Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1875-04-07
From the Daily OF April 9TH.
A FEARFUL COLLISION.
Two Passenger Trains ON the
ID. & Nj. III. II. Collide While
Going at the rate of
about Twenty Five
Miles an Hour.
Three Men Instantly Killed
and Several Wounded.
Passengers Escape Unframed.


Passengers Escape Unframed.
Il Guess / Forgot It."
Saturday night, about u O'Clock, the
East and West bound passenger trains
on the B. 4 NJ. Railroad, known as the
Atlantic and Pacific express trains,
when about two and one-half miles
east of Tyrone, and six or seven west
Of Abba, in Monroe county, while go.
ing at their usual speed, collided. By
which three men lost their lives, and
several were wounded.
The scene Of the accident, yesterday
morning, presented scene that Ian.
guage is inadequate to describe, and
was the most perfect picture OF de.
struction we ever saw.
The engines were utterly destroyed
The boilers were completely denuded
OF machinery, covering, and every
thing else forming locomotive, and
were piled off by the track among the
demolished baggage cars, which were
only . mass of kindling wood, and
not enough lett of either to tell the
numbers they were known by. The
steam cylinders were crushed ike egg
shells, frame work torn of, broken
to pieces and the tanks ripped, torn
and twisted as though they has been
made Of brown paper.
Baggage was smashed to atoms
trunks ripped open and the contents
scattered, sifted and sown in one pro.
miscuous heap. The United States
mail was wrested from its faithful Gus.
todian, gold and silver bullion from
it, guardian, thrown together, and
from under all this mass was taken
the dead, the wounded, and strange at
1t may seem, some who escaped with.
out . scratch.
The accident occurred in cut on q
short sharp curvo, and 1t was q matte,
of impossibillty for one train to sec
the other more than one hundred or a
hundred and fifty yards. The track a,
this place runs through the timber
and follows along the creek for quite
distance. The cut is from twelve tc
fifteen feet deep, and after the accident
whore the trains met the cut was piled
full Of the wreck, while ON top of the
whole was one end of o passenger
coach with the end knocked completely
out, and not q passenger injured.
The persons killed were Hi. Miller
conductor on train No. 2, who when al
home lived in Burlington. lie was @
man Of family aud had two OF
three children. He 10 spoken of az
being very excellent man, and had
been on the road for about eight o,
ten years.
W. A. Gardner, Messenger for the
American Express Company, once a
citizen of this place, and married here
was killed instantly. Mr.. Macarthur
General Agent of the express compa.
ny, informs our reporter that q better
man never lived. He was about &c
years of age and leaves wife and
two children. His wife was q daugh.
ter of Mrs. Moore and q niece of Mrs.
Benz Boulton.
G. NJ. Pickle was son of II. M.
Pickle, attorney at law, of this place,
and was very estimabc Young man,
careful, industrious and respected
by all who knew him.
OF those injured perhaps N. j. Mil.
Ter 10 one Of the worst hurt, as no fell
against the stove and was badly burn.
cd about the face and also bruised.
He has nerve enough for two or three
men, and when brought to this city be
walked from the coach to his room
practically without assistance; and
last night was very urgent in knowing
what had become Of his pouch full Of
registered letters, of which he was the
special custodian. He insisted they
should be brought to him, as no was
personally responsible for them, and
would not consent to give them up ex.
cept to the proper authority. w. =:
Armstrong. tslsgssrhe.a - 49, ...aa AZ
Miller when he passed through this
city. Miller lives in Des Moines and
will be taken home to day.
Mark Strauslcr, who is one of the
oldest engineers on the road, had q leg
very badly broken. He has been on
the road about fifteen years, and is
counted one of the best engineers in
the employ Of the company. He has
good pluck, is in good health, and, al
though very severely hurt, will
We hope. soon be at his post again.
Duuh NJ, ns N ans ~, No 9 ;nnna1
from bis engine, we understand, and
sustained some severe bruises, and had
one of his arms badly hurt, but no
bones were broken. He will probably
soon be all right. The baggage men
were both bruised and scratched con-
siderably but how they escaped with
their lives is one Of the mysteries OF
the wreck. They will both be on duty
probably before great while.
Mr.. Yeomans, the express messen.
ger on train No. was bruised and
hurt internally perhaps. He remain.
ed with his goods and the bullion of
his dead comradc until late in the
afternoon. The property in his charge
was worth something over million
and half of dollars and he only loft
when relieved by Mr.. Macarthur.
II. II. Chsttert0n, the conductor of
train No. ] escaped practically unin.
jured.
The trains contained about $50 or
800 passengers, and none were injured
worth mentioning.
Mr.. Potter the Superintendent and
Col. Hepburn who were in one of the
rear sleeping coaches, say there was
but little jar felt at the rear of the train
and not enough to jostle them of their
feet, while some Of the passengers did
not know anything had happened ex-
cept by tho lamps al being put out at
once and 40 suddenly.
Ed. Coffin of this city, mail agent
on the G. B. & O., was on the train
home, and had just left the
mail car and taken seat In one of the
coaches when the collision occurred.
Potter % soon 40 possible took
charge of affairs and directed move
ments generally. Built bonfires on
The bank, and the work of recovering
The bodies of the desd, and relieving
the wounded commenced at once in
earnest; the passengers lending all the
assistance they could, and soon after