Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-09-06
THE LAST RAILWAY HORROR.
Further Accounts Of the Terrible Acei.
dent on the Rock Island Road.

Further Accounts Of the Terrible Acei-
dent on the Rock Island Road.
/ The Chicago Tifboae's specials OF
August 31st give the following addition
al particulars of the sad accident near
Des Moines, Iowa, on the 2Sth ult.: All
the wreck has been moved. The wat
er has all passed away, and no bodies
have been discovered to-day. The list
of killed is seventeen, and wounded
/ thirty-fiye. George Love, son of Judge
Love, d. L. Calendar, of this CITY, and
Mrs. William Crow, reported missing
last night and supposed to be killed,
were heard from to-day, each having
missed connection with the ill-fated train.
The dead have been packed and care
fully prepared in caskets for removal to
friends as fast as they can be ascer-
tanned. Tonight the bodies of George
Rockwell and John Brajee were sent to
Rochester n. Y; Charles Thompson,
to Middleton, Conn; f. B. Becker, to
Providence, R. l.; and G. Berry to
Schenectady, n. u The wounded are
faithfully cared for, and are rapidly re-
covering. Every train carries away
some, and all, with two or three excep-
tlOns, will leave III two or three days.
l.. B. Spencer, of Lathrop, Ia, and W.
7. Caldwell are seriously, and it is
feared, fatally injured. Conductor Jack
Partridge, reported fatally hurt, is doing
well, and will soon recover. Railroad
officials and citizens are active in doing
all possible to aid the victims of the
disaster. The train was shattered to
spGnters and the wonder is that, out of
such a wreck, there should have been
so few killed. The contents of Bar
NUNS advertising car were placed in a
store on the street, and are n greater
curiosity than the big show The cor
oner will begin legal investigation to-
morrow morning. R. r.. Cherric, of
the firm of A. B. Mceker & Co., Chi
cagO, and niece, arrived at Omaha to-
day from the scene of the disaster on
the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad
east of Des MOincs. Mr.. Cherrie saws:
The accident occurred about half past
O'Clock Ill the morning. 1t was rain
ing fearfully at the timc-pouring
down. was III the sleeper partially
awake, and felt two or three slight Jars.
| raised the window and looked cut.
pit iAtttlu IiIt lltSll vi NdltI DCION. i
knew that something had happened,
though [ could see nothing. 1t was
very dark. [ got up and put on my
pants, and the first thing / saw WAS peo-
pie rushing out of the rear end of the
car next to us, and it was not long be-
fore I knew the character of the terri
bic accident. OF course, everything
was confusion, and it was some little
time before those who were unhurt
could get to work and relieve the 9th
ers. 1t seems stone culvert had re-
Gently been built, and on each side of it
was trestle-wOrk that was being filled
up with earth. The fireman, who es-
capped, says everything looked right
when they ran on to the bridge, but the
next thing he knew was that he was "
ing along side the engine in the mud
below. Engineer Rakestrard called to
him, but that was the last the fireman
heard of him, and he probably died al
most instantly afterwards. There were
thirteen persons in Barnum's advertis-
ing car. The car was completely ami
hilated. Seven of the occupants were
killed, three badly wounded, and they
will probably die, and three were slight |
ly wounded. Itwas Il miracle that any
body at all got out Of this car One of
the wounded men was carried down
stream and landed OH Il small island,
from which he was afterwards taken off.
The baggage car shot across and over
the engine, and landed on the bank be !
yond, with rail through it lengthwise. |
and one through it sideways. 1t sits |
Aot no tro,l-G, riDr,t IL
without the trucks, which disappeared
in this wonderful leap. The employees
i'll this car were not hurt, strange to say, |
and even some blooded pigs that were
being shipped by express we're unharm-
ed. The baggage was not damaged at
all. The smoking car then came along,
plumging downward, the rear end rails
up and allowing the next passenger
coach to go under it, and then the next
car went under this last coach, and the |
rear ends of the two last coaches resting
on the bank There were three cars
thus wedged in; one on top of the other. |
A lady crawled up through a hole and !
got on top of the smoking-car with a
child in her arms, and got down on the
roof of the next car, where she left the I
tDl1c ltltll uDNIl lillO /
the smoking car and brought up anoth-
er child in the same way, and next
helped out an old lady from the same
place. / helped her down from the car
myself. Out of that hole which she
had left, we took out five or six others,
among whom was the conductor, who
was badly wounded, while several per-
sons got out themselves without aid. /
All that we helped out were severely
We then went into the car
and made thorough examination, but
found nobody but dead persons. of
whom there were four or five. BY this
time 1t began to grow little light, so
We could see better to work Up to this
time we had feared that the cars were
going to tip over, but we now saw that
they would remain upright We got
under the rear of the top car, as well as
under the other two cars, and released
fOur more that were fastened in. We
used rope to pull them out. A corps Of
physicians and train wreckers now ar
rived from Des Moines, and they all
went to work with a will The physi-
clans especially deserve the greatest
credit for their untiring efforts to re-
ieve the suffering They did noble
work. The ladies in the sleeper also
rendered efficient services in assisting
he wounded. A girl who was pinned
ast in the wreck was finally released
rom her dreadful situation. About
o'clock we counted ten persons in that
pit. We had to cut out the side of the
middle car in order to rescue several
persons Thore 1vas moro IoSs of Iifo /.
n this car than in any of the others ex-