The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1871-02-16
4 Sad Picture.

The correspondent of the New
York UoyId, writing from the scene
of the late terrible Railroad disaster,
on the 9Th inst, says:
Although the writer had passed the
scene of the disaster MANY times since
the accident, beth in The daytime and
at night, when the fires added wild
gloom 10 the scene, the first opportu-
nifty of realizing the extent of the
wreck, and the Yastncss of the dark
abys. into which the victims were
plunged. was offered this morning
when the Western express passed over
the new bridge for the first time
The passengers could then look direct
ly dow n into the water and see the
top of the ruins of the Oil train. The
express train approached the bridge
with great caution, tile breakmen
obcying the signals of the engineer
with the utmost alacrity. As the
drawing-room coaches rolled slowly
along over the new tresfle-WOrk many
of the passengers crowded the plat
forms of the cars, while the remain
der looked out from the windows and
gaZed down into the black, eddying
water. Only one track had been COM
pleted over the water, the one on the
side where the express train went
down, SO that the passengers looked
down on the ruins of the oil train on
ly. The trucks of that train stood in
q perfect line, show that the bridge
had settled under them. The gap left
by the burnt bridge was about two
hundred feet wide, and the water was
full of the charred timbers of the
bridge and the mangled ruins of the
two trains. The water in many pla-
ces was still covered with a sheen of
crude Oil, which kept turning round
in the eddies caused by the clogging
up of the channel by the wreck.
The last of the nineteen victims that
have been recovered from the wreck
will be taken away from PoughkeeD-
sic tonight. The friends of Thomp-
son will accompany his remains to
New York, where they will be in
TERED. u
The most heart-rending scene of the
whole affair-the dead Fowler family
has been removed for the people of
another locality to mourn over their
sad fate. Up to the time of their re-
moval all the five bodies were laid out
at the undertaker's rooms. They
were all encased i'll rosewood caskets,
and the lids were kept open during
part of the day, so that the public
mourners could walk in and view the
solemn picture. Here was an entire
family who had all perished at one
fell stroke, leaving not q single one to
come after when grief had brought
despair and despair had changed to
death. The father and mother laid
side by side, beautifully enshrouded,
but their disfigured faces wrapped in
white linen and shut out from view.-
Near by were two small caskets, one
containing the son, and the other the
eldest daughter. The first was fair
haired boy, aged about II years. He
was not mutilated in the least, and the
expression on his face was remark
able. 1t did not resemble that of
corpse, or of person asleep. He ap-
peared as if he had closed his eyes
simply fcigning sleep, and so life-like
was the whole expression that the be-
holder was almost constrained to be-
lieve that the eyes would presently
open and the natural lips part i'll
playful smile. His sister, girl two
years younger than the boy, was dis
colored on the whole right side of the
head and face. The rest of her body
had been protected from the fire, all
except the thumb and forefDger of the
right hand. The arms were folded
across her breast, and the playful
hands were white as snow, save the
two fingers that were burned to a
black crisp. On one finger of the left
hand she wore tiny gold ring, which
she carried to her grave. On the 9TH
er side of the parents was the baby
laid out in small casket, and en-
shrouded in snowy white. The en-
tire family wereremoved together and
conveyed away to the presence of the
bereaved parents. u