The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1877-09-06
Death on the Rail.

Death on the Rail.
Dies MONIES, iowa, August 29.-Details
a railroad accident on the Chicago, Rock
Island and Pacific Railrord, at the east
branch of the Fourmile Creek, seven miles
from this city, are beginning to arrive. The
of killed is estimated all the way
ten to fifty. All the train but the
car wentdown into the stream. The
engine is completely out of sight.
Barnum's show car went down among the
rest, and it is said all of the eleven Occu-
pants but one are killed. Full particulars
are impossible, as the accident occurred
several miles from a telegraph Office. A
partial list gives a large number injured
more or less seriously, and eighteen dead |
bodies have been recovered.
The accident was caused by the washing
out of a bridge, and occurred at about four
o'clock this morning.
LIST OF KILLED.
The full list of the dead is as follows:
Mrs. Emily Babcock, Andalusia, Illinois.
John K. Bolt and daughter, Boonesboro,
Iowa.
Mrs. VIM. Crow, of DesMoines.
Mrs. D.noway, of DesMoines.
VIM. Rakestraw, engineer of the train,
Stuart, Iowa.
NJ. Cohen, commercial traveller, Peoria,
Illinois.
Jabez E. Prince and D. A. Bronson, of
Cincinnati, Ohio.
VIM. Canning, newsboy, DesMoines.
The following were in Barnum's car:
Green Berry, George Rockwell, John Pur-
cell, John Bruce, Charles Thompson, A.
Mack.
Two more bodies are known to be in the
wreck-one of Barnum's men, and a little
girl, daughter of Mrs. Crow, one of the wo-
men killed.
tits thought by many that there are still
other bodies in the bottom of the wreck, or
have foated down the stream. The best
posted foot up the total death. roll at twenty.
THE FATAL BRIDGE.
The bridge was over what is known as
Little Four-mile Creek, nine miles east Of
DesMoines. 1t is a little stream, generally
quiet, and never before known to be as high
as it was made by the unprecedented rainfall
of yesterday morning and the night before.
The bridge rested on a stone arch twelve
feet in the clear, supported by walls five feet
thick. The bridge is approached from the
east around a curve and down a grade. 1t is
thought that the rails were left standing
alone, and, as the train approached, the en-
gineer, who had slackened his speed till he
came in sight of the bridge, supposing thai
all was right, dashed upon it. The. channel
of the stream was forty or fifty feet wide
and the banks about twenty feet high. The
locomotive landed at the foot of the west
ern side, and half buried itself in the earth
Barnum's car was next the engine. i
dropped into the channel. The baggage anC
mail car followed and passed directly over it
MASKING it to pieces but going to the bot
tom, a bar of iron running clear through it
The men in that car escaped alive. Ever
l tho 1ornnc Nuora mt ruf ont Tho Erot roo
senger car pitched head down into tn,
channel, where the water was at least ffteeI
feet deep. The next car was plunged unde
this, telescOping with it, and the next tele
scoped half through both of the two preced
ing it.
The sleeping car did not go into tn
wreck. Its occupants were Jared, but non
of them seriously hurt. Most of the kille,
were in the car in front of the sleeper
The scene at the time of the accident i
described as terrific. Rain was falling il
torrents, accompanied by wind, lightnin
and violent thunder. The crash put out tn
lights, and the scene of terror ensuing ma
well be imagined.
The men who were. not injured, and coul
get out, went to work at Once to rescue tn
living and wounded. They had to go a mil
to a farmhouse to get axes to chop thel
out, but they worked heroically, and by da,
light had most of the wounded rescued
There were many pitiful scenes and tende
incidents. One mother was killed sittin
between two children, who escaped unhur
One little girl, who had been in tt
water for four hour with a heavy man lyin
dead beneath her body, was discovered to |
breathing, and was rescued and restore,
and now shows no signs of injury.
t The dead were brought here on the trail
49, I@-@ 1- 11 -
, twenty-five of the wounded came with ther
The officers of the road were at the wrec
all day caring for the dead and wounded.
+ ACCIDENT ON THE HUDSON RIVE ROAD
HUDSON, N. Y, August ga .freigl
train on the Hudson River Railroad "a
into a passenger train at the depot, la
4 night, killing the fireman, injuring the e
4 gineer, and wrecking the engine and Sc
eral cars.
DEsMoINEs, Iowa, August 30.-Al IL
t wounded by the railroad accident on Il
Rock Island road yesterday who we
:. brought here are doing well, and the ply
u clans are confident none of them will di
i washed, dressed, and put in neat coffi1
Several were forwarded this afternoon
! their friends. The work of clearing Il
:, wreck, where it was driven deep into Il
u mud and soft earth, is going on to-day. Fl
bodies are known to be in it, and it is fear,
there may be three or four others, as tn
$ number of passengers are still missing. T
body supposed last night to be that Of Jaf
A. Price, Of Cincinnati, was to-day identifi
as A. V. Flowers, of Wisconsin. One of t
1t dead given as of the name of Bronson,
Cincinnati, is Branson. General Superi
tendent Kimball is still here assisting Sup,
intendent Ryce in caring for the wound
q and the dead.