Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-01-05
HORRIBLE HaiLHOiD ACCIDENT.
One Hundred Persons Killed

arc hHOWu 70 DC 10 persDLS IN the Wreck at
Ashtabula now We cannot learn yet if
any are alive The Cleveland special relief
train has arrived and the surgeons Lave
gone to work.
LATER-2:30 .. m.--Ihe very latest gives
60 as the number of wounded and 100 killed.
FURTHER PARTICULARS.
New YORK, Dec. 30.-A special from
Ashtabula says the storm yesterday there
was so severe that very few business places
kept open after five o'clock. and trains from
all directions were late. About s p. IN. the
village was aroused by the report that the
passenger train No. 5 had gone through the
high bridge over the AShtabula river. The
tram was due at Ashtabu at q guar er-
past hre and was three hours late. 1t was
drawn by two engines. the Socrates ahead,
followed by the Columbia.
AN ENGINEERS ACc.UNr.
Daniel McGuire, engineer of the Socrates,
says that the train was moving slowly
and just as they had iairly crossed the
bridge, not more than forty rods distant
from the depot, they felt violent jar and IN
an instant the coupling between the
Socrates and Columia, broke and the whole
train was precipitated. with the bridge.
into the river. IS feet below Mr. Mcclure
says his engine was pulled back nearly to
the edge Of the broken span before the
coupling severed and il rcgained its Toward
motion barely in time to save ITSELF
THE BR1DGE
was an iron truss bridge and had been in
use about II years. 1t Is supposed that the
heavy draught must have thrown the cars
from the track, causing the COLI irons to
snap.
SCENES AND INCIDENTS.
The horrible scene below teggars all de-
seription- The span is about IC0 feet wide
and through the space between flows the
river, about four or five feet deep, at this
time thickly covered with ice. Into this
space the eleven cars and one engine and
tender were precipitate1. The fall of sixty
feet of course broke through the ice and shiy-
cred the cars. The seven passenger coaches
altogether contained about les adults and a
number Of children. In the drawing room
car bound for Cleveland were nine persons,
all supposed to have persisted. 10 the two
sleepers bound for Chicago were thirty-fve
passengers. Most of those in the forward
car are saved, with injuries more or less
severe.
TIE CARS ON FIRE.
Within a very few moments after the
crash the flames burss out from nearly
every car. Ere help was at hand the
flames were striving with the icy tor
rent as to which should deyour the
greater number of human lives The
piteous cries for help from all the victims
was enough to distract the stOutest heart.
Many OF the sufferers were extricated and
taken to the top Of the hill, where assist
ance awaited them. The hotels and private
houses were thrown open to receive the
unfortunates. Fully lG0 persons were killed
in this terrible disaster.
FURTHER PARTICULARS.
CLEVELAND, Ohio, Dec 3O.-It is esti-
mated that there were LIS passengers on
the train. At least one-third of these
were killed, burned to death or frozen.
The train was drawn by two engines, one
of which remained on the bridge. Every
thing else went down. The engineer and
fireman on the engine that went down were
badly but not seriously injured. Up to
noon of Saturday, of the one hundred and
seventy-fve passengers less than sixty are
known to be saved with injuries more or
lers severe. The lest are so totally disfgur-
ed by FIRE that Identification is utterly i'm
possible. 1t is believed that few if any
bodies are under the ice Among the
wounded was Bernard Sawyer. Of White
hall, N. Y.
STILL LATER-VARIoUs DETAILS.
CLEVELAND, Dec. 3l.-Up to six O'Clock
last night thirty-iour bodies had been re-
covered; few will identified. a special to the
Commercial says the killed are not less than
one hundred and may reach 100. Only 81
of the IT'S passengers have been found.
Thirty wounded are distributed among the
city hospitals. All the mails and baggage
were lost, and temporary bridge cannot
be ready before ten days. The dead are
mostly fr ON New York, New England and
Illinois. The cars and most of the bodies
are entirel y consumed. The bodies preserved
were savedby the water.
THE LATEST
AsurABuLA, Ohio, Dec. 3l-During the
entire day over one hundred men have con-
tinued clearing away the debris Of the
wrecked train and bridge in Ashtabula
river. Only two more bodies have been re-
covered and some burned pieces Of flesh.
The belief is that many persons were almost
wholly consumed. and scores OF persons
have arrived in search of information re-
gardlng missing friends, to whom little salts
faction can Do given. kilograms areconstantly
receivedfo news. Boxes IN the freight house
containing bodies were numbered to-day for
Identification. There are thirty-six bodies.
or masses OF charret and blackened aesh.
CLEVELAND, Ohio, Jan. mo bodies
were recovered to-day from the Ashtabula
wreck. Alexander Monroe, of Sommer-
VILE, Mass. IL IN critical condition the
other wounded are doing well. At the in
q uest, James l.. Porter. who was on the
ground early. said u steamer with proper
could have gained control of
the IRE in very few minutes. He heard
the conductor say there were one hundred
and sixty passengers on board the train
The conductor testified Yesterday that there
were but one hundred and thirty on board
Henry White. passenger, estimated the
number OF persons on the train at three
hundred. James Manning. water works
engineer, swOre he had tried the hose
couplings of the fire brigade On the plug
of the water works and it would not fit.
The couplings and plug cap were alter
wards produced and found to fit perfectly
and Manning was compelled TO admit be
bad made great mistake.
AsHrABuLA. Jan. 3.-By finding papers
md scraps of clothing among the debris,
'o-day, the following named persons wers
Known to have been or the wrecked train
Miss Charlotte N. Smith and Miss Martha
Ann Smith. both of Roniout, n. Y; wv.
,mith. Toronto. There was also identified
'mong the bodies at the freight house, Mrs.
Elizabeth Keeper, OF Chippewa. Ont. The
My relics found to-day, besides those men
toned, were some pocket knives. 1t is
'robable that tomorrow will finish the
Tearing away of the wreck and
earch for the missing. The list
ow stands as follows Number OF paSsen-
ers on the train, rs ; employees on the
rain, l9-total, Ia. Rescued passengers.
3; employees, 9-total. -. Died, passen-
ers, ;; employees. total, 1 Names
y lost. 70; u1aceouut-
1 for, 5-total, h.