The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-01-11

lency, have addressed letter SINH a
ar to this to His Excellency Govern '
nor Tilden. h
Yours. WADEHAMPTON. Ir
.ASHTABULA BRIDGE. {
Interesting Account OF the Terrible Calamity. t
A correspondent writing from Ash !
tabula, Ohio, gives the following &C {
count of the terrible railroad accident
at that point, some details Of which
appear in our news summary:
The proportions Of the Ashtabula
horror are now approximately known.
Daylight which gave an opportunity
to find and enumerate the saved, re-
veals the fact that two out Of every
three passengers on the fated train
are lost. OF the $50 passengers whom
the manned conductor reports as hav-
ing been on board, but fifty-nine can
be found or accounted for. The re-
naming 100, burned to ashes or shape
less Jumps of charred flesh, lie under
the ruins Of the bridge and train.
The disaster was dramatically COM
plete. No element of horror was want.
ing. First, the crash Of the bridge,
the agonizing moment Of suspense as
the seven laden cars plunged down |
their fearful leap to the icy river-bed
then the fire which came to devour all
that had been left alive by the crash !;
then the water, which gurgled up
from under the broken ice and offered
another form Of death and, finally,
the biting blast filled with snow, which
froze and benumbed those who had es-
capped water and fire. 1t was an ideal
of tragedy.
The scene of the accident was the
valley Of the creek which. flowing past
the eastern margin of Ashtabula vii
lagos passes under the railway three
or four hundred yards east of the sta
ton.
Here. for many years after the Lake
Shore road was built, there was long
wooden trestle-work, but as the road
was improved this was superseded
about ten years ago with an iron Howe
truss built at the Cleveland shops, and
resting at either end upon high stone
piers, flanked by heavy earthen en-
bankments. The iron structure was
a single span Of 159 feet, crossed by a
double track seventy feet above the
water. which is now at that point from
3 to 6 feet deep, and covered with
eight inches Of ice. The descent into
the valley on either side is precipitous,
and as the slopes and hills are piled
with heavy drifts of snow, there was
no little difficulty in reaching the
wreck after the disaster had become
} known.
The bridge has been regarded as one
,, Of the very best Of its kind in the
country. 1t has been tested with six
locomotives, and trains frequently
) crossed on both tracks simultaneously
, without causing more than slight de-
lection Of the structure. 1t was in.
; tended to be as strong as iron and ma
: sonry could make it, and required al
r most actual sight Of the wreck to con.
vince the Chief Engineer Of the road
that the bridge had fallen under the
weight of single train. The disaster
q occurred shortly before o'clock. II
was the widest winter night Of the
!. year. Three hours behind it's time
the Pacific express, which had LEFT
: New York the night before. struggled
2 along through the drifts and the blind
ing storm.
J, the eleven cars were heavy burden
e to the two engines, and when tn
J. leading locomotive broke through tn
IF drifts beyond the ravine, and ROLES
It on across the bridge, the train wa
u moving at less than ten miles an hour
a The head lamp threw but short an
le dim flash Of light in the front, 8
I thick was the air with the drivin
O. snow. The train crept across til
le bridge, the leading engine had reache
O. solid ground beyond, and it's drive
q. had given it steam, when somethin
le in the nndergearing Of the bride
il snapped. For an instant there was
d. confused cracking of beams an
n Orders, ending with a tremendOl
O. cash, as the whole train but the lea
h. ing engine broke through the fran
in work, and fell in q heap Of crushe
be and splintered ruins at the bottom
he Notwithstanding the wind and stor
e, the crash was heard by the pop
Of within-dooTs half mile away. For
We moment there was silence, stunnt
ri sensation among the survivors, wi
to in all stages Of mutilation lay pill
Of among the dying and dead. Then arc
the cries Of mind land suffering; Il
a few who remained unhurt hasten'
it to escape from the shattered cal
to They crawled out Of windows in
til freezing water waistdeep. Ne
he women. and children, with linn
Of bruised and b-oken, pinched betwe
ch timbers and transfxed by jagg
est Splintefs. begged with their last brea
mt for aid that no human power cor
ate give.
Of Five minutes after the train fell I