The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1869-07-29
THE LATE RAILROAD ACCIDENT.

The Corinne Reporter of July 18th reported
an accident on the Union Pacific Railroad
near Antelope station, east of Cheyenne, on
the 14th, and since then we had seen no notice
of the occurrence until we received the San
Francisco Herald of the 2lst. In that paper
appears the letter of a correspondent who was
on the cars at the time of the accident. He
states that it occurred 800 miles west of Oma.
ha, and thus narrates the affair:
At three A. NJ, this morning, a culvert in the
road had washed away and has caused us to
have the worst "smash-up" have ever seen in
my life, only one man being killed and no other
person seriously hurt. Our trains consisted OF
two of PulIman's palace sleeping cars, three
passenger cars, the two baggage and express
cars and one passenger car, with the engine
and tender. were all thrown from the track
and smashed and broken all to pieces, and one
of the other passenger cars almost entirely de-
stroyed. Both of these cars had gOOdly num-
Der of passengers in each one OF them. and the
only damage to any person III either OF them
was one little girl had one of her arms badly
hurt, though no bones broken. One man had
one of his fingers mashed, and another had his
hand badly cut, though nothing but flesh
wound. This was all the damage done to any
of our passengers. The man that lost his life
was cumming his way. The unfortunate man
had been put off the train, but when the acct
dent occurred he was found mashed up between
the tender of the engine and the forward bag
gage car, where it is supposed that he jumped
on after having been put off the cars. AS mi
raculous as it may appear. neither the engineer
nor fireman are seriously hurt; they are both
bruised Il little, but nothing more. y piece of
railroad iron is run into the large boiler, having
first gone through the ends OF one of the Cyl
inders. How either the fireman or engineer
escaped instant death is more than they them
selves can imagine. again say that ii Is the
worst "smash-up' | have ever seen. Had il
not been for the unfortunate man who was
smuggling himself through, not Il soul would
have been killed or seriously hurt. II had
been raining hard all night this culvert was
over Il small raVlnc which runs out III twenty
minutes after shower, but was not large
enough 10 let the water through during a heavy
shower We were running al the rate of from
twenty 10 twenty-five miles an hour. No one
on the cars was 10 blame Tor the accident.
There has been great deal of talk about the
Central and Union Pacific Railroads not being
poou T"ids NY DtIlrI II, lHdl lHCI are TWO ol
the best railroads in the / nitcd States | ihink
the only defect in either OF them is, that the
Union Pacific bias not made some of their cul-
vcrts as large as they should have done at the
time Of building the road. | suppose they were
not aware al the quantity Of rain that falls
here at times.
This accident will delay me about twenty
four hours. should have reached Washing
la n h. pf 1pls I
will now be- eight days.
We have about l25 passengers on board
about ~ OF whom came through from Caiifnr-
MA. Oar ln!trd States maI Is all wet and
badly damaged. the mail car being the one that
was smashed up IN the stream or ravIne. All
that could be done to save il has been done