The star of Pascagoula. [volume] (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1873-1878, 1877-01-12

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were IN that. I was In the next car u
that. The car in which / vas was pretty
full. Behind the parlor car there we're
three sleepers. These were quite full,
We reached the bridge, as well rs | can
make It out, about a quarter to s o'clock.
The train was due there ~ q quarter
past 3 o'clock. / don't think we were
going quite ten miles mn hour. One en-
CINE had got over, but it vas almost
pulled back by the shock. The whole
train was on the bridge when
THE STRUCTURE SUDDENLY WENT DOWN,
and not a vestige remained of her. There
was no such thing as running Oft the
track. The bridge broke with a terrific
smash with the weight of the whole train
upon it. The first sound | heard wa a
cracking in front of the car. heard this
twice, and then heard a similar cracking
sound in the rear, | then became con.
scious of a sudden sinking of the car.
The cars seemed to be sinking down into
the gulf below. There was a general
crash, and | was recalled to conscious
ness by the shock Of landing in the snow
creek eighty feet below. The first thing
| heard was q wOmau's scream. 1t was, !
| think, Miss Bingham. She cried, ooh,
help me. help me !" Some of the pas
sengers had got out of the window, and
| then heard the cry OF fire, As the lady
cried | broke the window. A gentleman
helped me to push this lady, a Miss Bing-
ham, | think, through the window. |
then jumped out after her. She sank in
the snow, | scrambled out of the window
then. | think | was
THE LAST IN THE CAR, q
as most of them had got through the
windows. The car was on fire at both
ends; at one end, | know, and | think
at both. As soon as | got out | found
the snow in the creek was very deep,
nearly up to my waist certainly up to
my knees. | pulled Miss Bingham out
o. the snow and carried her on my back
to the bank. | stumbled three times,
and the third time a gentleman helped
me to get her to the only house, a small
bank. | saw the fire wasgaining rapidly
on the train. 1t burned like oil. At
the time | didn't know there were any
lives lost. We saved all, or nearly all,
the people in our car. There were some
broken arms and some other bruises and
cuts. The wind was blowing very strong
at the time, and there was heavy snow
storm. The wreck covered the whole
space between the two piers, and
H BURNING TRAIN
was the length of the bridge. Some OF
the cars were smashed all to pieces, and
the Others lay wrecked in every conceiv-
able shape. The fire vas very clear and
hot. By the time / got out | was com
pletelv exhausted, and | lay there
cramped for about three quarters of an
hour. They brought about iitty-two
alive into and around the house, and
then they transported them to The town,
a very short distance, say a quarter OF
a mile or 50. They were all badly hurt.
| think two of these died alter they were
taken to the town, and one man died who
had his leg cut off.
The scene | surveyed from the engine
house on the bank was perfectly sicken-
ing. The whole train was a mass of fire,
and the wounded were lying about the
wreck and crawling away from it. The
heat was so intense at that time that one
could not get very near. The sight was
dreadful. Heads were cut open, bodies
were cut, and arms and legs
BROKEN AND MANGLED.
After | and others got to that engine
house no one could return. Within
fifteen minutes after that time the heat
was 81 intense that no one could ap.
proach the-train, and those who were
buried under it lad to crawl away as
best they could. TfeYe great
many in the cars who could not get out
the cars were so jammed together. The
~townspeople did everything that possibly
could be done, but they could not get
neal the burning wreck within half an
hour after the train went down. The
hotel is about a quarter of a mile from
the bridge. The people crowded the
bluffs on either side of the ruined bridge,
but could not get down to the spot. The
depth from the bluffs to the bed of the
river is about seventy or eighty feet.
The wounded were carried to the hotel
and kindly cared for. Three or four
physicians were promptly OF the spot,
and they went from one to the other of
the sufferers, and did all that medical
skill was capable of. The lady who gave
birth to the child in the night was in
iured by having her foot smashed.
THE SCENE WAS AN AWFUL ONE
in its horrible details. One lady was
stripped of all her clothing by being
dragged throu h one of the car windows.
She was badly cut, and was carried up to
the hotel. The survivors were bleeding
from cuts and mangled wounds, and
many of them charred with fire and
blackened with smoke. The trainmen
looked very badly bruised and used up.
/ believe that Mr.. Bliss got through
a window and expected to be able to pull
his wife and children through. This is
only my conjecture. Their car was
blocked up so completely and the family
iammed in so that escape, except through
the windows, was impossible. The cars
were burning at the extremities from the
stoves at each end. / believe
BLISS WAS BURNED TO DEATH
trying TO a his wife and two little
ones. A number of the surviving passen-
gers heard the shrieks of the women and
children but could not get TO them.
They were in a perfect furnace. The
figures of those burned in the ears could
be plainly seen. They we're burned up
50 badly that Identification in many in
stances was impossible. Some of those
whe persisted in the fire were burned to
ashes. Bones and charred limbs were
picked out, and Of some Of the lost there
but CHASTITY trunks. There were