The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1877-01-13

10y the car. He asked us to help him,
and we did SO the best we could, until
others came and carried him away,
suffering intensely. I do not know who
he was. All this time the
Ashtabula fre-bells and the bell of
the engine that had passed over were
ringing furiously. The binding snow
fell around us Illuminated by the light
of the fire which bad attacked the
wreck. The banks looked as high as
those near Niagara, at first. The bridge
had broken off short at each end,
leaving nothing but the abutments. By
this time there were plenty of men
around to help us, but there was q
perfect panic, very few having any
presence of mind at ALL Many who
could have saved themselves as well as
not, had to be dragged out of the cars,
or they would have been burned to
death. The women really showed the
most courage, and yet there were few
of them saved. We were helped up
the hill to the engine-house, pushing
through the snow and ice, and clam
bering up the steep, rugged banks of
the creek. The injured were brought
in, some of them horribly mangled,
but very few unable to speak. There
were three ladies there-a Mrs. Ora
ham, of New York, Mrs. Bingham, of
Chicago, another lady, and myself.
Ny escape was most remarkable, my
only injury being no more than a
scratch upon my wrist. Mrs. Graham
was only slightly injured. Mrs. Bing-
ham had her left leg and spine hurt,
and the other lady, whose name | don't
know, was also terribly injured.
Before we had got up the hill the
whole train was on fire; we heard the
shrieks of the wounded and dying, and
the whole scene was as bright as day.
Men were working as hard as they
could to help the sufferers out of their
fiery prison. A physician came in
about half an hour, and we took buses
and went to the village. We were
drenched through and through, and our
clothes froze to us. [ was taken to the
Fisk House. Three men were brought
in badly wounded, -one of them
Frenchman from ST. Louis, most hor-
ribly. Nobody around there could
speak French, and we could not learn
his name. He moaned most piteously
all the while.
Our car, the Palatine, was better pre-
served after the fall than any Of the
rest. The others were mass of spIin-
tiers, iron, pieces Of glass, etc., and frag-
ments and sections of the bridge were
all mixed in with the cars. There was
no assistance whatever from the Fire
Departm ent, but / was told that there
were tanks of water there at the engine
house, and we wondered why they were
not used. only saw one of the COM
pany's officers there, but he was doing
everything he could to assist the
wounded.
Our car was the the third from the
last, and, from the easy way it fell, /
fudge it was faily on the bridge and
fell with it. The last car fell down end
wise, the rear end resting on the abut-
ment. | think the second car was the
one | climbed over, and | think every
body in must have persisted.
/ left Ashtabula Saturday after
noon abont 2 o'clock and arrived here
this AFTERNOON. lost all my portable
baggage, but my trunks probably left
Albany by an earlier train, and l hope
to find than awaiting me at Milwaukee.
Everybody in our Car escaped, although
more or less injured, almost every one
getting out through the windows. AS
said before, | concluded to try the
door, and succeeded In making my
escape by it.
SCENES AMONG THE WOUNDED.
The scenes among the wounden were
as suggestive almost az the wreck and
the valley. The two hotels nearest the
station contained majority of these,
and they were scattered about on tenn
porary beds on the floors of the dining
rooms, parlors and offices. In one
place man with broken leg would
be under the hands of the surgeon.
who rapidly and skillfully went at his
work. In another, man covered with
bruises and spotted over with pieces of
plaster, would look as though he had
been showed upon, except where the
dark line OF blood across his face or
limbs told different story. In another
corner poor woman moaned
from pain she could not conceal, while
over it all there brooded that hushed
feeling of awe which always accom-
panies calamities of this character.
Toward morning the cold increased
and the wind blew fearful gale, which,
with the snow-which had drifted fast
and deep at points along the line-made
all work extremely difficult. At 6
o'clock, the beds in the sleeping
car of the special train were made up
and such of the wounded as could be
moved were transferred therefron.
A visit to the wreck revealed the
MoULDERING REMAINS
OF at least dozen bodies, only one of
which has any semblance whatever of
a human body. By the side of another
heap of embers was found a pair of
scissors; also tuft of grayish hair.
No other means of Identification could
be found, although the hunt
may be more successful when the re-
moval of the upper rubbish begins.
The iron of the bridge is twisted in
endless confusion with that of the cars
while the locomotive is q wreck in
every part. BY this time nearly all
the wood work Is burned away.
Witnesses so far agree as to the main
facts of the accident. It was about 8