Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1877-09-07
A Railroad Horror.

HEr .- DEs MONIES, Iowa Ang. %.
AT four o'clock this morning, during a
terrific storm, passenger train on the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad
was precipitated into Little Four Mile
Creek, nine miles east of this city, twen-
ty persons being killed and some thirty
wounded The accident was caused by
the washing away of bridge.
Little Four Mile Creek is alittle stream,
generally quiet, and never before known
to be as high as it was made by
the unprecedented rains of yesterday
morning and the night before. The
bridge rested on a stone arch twelve
feet in the clear by walls five feet
thick. The bridge is approached from
the east, round curve and down grade.
1t is thought the rails were left standing
alone as the train approached, and the
engineer, who slackened his speed till he
came in sight of the bridge, 'supposing
that 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 loco
motive landed at the foot of the west
ern side and half buried itself in the
earth. Barnum's show-car was next to
the engine. 1t dropped into hechannel.
The baggage and mail car followed,
passed directly over, MASKING it to pieces,
but going to the bottom, bar of iron run
ming clear through it. The men in that
car escaped alive; even the lamps were
not put out at first. A passenger
pitched head down into the channel
where the water was at least fifteen feet
deep. The next car was plunged upon
this, telescoping with it, and the next
telescoped one-half through both of the
two preceding it. The sleeping car did
not 90 into the wreck. The occupants
were Jared, but none of them seriously
hurt. The most killed were in the car in
front of the sleeper. E-.sAtts
Tie scene at the time of the accident
is described as terrific. Rain was fall
ing in torrents, accompanied by wind,
lightning and violent thunder A crash
put out the lights and a scene of terror
ensued. The men who were not injured
and could get out went to work at once
to rescue the dying and wounded. They
had to go mile to a farmhouse and
get axes to chop them out, but they
worked heroically and by daylight had
most of the wounded rescued.
There were many pitiful scenes and
tender incidents. One mother was killed
sitting between her children, who es-
capped unhurt. One little girl who had
been in the water for four hours, with a
heavy man lying dead beneath her body,
was discovered to be breathing and was
rescued and restored, and now shows no
signs of injury. The dead were brought
here. Some twenty five of the wounded
came with them. The officers of the
road were at the wreck all day caring for
the dead and wounded.
A full list of the dead is as follows;
Mrs. Emily Babcock, Andalusia, Ill. !;
John K Bolt and daughter, Boonesboro,
Ill. !; Mrs. William Crow, of Des Moines;
Mrs. Donoway, of Des Moines; Stewart,
of Iowa. William Rakestraw, engineer
of the train; NJ. Cohen, commercial trav-
eler, Peoria; A. ". Flowers, of Wisconsin,
d. A. Bronson, Cincinnati, Ohio; William
Canning, newsboy, Des Moines; and the
| following in Barnums car: Green Berry,
George Rockwell, John Purcell, John
Bruce, Charles Thompson, and A. Mack,
Two more bodies are known to be in the
wreck, one of Barnum's men and little
girl, daughter of Mrs. Crow, one of the
women killed. 1t is thought by many
that there are still other bodies in the
bottom of the wreck, hut those posted
foot up the total death roll at twenty
...-.... DEs MONIES, Iowa, Aug. SO
The wounded by the railroad accident
doing we'll, and the physicians are conf
| 4 Al, f.L