Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1878-08-17
A NIGHT OF HORRORS.
Passengers Story of the Terrible Disas-
ter on the Panhandle Railroad.

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A Passengers Story of the Terrible Disas-
ter on the Panhandle Railroad.
Mr.. III. L. Havens, of Springfield,
Mo-, to reporter of the st. Louis Re-
publican: purchased through ticket
to st. Louis from Washington, taking a
berth in a Washington sleeper that
should have come through except for
the accident, although the train was
again made up at Pittsburg. We pass
ed Steubenville, our train being six min
utes behind time and running at the rate
of forty-some say fifty-miles an hour.
We passed Mingo, -four miles from Steu-
benville, and, rushing about one mile
further on, collided with the freight
train, which was attempting to reach
Mingo, rs it would have done in three
to five minutes but for the collision.
The time was half-past one Wednesday
morning. There were two sleeping
cars on the rear of the train, and my
berth was in the forward of the two
sleeping-cars. l was reused by jump
ing, jerking motion of the cars, and my
first impression was that the cars were
of the track. jumped out of bed and
as soon as l reached the door the rock
ing, jumping motion of the train
stopped. There were about twenty
passengers in our car, and perhaps as
many in the rear sleeper, some of whom
were aroused. Forward of our sleeper
was passenger coach, and the latter
with the two sleeper5 remained on the
track undisturbed, and none of the pas
sengers were hurt. The night was dark,
and rs soon as L looked out of the door
| heard
GRoANs AND SCREAMING,
and, hurrying out, the aspect of the ter
rible wreck was an indescribable scene
of horror. The side of the embankment
on the right hand, which was quite
steep and about thirty feet high, was
covered with the dead, intermingled
with the wounded-some with broken
legs, heads crushed, eyes protruding,
and pushed out of the sockets of some,
most of whom were screaming out for
assistance. Men, women and children
were among the sufferers. 1t was, as
said, nearly total darkness, and after a
while we got wretched light from only
one lantern. Fortunately, five Germans
who were engaged in threshing wheat
during the day, about a mile or so away,
heard the shock of the collision and all
the five men came to the rescue, bring
ing with them each a lantern. They af-
forded all the assistance possible, and,
with the help of the few passengers in
the rear cars, whose feelings of human
ity overcame reluctancy to give up
their berths, the work of rendering sue
cor was entered upon, as far as the great
disadvantages of the situation would al.
low. Strewn on the sides of the en-
bankment were some forty people, lying
in all shapes, many of them mangled so
that they could not move or disentangle
themselves from the debris. Appeals
for help rent the air. Near the foot of
the embankment there was a running
creek, and the margin was wet and
marshy, so that no level spot was con-
venient upon which to place the wound
ed in comfortable position, and they
were
sTRAIGHTENED OUT
the best that the case would allow. Gu
riously, about 40 or so cushioned seats,
which were elected from the train with
the occupants, were utilized, and form
ed impromptu cots, pillows or props, as
the case allowed, for the wounded, the
principal effort at first being to straight
en- them out with their heads up and
feet extended down the declivity. The
wrecked cars, consisting of the express
car, two postal and baggage cars and
two passenger cars remained on the
track ground to pieces like kindling-
wood.
The roof of car occupied by emi-
grants, was torn loose from the body of
the cars and turned upside-down, was
seen hanging ever the embankment
with one end fastened to the wreck, and
on the top of this roof two people were.
How they came there after the roof flop
ped over was a mystery. One of the
mail boys was seen suspended from the
wreck with his head downwards, one
leg torn off and quite dead. The bag
gageman was thrown up into the air
and lodged on the telegraph wires, from
which position he dropped down and
was not badly hurt.
LITTLE BOY,
boot cleaner, was killed outright; his
nose was cut off and his face mangled.
The freight-train engine which collided
with our train was smashed to pieces,
and three or four carloads of wheat
rolled down the embankment, sowing
the wheat about foot thick. The boil
er of the freight engine was literally
crushed to pieces, and lay about % feet
from the track, and the machinery was
crushed into old iron. One thing
strange / remarked: the bottom of an
iron stove that must have belonged to a
passenger car was hurled so feet from
the railroad track, and was lying over
by the creek. 1t was, doubtless, elected
by the same force that threw out the
passengers and cushioned seats clear of
the wreck down the embankment. 1t
was most terrible to see those poor peO-
pie, with legs crushed and broken, feet
crushed to pieces, on the side of that
hill. They lay there three hours before
assistance arrived. happened to find
quart bottle of whisky which had
dropped out of somebody's pocket, and
1 peed the liquor freely among the
wounded. 1t was first-rate whisky.
saw no one whom / recognized from St.
Louis on the train. L saw a man from
Washington City with one of his legs
broken. l asked him if he wanted a
drink. He said if you have got water
give it to the man beside me, who has
his leg broken and is suffering and needs
it
WORSE THAN 1 DO.
Most of those injured could talk so as to
be understood. Some who were injured
about the head were mostly uncon-
scious. The mail agent, Dugan, talk
ed intelligibly up to the time he died,
after we returned to Steubenville. He
was given no encouragement. He was
a frightful-looking sight. His face was
twisted out of shape, and his eyes were
pushed out from their sockets. One
woman also had an eye pushed out on
her cheek. Some of the passengers, as
l have stated, with the five Germans OF
the neighborhood, worked till morning
attending to the wounded. We straight
ened them out, got blankets from the
cars and wrapped them up, and did all
that could be done under the circum'
stances. The five Germans could con-
verse with some of the wounded in theil