Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1877-09-04
ONE mars EXPERIENCE.
A. the Accident on the Chicago, Rock u.
land and Pacific Railroad.

~ oSesu E0CuuC BNat1fOA0,
[.ioux City Journal.
Many Of thesurvivors Of the recent disas-
ter on the Rock Island road tell some heart
rendering stories of what transpired during
the hours Of suffering which was exper-
fenced while they were held as in a vice
between the broken timbers ofthe cars, with
the waters Of the stream surging wildly
about them. Col. C. w. Lowrie, ofBoonf.
boro. was one Of the number, and in an in.
terview with . reporter Of the Des Moines
Register gives the following account Of the
situation in the car in which he and his
wife and Mr.. J. F. Bolt, Of Boone, and his
wife and daughter Allie were riding. He
says: 1--WE were all sitting in the middle
Of the car when the crash came. Mr.. Bolt
and l were together, with our seats turned
with our backs TO our wives, who were also
sitting side by side. Allie Bolt was lying
on q seat alone, right across the aisle from
me. The first I knew Of the accident was 4
tremendous crash Of timbers and glaes and
the rush Of waters. The lights went out
instantly, and We could see nothing, for it
was only half past two in the morning. The
car above us crushed the roof of ours down,
SO that there was not three feet Of space
above US, and We thought the roof would
soon fall in. l was held down by timbers
across my legs, both above and below the
knees both Of my arms were also fastened
by The same cause. As soon as We realized
our situation we began calling to each other;
l called to Mr.. LoWrie and she answered
me, but we could not reach each other,
Mira. Bolt and Hay 60 that We could Just
touch tips Of fingers, although both fast in
the debris. My wife suffered a great deal,
and she twice thought she was dying, and
when she heard the water rushing through
the car just below us she said, 20, Mr..
Iowrie, l pray the Lord that the water will
rise high enough to drown mel can't
endure this pain" Then she babe me
good-by, and her voice hushed 40 that l
heard nothing from her for three quarters Of
an hour. l supposed, of course, that she
was dead, and I could not help wishing th,t
we had both gone together. I called to her
now and then, but get no reply. After .
while she reused up again and called ME,
and ! quickly answered We could not have
been five feet apart. After q few minutes Of
consciousness she again sank away, and We
parted, l supposed, for tie last time in life.
She did not again become conscious until .
long time after We got her out of the wreck
and removed her to Altoona. Mrs. Bolt
insisted that l should not remove nv fin.
gers from the tips Of hers; she often called
to "John' and "Allie," her husband and
daughter, but no reply came. We did not
expect to get out at all. O my God, what a
condition that was! Ny wife dead a. l
believed, my friend dead. his daughter
dead, his wife dying, and l wedged IN so
that | believed l couldn't get out.
After suffering a long time, I made up my
mind l would get my right arm out of cen.
finemeut or pull it off-for l was suffering
mental agony equal ia death. l pulled and
pulled and finally got it free by pulling off
oil my coat aud shirt sleeves. Right above
me ina hole that had been stove in a two
inch plank. l could see a CLEAN of lights; I
got this penknife and went to whiting
cut for dear life, too. must have cut out
two quarts Of chips with the knife, aud
made the hole large enough GO I could get
my body partly through il. but nv legs be.
log fast ] could get no further. heard
people passing and repassing our car and
tried to call them to help us. After . while
ID man came aud sawed off the timbcrs
which held me and l was the second one
out Of the car.
My wife was taken out soon, - VA also
Mrs. Bolt, both Of whom were alive. In
looking after Mr.. BOLT aud Allie, his dauRh
ter, We found that his head h,d been lying
on my knee, and that the Mme iron which
killed him had torn the Lex Of nv pants
nearly Oh. There was q time during nv
imprisonment that I could feel somebody'a
head. al covered with blood. dldu,t
know Who Il vas Then. bnt knew alNer.
sard sil must have been M. Rolta.
Allie Bolt IVES lyias sAaecp 90 ssst right
scraAs the aisle frosn M aads Ae never knew
bow s0ddculy she pasasd fram he And a
tAe dying " ,Ae laad ~ the liviax."
such vess ihs issrtble expcaascrs OF tAe
abovs pessoes, end sAey ass bul . A.s isde,
81 vAAa ~ 0aaS VAo ueos aoUD = ~
svtAl vseA sAe M1Ibesd.