Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1872-02-10
LEIu,Gm VALLEY ACCIDENT.
Eight Persons Killed and sixteen
Wounded. II
THE BUFFALO EXPRESS TRAIN GOING
OVER A FORTY FOOT EMBANKMENT
MAucn CHUNK. Feb. 2.

Another railroad catastrophe has to be
added to the great number already chroni-
I cled during the late severe weather. But
while many. already reported have been
confined to broken bones, the destruction
of rolling stock, of tracks and parapherna-
J liza in general--with now and again an ex-
I ploded locomotive and the burning of trains
of cars-the occurrence calling for the pres
ent article is attended with considerable
loss of life and injuries to many persons,
from which, doubtless, several will never
recover.
AT a quarter to eight yesterday morning,
a train, known as the Buffalo express, left
| Pittstop, Pa, the destination of most of the
| passengers being Philadelphia. The train
was composed of an engine, baggage van,
smoking car, a Central railroad and q
Phildel pha car ". -
|. When about midway between Mud run
and Rockport, and sixty-four miles from
Easton, at forty minutes past nine O'Clock,
The Engine Made 81 sudden Leap,
the fore wheels flew round, causing hor-
| rible whirl, and the driver and fireman
were so severely shaken that they could
scarcely hold on to enable them to stop the
locomotive. The levers were reversed and
the steam shot off as speedily as possible,
and the terror-stricken men were at once
convinced that fearful accident had occur
ed, that the terrific leap of their great
foaming iron horse had saved them from
the horrible fate allotted to many being
drawn by it. Leaning over the side of the
engine,
a Fearful Chasn Forty Feet Deep
met the drivers eye. the only support be-
tween the road and Lehigh river being a
hard flint embankment, almost perpenlicu-
lar in construction. The steep decivity
and the running waters were nothing to
him, however, as he had ridden trium-
! phanuy over both many scores of times.
and would scarcely have engendered a
| thrill of terror in his breast this time but
| for the fact that he saw the half of the train
| leap from the track, and in an instant
plunge as it were headlong
Down the Flinty Wall Toward the
River
below. He saw the central car, which
contained most of the passengers, with the
end of the broken coupling swim ing in
! front Oft, like runaway horse with the
| end of bride about its n1cks he saw the
earth fly up in thousand directions be-
meath its ponderous weight low, rum
bling sound caught his ear, and the car
riage, with its live freight went tumbing
and crashing over the Mountain, rs the
LutClNlly Is CulISNs 1uc ueAJ llSldut Hc
eheard the
Most Appalling shrieks from the in
side
of the car, and heads and arms were thrust
out at the windows. and every tongue
seemed to be sending fourth accents Of an
guish and dismay. Woman and men and
seats. cushions and debris were soon in a
horrible heap; but, TO add to the horrors OF
| the situation, before any assistance could
| be rendered, smoke and flame were seen
emerging from one part of the smashed up
vehicle, and il was feared that those who
were not killed or injured by the fall and
the crushing of the timbcrs, would be burn
ed to death, as the
stove had Set Fire TO the Car.
The Philadelphia car followed the central
car, but it did not fall so far over rs to rest
on the frozen river. the passengers, how
ever, being fearfuly bruised and wounded,
and exposed to the same fearful catastro-
phe of being consumed by fire, which had
taken hold of the car from the stove, the
flames issuing fourth as in the other car, and
creating a perfect panic among. those who
were not injured, for the moment.
The first thing to be done was to rush Ia
the assistance of those in the central car.
The engineer, fireman, conductor aud
vi
ed down the embankment, aud, amid the
sore ans of the woman,
The GrOans of the dying
and wells of those who were lying beneath
the debris in great agony, barely out Of tn,
jaws of death-thesc men set to work, and
in about fifteen minutes, were able to sun
up the result of this appalling accident
The Dead Being Taken Out.
The first body drawn out from the for,
part of the car was cOlored gentleman
whose features were almost destroyed, tin
face and forehead being crushed up ant
who was dressed in black coat and strip
cd pants. Though warm he was quit
dead. The feet of a colored woman wer
next seen extending from beneath part O
the car that was still burning. In a few
seconds the broken charred timber was re
moved and the dead body of a tull-growr
!. person was exposed. Near this body wa
, that of another colored female, daughter c
the first mentioned, slightly built and abou
thirteen years of age. 1t was observes
that, in addition TO the young girl, the CO.
, ored woman had also
/ An Infant Carrying in Her Arms
when she entered the train, and a scare
f was at once instituted for it. Round on tn
opposite side of the ear from where the
= were standing, aud about eight feet Off tn
e little creature was found with its bod
4 curled up crying out Justify for its dea
J, mother. With the exception of two Z
n three bruises. occasioned by its fall an
subsequent struggling on the ice, the chill
j. had received no injuries of any momen
e While several of the crowd were engage
d with the child
p The Dead Bodies ofTwO Ladics
s. were drawn ont, both well-dressed, and
: apparently respectable birth, but great
: disligured about the head and neck by I'll
% severity of the wounds that had causo
le their death.
All were now in state of great exct
ie ment, aud as the five dead bodies we
Ie taken up and stretched side by side on Il
n snow, each being soon soaked in the bloc
u that was flowing from the open gashcs M
a. horrible bruises, n wild. indescribable pi
:, =, ture was presented. Those who were n
y ~ hurt were rushing hther and thither in d
EndeavOr TO Rescue the Wounded
from the perilous positions in which maj
. of them were placed, and in short tin