Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-01-15
LETTER FROM FLORIDA.
STEAMER TUsKAwILLA.
Ocklawaha River, Dec. 18, 1875.

STEAMER IUSKAWILLA.
Ocklawaha River. Dec. 18, 1875. !
According to promises made your
selves and friends, I herewith send
yos poorly digested account of my
wanderings.
! OUR TRIP
to Jacksonville was long, tedious and
full of accidents. At Nashville we
missed our through sleeper" on ac-
count of a wreck this side Of Louis
vile, and had to 60 to Chattanooga and
wait Is hours for the delayed train.
This was simply the beginning Of a
chain of disasters that followed uslike
the breath of Nemesis. At Cnatta-
nooga we secured our Delayed sleeping
car, and having disposed ofcur baggage,
settled ourselves for good, easy time,
thinking that we would awake next
day in Jacksonville, Fla, but we were
destined to realize to its fullest extent
the couplet of the bard who sang, 1.-THE
best laid plans O. mice and men gang
aft aglee,' for on reaching Atlanta,
Ca, that day at noon, we were met
with the soothing intelligence that we
would have 10 hours in which to see
the city. Well, we improved our op-
portunities, and the time passed rapid
ly and pleasantly. That night we left
Atlanta, en- route for Macon. Here
we took the Macon & Brunswick road,
and rushed on in the dark to what
proved to one, a darker fate. At
about 6 a. m, Friday, those of us who
were sleeping were rudely awakened
by noise more fearful than the thun-
ders of Olympus, and shock that
stood some on their heads, and hung
others across seats, while others still
it slowed away among baskets. valises,
etc., disposing of every one in a
most reckless and careless manner.
There was report, loud and deep, a
mighty shock, and all was still save
the deep, dark forests of pine aud pal
metto, by which we were surrounded,
they had caught up this awful note
and still echoed and re-echoed its
dread music until the refrain thereof
had penetrated its darkest, dampest
swamps, and they in turn whispered
the mournful tidings to the neighbor-
ing hills and valleys. Imagine the
confusion that existed at Babel, and
you can form pretty good idea of the
scene that occurred inside of the cars.
In an incredibly short time the pas
sengers poured out, aud the extent OF
| the wreck" was soon learned. We
found that our engine was total
wreck" having blown itself to the four
winds--the baggage car had been
''telescoped" by the tender of the en-
CINE, the express car badly crushed,
and the train considerably battered
our Pullman coach being the only car
undamaged. We then commenced the
search for the engineer and fireman.
who were nowhere to be seen. The
engineer we found lying stark and
stiff abe.s. 40 yards from the engine.
He was frightfully dis6gured. and
must have been killed outright. The
fireman, most wonderful to tell, was
found ON the opposite side standing on
his head in the mud and water, unhurt,
save few scratches received in fall
ing He could give no account what
ever of the explosion, and to-day tire
mains mystery, the Superintendent
of the road claiming that they con-
sidered that engine the safest on the
line, and that engineer the most care
ful in his employ. We found piece
of the boiler weighing about 500 pounds
buried three feet in the ground, about
three hundred yards from the track,
and judged from the appearance of the
trees it must have gone over height
of 100 feet. A large piece of the boiler
was found hanging in the top of a tall
pine tree, and in fact, the woods on
either side of the track for quarter
of mile were literally filled with
pieces of the engine. The report was
so loud that it was heard 16 miles.
After waiting at the wreck for some
time an engine came from Macon, and
carried the two coaches that could
travel back to Buzzard's Roost, a
watering station about mile from the
scene of disaster. Here we had the
exquisite and novel pleasure of eating
three meals at a "colored" eating
house, it being our only resort At B.
r. we lay for thirteen hours, waiting
for the removal of the wreck, and the
relaying of the track. At dawn on
the next day we left the marshy pre-
cincts of B. Il. and rolled on orr way
rejoicing. Everything rolled along
finely until we had left Jessup good
many miles behind US, when there was
a whistle from the engine of down
breaks, rather sudden pull up, as
Mr.. Weller would say, and we were
told that the miserable concentric rod
of our engine was also bustsd. This
made the second engine we had dis
abled, and our faces began to lengthen
visibly, many of our passengers declar-
ing that we were "fated ship and
fated crew." Here again we lay until
an engine could be sent to pull us.
After another season of waiting and
murmuring our engine came, and
started again for our Mecca. Jackson
vile, which place we reached on Sun
day morning at o'clock, having been
five days out, Our party were prin-
cipally from the North, and more
agreeable company of people never
travelled together. After stopping a
day in Jacksonville, we took the steam
er Hampton, the best on the river, and
at noon Monday were landed on the
docks at Palatka. And now if you
will bear with me, will go back in
my narrative and tell you something of
the larger cities along the route.