The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1877-01-09
HHLSDALE. MICH. TUESDAY, JANUARY g. 1877

sensation which l never can forget.
We did not fall % quickly as man
would drop from a building, or any
thing Of that kind. We we,e some
time going down, owing TO tie timbers
aud the bridge gradually breaking and
giving way, one part after another.
The first thought was, Il am alive IL
was dark, and I commenced to grope
about for my hat and overcoat. I
heard Mr.. Reed calling TO Mr.. Tilden.
Don't you know mer aud crawling
over to them found Tildeu insensibls
and Reed trying to bring him to con.
sciousness. Tilden soon revived, aud
the two managed to get out Of the
wreck. As I CROPPED about l found
several men under me in the wreck, one
Of whom lay with his head through a
hole in the car. / pulled him up part
ly. bnt he dropped back dead. Idon't
think il was Chittenden, but il may
have been. Another man lay dead just
back of this one. A man in the next
car cried Justify for help. and climb
ed back tn him. tried to get at him
but found he was buried too far down
in the wreck and could not reach him.
The fire starting behiud me got 80 hot
that / got on the next car, which lay
bottom side mp. Two other men, one
Of whom was Walter Hayes. Of Lexing-
ton. KY, cried for help. aud 1 manag-
ed to reach them one after the other.
and, with what / could do with my un.
injured arm, they succeeded in getting
out, and were helped of by others. IL
began to be too warm for me, and i
crawled out OF the debris down upon
the ice and up the bank, the heat being
so intense that the snow, over which /
crawled. was melting. The cars were
AS full of live people as an old hayrick
is of rats, aud the fire went as though
amidst tinder, burning the bodies to
crisp and some To ashes. 1t was a ter.
rible sight. As crswled up the bank
a party of boys got hold Of me and
bravely helped me up till some men
came and took care of me. In the
smoklng-car, in which / was seated,
there were probably fifteen passengers,
Of whom about seven got off safe. /
did not go through the sleeping-car,
aud do not know how many passengers
we're on the train, but went through
the coaches in search of a seat, and
tuty NcIe bO tIOWucu tiht 4 uh0 W kCb
one in the smoking-car.
Mr.. Burnham, before leaving the
hospital at Cleveland last evening, call
ed upon some of those with whom he
was acquainted and learned of the con-
dition of many Others. Not a death
had yet occurred among the wounded,
and all were improving.
Mr.. Hayes, OF lexington, Ky, whose
leg was broken and the other leg badly
bruised, will he able to be moved in a
couple Of weeks, and is improving rap
idly.
Mr.. Patterson. Of Fort Wayne, whose
head was severely injured, lay in stu
por until yesterday morning, when he
frightened up some, and his recovery
is now hoped for.
Mr.. Tilden is getting along nicely.
His body was badly bruised, but he
Mr.. Reed was not SO badly injured
but what he could walk from the depot
home, and will be ns strong and we'll as
ever in few days.
THE BURNED MALL.
Superintendent Thompson, OF the
Railway Mail Service. reports the fol-
lowing mail saved from the wreck at
Ashtabula: Fifty five letters from
Boston for Minnesota; 100 letters from
Boston for Wisconsin; IL packages of
letters from Boston for Illinois State;
/ package from Boston and New York
for Springfield Ill.,; package from
Boston aud New York for Jacksonville,
III. package from Boston and New
York for Quincy, ILL.,; 1875 letters from
New York for Illinois State; s pack
ages foreign aud Of domestic letters
for San Francisco, Cal. All Of the re-
covered mail was damaged moro or less
but nearly all in condition to be read
and forwarded. This is regarded to
the letter mail. The paper mail, OF
which not TO exceed two tie sacks was
recovered, but so burned and water
soaked as TO be Of little value. There
was on the train about n car load OF
mail, all Of which, except what is de-
scribed above, was totally destroyed.