Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-01-03
Terrible Railroad Accident.

Shore RI, to a western-bound train OF
ia passengers but four or five were I'M
hurt, while fifty received severe wounds
and the remainder were crushed or burned
to death or drowned. The Angola disas-
ter of 1868 was not as destructive of life,
for there only 70 persons persisted.
The train hands tell this story of the
disaster: The train numbering II cars-one
drawingroom, three sleepers, two first
class coaches, one smoking car and four
baggage and express cars-drawn by two
engines, the Socrates and the Columbia,
was moving along slowly, the Socrates,
the forward engine, having got fairly to
the west side of the bridge, when the
engineer felt sudden jar, the coupling be-
tween the two engines broke, and all be-
hind the Socrates fell, Even this engine
was pulled back nearly to the edge of the
broken span before the coupling was sever
ed, and it regained its forward motion
barely in time to save itself. The distance
to the ice below is variously stated MS from
SO to rs feet, but it was great enough to-
completely wreck the engine Columbia,
which lies with its wheels uppermost, and
to smash the cars as if they had been
blown to pieces with nitro-gycerine. Fire
broke out simultaneously in all the cars,
slowly burning to death the people confin-
ed by the debris, while others tloated off
under the ice that had been broken, or
we're drowned by the water that flowed in
among the demolished cars.
The people of Ashtabula were warned of
the catastrophe by general fire ALARM
and shortly all the fire engines and nearly
the whole village were on their way to the
scene, about mile from town. The storm
was so terrible that no business had been
done in town since OF O'Clock, and so
they were greatly impeded in their work
but axes ropes and stretchers were brought
into use, and all the wounded that were
accessible were taken to the neghboring
houses.
The cause of the accident is still mys-
terry, and Charles Colling, chief engineer
of the road, says he can give no theory to
account for it. The gencrel impression is,
however, that the iron of the bridge had
been made brittle by the frost, and that
the heavy train broke it by running off the
track. The bridge was one of the we'll
known Howe truss pattern, built entirely
of iron, had been in use II years, and was
considered one of the best on the line. 1t
!, had been tested with six locomotives, and
ut the time of the accident it was thought
to be in perfect condition. The whole
length of the bridge was 157 feet, and it
, had an arch $50 feet long in the clear.
2 Over 100 men continued to work clear
ing away the debris, Saturday and Sun
: day, but their labor was rewarded by the
t recovery of only two more bodies and some
{ unrecognizable burned pieces of flesh; and
the belief is gaining ground that many oil
the passengers were totally or almost
f wholly consumed. Intense eXcitemen
J, prevailed and scores of persons arrived
1 from the East and West in search of in
n information regarding missing friends
: Little satisfaction was given them, howev
e er. kilograms were being constantly re
ceved asking news of absent ones. Th
= boxes in the freight house containing
y bodies we're numbered, yesterday, ant
white paper labels placed on those tina
: had been identified. There were 3G bodie
e or masses Of charred and blackened flesl
o in the boxes, and OF these only half identi
fed, and they not all with certainty.
y A coroner's jury began an investigator
Ie into the cause Of the accident. A. l.
70 Stone was u brakeman in the rear car a
o. the time of the crash, but escaped unhnrm
p. ed. lie thought there were 100 person
on the train at the time of the accident
The express was geing ut the rate OF l
OF miles an hour, a little faster than is usu'
ut when approaching the bridge, owing
40 the snow. Afterthe accident he ran
" the depot to prevent II train that he b'
lieved was following, from coming ahea'
al The cars were heated by Bakers heater
C. and stoves. Conductor B. HEM said I'll
,as train consisted of locomotive, smoke
~. three ordinary cars, drawing-room ca
81 three seepers and baggage cars. Il
es thought that there we're l3l passengers
Oh board when the calamity happened.
H. Charles S. Carter of Brooklyn, N. Y
l.. was playing cards in the palace car wi
NV three others. He heard the window-gla
The in the forward part of the car breakr
rs. and almost instantly the car began to ia
mo- He was seated with his back toward t
he front, and, us he went down, he sat
"o quietly rs he could and held on. VIII
wo the car struck at the bottom of the ravir
uri he found himself almost unhurt, althou!
at one of the gentlemen playing with hi
.. whose name he did not know, was kill
&C. instantly, while another, Mr.. Shephe
In of New York, had u leg broken. Cart
10 saws the front of the car was much low
ed, than the rear, and that the flames in fro
,ri- began to eat their way upward and spre
u with great rapidly. He turned to t
r'y assistance of Mr.. Shepherd, and w
lily great difficulty succeeded in getting h
res out, the broken leg impeding their {
ont vance When Shepherd was saved, C'
'P' ter turned to the assistance of Il WON
.Wo calling for help ut the front of the c.
of He got her out, and, rs she was qu
yer thinly clad, gave her his overcoat. AT
,n, reaching Il hotel, he found himself seve
''"' ly bruised in several places.
Another man SAW II woman struggil
ess for life, and went to he assistance,
the carried her by main force to the solid IL
,wn then urged by cries of the mother. W.
back to the rescue Of the daughter, ew
'ey child of three or four years of age but
tiff treacherous wood in splintering /
ade caught the child in its grasp, and the
va completed the horrible work. The m
was compelled to hear her Help l
anu MOTHER ringing out in the agony
to death, while the mother fell to the
the sensecss.
md Ola family named Bennett, on I'll
,A9 way from New York state to LETTERS
"i0 Ashlabula county, the father and mot
in got out of the wreck but the child
,ped were only saved by Icing tossed from
mt arms of one man TO those of another o
Il pile of burning wood work. One of
-four WAS seriously injured, and all scral
def ed slightly. On Saturday morning
nsti- mother, who was enciente, gave birth
tion child, the event being FASTENED by
80 excitement she had undergone.
ana A young girl of 10 years was
III struggling to release her hips from
hap crushing weight when the flames o.
shall took her, and II Incorporating, mid
,.S aged gentleman was seen sitting bolt
anu an" right in his scat calmly awaiting the tlal
Va which soon claimed their victim.
u.s.. The loss to the company by the dcst
am ton of the bridge is about $4,000,
MAN some of the cars were the roads prope
Trains will be running again in 10 d
and meanwhile the company have to ca
passengers around the gap in sleighs.
, "uo c. P. Bliss, the evangelist author
bows " Hold the Fort was on the train '
IL, c,n,;lv m, tbnir uov tn ChipaUO I