, notwith-
standing the late warning of the Super
intendent of the Erie railroad to the
effect that the track has been for long
time in an exceedingly bad condition.
The following paragraph from that gen.
tleman's report is offered ia sort of evil
dence in mitigation of the accident and
by way of impugning the theory of a
too high rate of speed: aeU
1--WE have passed through three months
of unusually severe winter weather and
more than an average winter tonnage,
with the road bed frozen solid as rock,
the road encased in snow and ice, go that
it has been impossible to do much in the
way of repairs; the iron rails have
broken, lamnated and worn out beyond
all precedent, until there is scarce
mile on your road, except that laid with
steel rails, between Jersey City and Sal
amanca or Buffalo, where it is safe to
run train at the ordinary train speed,
and many portions of the road can only
be travelled safely by reducing the speed
of all trains to twelve or fifteen miles an
hour, solely on account of the worn
out and rotten condition of the rails.
Broken wheels, axles, engines and trains
off the track have been of daily, almost
hourly occurrence for the last two
months, caused mostly by defective rails.
Fully one thousand rails were taken
from the track in the month Of January,
while the number removed on account of
lamination, crushing or wearing out was
much greater. b. y,gy. ,...
February will show still worse re.
cord than January. The condition Of
the iron at the present time is such as to
give me much anxiety and apprehension
for the safety of trains. We cannot and
do not attempt to make the schedule time
with our trains; nearly all lose from two
to FIVE hours in passing over the road,
and it has been only by the exercise OF
extreme caution we have been able thus
far to escape serious accident"
The inquest tomorrow will determine
these points, and, meantime, the public
must wait patiently for a solution of the
mystery, which will be solved, unless the
evidence shall be all fumigated away.
Quite as important Investigations have
been put out in their own smoke though
the public mind is nov aroused, and It is
to be hoped that this one viii not end in
the same manner. Tomorrow will tell.