, 1876-12-31

At South Bend he received teleRlaA soa% oue
was not On the train, and he went On 10 AsutaT
bull
PAIRS FUI.
w NARRATIVE OF PASSENGER
Mr. J. E. Burchc11, partner OF b. r" Vacoos, y.
this city, who was on the unfortunate uuu' te4'
the wreck at about O'Clock yesterday mo1ning'
and arrived in Chicago about mionlgn1" Ills
storY is full Of horror:
.sTherc we're eleven cars on the train that lett
Rnf1a1o at 2 o'clock Friday afternoon. 1hcre
we're two engines, three baggage, one smoker
two coaches, three slcepers, and one parlof cal'
I ehonld Judge there were $50 passengers we
ru1led out Of Buffalo In binding snow 8torm'
an hour late and ran at the rate ot about n1teen
miles an hour until about an hour, or may De
only half an hour, before the accident, when
she slacked up to about ten miles an
hour. The second engine was taken
on at about Dunkirk. just before
reaching the bridge, the snow Was very heavy,
and at that station near By, the name OF which
/ have forgotten, there was every danger OF
being showed in. We had lost an hour and
half from Buffalo to the bridge
"Bcfore reaching the bridge lwent through
the train and noticed that the coaches aud the
smoker were filed The smoker did not come
in its regular order. There we're two passenger
coaches ahead Of it. Next behind the smoker
was tho parlor car, in which Mr. Bliss and his
family were, and I noticed it Was one-thrd tuu.
Twas in the car behind the parlor, and my car
was filed. Behind that we're the three sleepe16,
which were also nearly filled
: ave ncared the bridge ct about 7:45, though
dne al Ashtabu1a at sis East Of the bridge
the country is rolling, aud beyond the creek it
proBe more level, We ran on the structure ct
; q rate Of about ten miles IN hour. and the
WHOLE TRAIN WAS on TIE BRIDGE
When 1t gaye way. The bridgc is about 200 feet
long, and only the first engine had passed over
vheu the crash came, the weight Of the falling
cars nearly pulling back the locomotive that had
passed over.
nThe first thing heard was crackingdn the
front part Of the car, and then the same cracking
in the rear. Then came another cracking in the
front louder than the first, and then came
sickening oscillation and sudden sinking, and
was thrown stunned from my seat. heard
the cracking, and splintering, and smashing
arouKd me. The iron work bent and twisted
like snakes, and everything took horrid
shapes. heard lady scream in anguish, oh!
he,2 men Then heard the cry Of fire. Some
puc broke window and pushed the lady out
Who had screamed. think her name was Miss
Bingham.
1.-THE train lar in the valley In the water, our
csr@a little On Its side, both ends broken in- The
rest Of the train lay in every direction, some On
end. some on the side, crushed and broken,
terrible but picturesque sight. Below were the
water and broken ice; seventy feet aboTe was
the broken bridge.
aMfss Bingham sank down in the snow and
vent back after my coat Securing that, went
to her and carried her, with dozen stumbles
and falls, up the bank. The SHOW tn the valley
WAS nearly to my waist55 and could only move
with difficulty. The wreck was then on fire.
The wind was blowing from the cast and Whirl-
ing binding masses Of SNOW over the terrible
ruin. .. ...
TIE CRACKING OF THE FLAKES,
The whistling wind, the screaming: 81, the hurt,
rnode a paudemonium OF that litt1 5lley, and
the water OF the freezing cree id with
blood or black with the fy ing cik xdid not
then know that any lives had bel i.Kll had
escaped alive. though all wete x6hfsed: :or in
jured. The fire stole swiftly a1ong lfhe wreck,
and in few moments the cars fk9re all in
flames. The ruins covered the VII elc space be-
tween the two piers, the cars jammed in OF
locked together. One engine lay in the creek,
smashed to pieces, the ruins breathing steam
and fire.
III carried Miss Bingham to the only house
near BIZ, and which appeared to be an engine
house. I was completely exhausted, and re
manned there forty-1ye minutes, when the In
jured began to arrive think there we're ffty:
two brought in alive, but one or two died aftc1
.hcir removal to the town, where they were sub
sequcntlr taken Tho town vas about quarter
st mile distant . <.
II did not 20 back to the wreck, but from th,
tng!nc-house door could see into the rayine
md the fearful scene it presented. The sigh
vas sickeniug. The whole wreck was then o.
IRE, and from out the frozen valley came grca
bursts Ut flame There. werc crowds Of mel
there, but the fire beat them back, and the
.ould do nothing. The wounded were 1yin|
around In the snow, or we're laid on stretcher
or taken on the backs Of men and carried up th
bluff. The spectacle was frightful, but thos
who had gone to assist worked steadily and Wel
In spite Of the intense heat. They carried eva
I'll who could be rescued, and then waite
uournfully Tor the flames to subside, 80 tha
bodies might be taken out As fast as the II
iured were secured they we're taken to tn
hotel. That IVES some time before anythin
could be done, for in thirty minutes after th
fal1 it Tas impossible to get near it for the irt
l think it likely that a great many were burie
under the cars, and
LOST n THAT WAY.
"The hotel was about quarter Of mil
from tho creek, and as the long line Of stretcl
srs and stout men bore the sufferers along, Il
stormy air was filed With meanings
anguish. At the hotel the wounded we
kindly cared for. Physicians and surgeon
we're early on hand, and every effort vas MAJ
TO relieve the sufferers One lady, whose TO
had been crushed, Was carried shrieking
labor pains to the little hotel, and during t
:utgh: she gase birth to child
"From the top Of the bluff to the waite
edge it is, should think, from seventy
,eighty feet, and along that bluff there rang
lines Of excited men looking down on the bu
Ing, helpless agony below Il Was heartrsr
Ing scene. The manglel, bleeding bod
yrithed in the terrible tortures around the