The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1877-07-27

TERRIBLE RAILROAD CoLLISIoN,-FtUc
Persons Killed ami lSecerul Slightly Injured
We copy the following in relation to fright
ful collision between :wo passenger trains
and sad loss of life on the West Penn road
from the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette of
/ Tuesday last
As an indirect result of the strike and the
embargo the main line of the Pennsylvania
Railroad, there occurred las. evening one of
the most disastrous collisions between passen-
hood for years. Five men were instantly killed
and several thute or less injured. The accident
! took place or the West Penn road, about mile
and half above Sharpsburg. and six aud a half
miles above the West Penn depot, Allegheny.
/ The trains wrecked were the mail train west
and the second section of the Philadelphia ex-
! press east. Since Saturday night all trains for
the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad
! have been sent out over the West Penn road to
biairsviie intersection. TO this point the rain
/ is in charge of an engineer of the West Penn
! road, and as sOon as the main line is reached
the regular Pennsylvania line crew takes
7 CHARGE
The West Penn road is but single track
! from Sharpsbug ups The mail ain was due
/ at SharPsburg at $40, and the second section of
the Philadelphia express a few minutes earlier.
! The mail train being first class, and the express
second class. the mail had precedence of the
! track. The Philadelphia express should there
/ fore have laid over at Sharpsburg and allowed
/ j. ID. Snyder, is conductor the main lire,
and was to take the train through after it
ter of course: was not fully acquainted with
! the running of trains on the West Penn branch,
J
/ Fiei, to watch such things. The mail train
! Cue at Sharpsburg at 5:20. AT 5la the express
/ ieft sharpsburg on the single track, and
THE COLLISION
/ was inevitable. The train had attained fun
/ headway, and running at about thirty or thirty
/ tive miles an hour, when, on entering the
/ second curve above Sharpsburg, tie engineer
was startled with the aprarition of the mail
engineers sounded the signal OF danger and APP
| piled the air brakes the passengers jumped
z
! There was a brief moment of suspense the
! other-a moment which seemed an age, nd
! then-a friRhtful crash, sudden stop, Earring
/ and trembling of the trains from end to end,
and itwas over.
THE FEARFUL WRECK.
The engines came together with friphtful
/ force, and, as an eye witness, old farmer
( VINO was working in IL field hear by, says, they
seemed to leap i'll The air and embrace eatt
| other. y cloud of flying fragments, dust and
smoke then obscurcd the iron horses, and when
1 II cleared they were found lying each side
/ of the track, an iuextinguishable mass of ruins
/ piled high up, while three or Tour or the cars
lay in the bed of the old canal a heap of spIin-
ters and broken iron. To no one who has not
/ seen it can an adequate idea of the complete
ness of the wreck be given. The two engines
resemble nothing under the heavens but huge
/ masses of scrap iron, piled up in inextricable
| confusion. Two of the cars are broken up SO
! that there is scarcely square foot of the tim
bers remaining whole; in Iact, they are literally
a mass OF splinters til only for kindling wood
From the appearance of the engines and ears
destroyed, the only wonder is that any portion
/ OF the train escaped Il like fate.
TIE KILLED AND WOUNDED,
As soon as the officers and passengers of the
! train realized what bad occurred search
instituted for those who might DE killed or
wounded. 1t took but minute or two to as
! certain that the terrible accident had not been
unattended hy more terrible deaths. In the
( midst of the wreck and ruin were shortly found
the spirit OF life had He'd at the oI1 momer', the
/ trightful crash occurred. These were speed
! lily as possible extracted from the wreck and
I laid out on the green Sward, when it was ascer-
! tanned that their names were as follows:
Jacob Fell, pilot engineer of the Philadelphia
| Express. He resided at Bairsviiie, aud leaves
Il wife and two children.
! Fred. Louther, Express messenger and bag
gage master on the mail train. Resided at No.
! - i-acock street, Allegheny; single.
Al Price, mail agent, residence unknown.
Harry Hill, fireman on the mail train. He
| lived at Natrona and was single man.
John Mccarthy, of Altoona, Il passenger on
| Singular as it appears, there was no one seri-
ously injured, though most of the persons on
( the train were more or less hurt.
/ NORTHERN TENAN REvoLUTIONIsTs.-
/ IN Old Cambria County HerO.-Following is
/ an extract from an article contributed to the
Philadelphia Weekly Times by our old-time
! friend, Capt. G. Nelson Smith, a former we'll
( known and much esteemed citizen of Johns
1 tewu, where he edited aud published the
! Mountain Echo many years ago, and also rep
/ resented Cambria county in the State Legis-
| lature for three consecutive termS-that is,
! during the sessions of 1886, '56 and 81:
| NoRTHERN ACTORS In THE TEXAS DRAMA.
! Among the signerS of the Declaration of
| Texas Independence were six gen lcmen from
| the Northern States-one from Massachusetts
one from New Jersey, two from New York, and
! two from Penusy ylvania. The early cmigrants
! ana defenders Of Texas were splendid samples
! of men. They were hoSpitaDle. maEuaninOus,
and lion hearted, and it is greatly {, l,, regret
! ted thai sketches of many of them have NOT
/ been written to preserve their memories from
/ oblivion If all had been written in truthful,
! animated language. of all the insIHuc,.s of ex-
alted patriotism and enduring virtue, OF indi-
! viduui proves and personal cnurug,.. and of
7
/ recitHIs would read like the wild dnd wonder
I full creations of the most prolific fancy Among
! the gallant, patriotic band of heroes who inn
! perlled and sacrificed their lives on the altar
ring spirits from Pennsylvania, sketches of
/ whom would be read with thrilling interest. A
few of the Pennsyivanians worthy of special
! mention are or were. John Holiday, of Holli-
! daysburg, Blair county; Basil Durbin, of Lo-
! retto, Cam bria county; ihomaS sharp, OF She
I lOcta. Indiana county, and William Johpston
| of J Johnston's Mill, ON the Loyaihanna, in West
| moreiand county. Their, were other Pennsyl-
vanianS who were also more or less cOnSpicu-
uiisin that memorable struggle, but / cannot
recall their names al present.
The writer of the above, now and for sew
! eral years past a resident OF Philadel phia
and who was himself an actor in the bloody
drama referred to- has kindly furnished us
the Following brief sketch OF our mountain
eer revolutionist,
MR.. BASIL DURBIN.
There are few if any of the early urlcttercd
| emigran's to Texas who are more worthy of
honorable mention than one of our own noun
( tain-tUrn sons, Mr. baSlt burt'in W nile yet a
| youth the subject OF tins notice left his noun
I tam home, and after traversing II great portion
! of the then far west. arrived in IeXas in the
! Spring of 1925. With the noted Texan spy, Reat
Smith. Durbin and several other young men
attached themselves to Major James Kerr, sur
/ veyor of De Wits col';ny, who was then about
to lay off the future capital of the colony, to be
: called Gonzales. The site upon which tla town
Z now stands, on the Gauduloupe river, was Sc
lected the spot for the future capital. Mai.
Kerr and the young men who accompanied him
located at Gonzales in the fall of 1925, and ere
soon followed by few OF her settlers. In July,
( 1926. while Maj. Kerr and II portion of the citi-
were absent, the place was assaulted by
Indians. The cOiOniSts attempted 70 escape,
( hut were pursued by the redskins, who killed
one Of the retreHting party and shot nurbIn in
the shoulder. After this Maj. Kerr located on
( Layacca river, and with him Durbin continued
To rpsfie for many Years, during all of which