The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1878-05-30
down TO DEATH.
A Locomotive and Fifteen Cars
Plunge through . Bridge
into an Abyss of
Quicksand.
Burying Themselves Completely out
Of Sight and Beyond
Recovery.
The Engineer, Fireman, and Anoth-
er Employee Hurled Down
to Death.
A TERRIBLE AcCIDESI

TERRIBLE AcCIDESI.
A terrible and ut the same time strange
tue Kansas Pacific road about forty II We m lies
this side of Denver, on last Tuesday night,
which resulted IN the Iyss Of three lives the
locomotive and fifteen loaded freight cars of
the train. 1t was
AN UNUSUALLY DARK NIGHT,
and thunder storm of mammoth propor-
tons and unwonted severity WAS prevailing
at the time, rendering il Impossible TO see
any distance whstever. the rays of the loco
motive headlight affording little or no OppOr-
tunity To AVOID approaching danger. The
place where the accident occurred was a
bridge crossing small creek, when IL prac.
ticaily dry during the main portion OF the
time, but
THE TORRENTS OF RAIN
which had fallen filled its bed with mighty
rush OF water, whose resistless force under.
mined the underpinning Of the bridge and
carried away the supports. the result Of WHICH
was that, when the ponderous engine. drag
ging It's Immense anu heavy load OF weighty
freight cars struck II, 1t fell carry ing with it
IN tIir deb is three human beings aud the To-
comotiNe and fifteen cars. That
SUCH AN ACCIDENT
should occur is nothing i'm possible, a. hun.
dreis OF the sa.Ine chai acter happen every
year. resulting III the loss of scores OF human
lives ami the destruction of iliousa nds OF dol.
lar. worth OF property. But the strangest
part OF this accident was that after the loco
n!''iive and Gus made the fatal n. unge all
trace OF them WAS lost
Nut Il vfSriGE
rem dining, they having disappeared entirely
from sight. Tue % Il vi the little stream con
slsiS entirely of quicks md, and as soon as
the heavy mass reached the bottom, the
treacneious sand At once swallowed IL up,
and heising as inoIgh gifted With life, suck.
"a me cars and locomotive down. By some
strange freak OF fate the Z. maininS portion of
the train Kept the Track, or the loss of prom
erty and HE would have been much greater.
THREE MEN WENT DOWN
with the locomotive. one being the engineer,
John Il ICON, fhr other the hreInen, Frank
S-ideu, and the tniri "A man named John
Piatt, who VIA, .iJinx ola the locomotive AT
the time. THE great momentum OF the
train ht the lime OF tue accident sent the en-
CINE and cars INTO the ditch Of death with ir-
resistibie force, the wreck being piled up In
an Neutrality-suspicious. m:hss.
NO oUTCRY
was heard, the yielding and envelOping
sand eff sctutlly snIo; herd ali noises, while
the ioud fury OF the elements prevented the
hearing OF any had IL been made. Az soon as
those In the cabDoSe could recover from the
shock, an effort was 1T once made Ia rescue
those lated ones who had gone down into the
valley Of
THE SHADOW OF DEATH,
hut all efforts proved un,vailing, as nothing
but the drcary sure of the angry waters
could b.. neaid, While nothing whatever
could BE- SEN. tnioruuItion was at once sent
To the nearest Si.iti'n, and a wrecking train
sent fOf, but al >u'h a time and during such a
storm noIh hing couit: be done. After the vio-
lence OF the angry elem.hLs had somewhat
subsidized, a force OF workmsn was put to
work, vino at once comm need
THE BUILDING
uf the bridge, In order To ficiliia the passage
al trains. Since the accident all bst....iig. and
passengers have been transferred, which has
delayed the running Of trains somewhat,
time being lost in making the transfer.
The Lawrence express, last night, due shortly
after five O'Clock, did not arrive until about
eight O'Clock, having waited at North Law
renee for
THE REGULAR EXPHES3
from the West, on the main line. The build
ing Of "a new bridge, To replace the Old one, Is
proceeding raIliIy, and IL n few days.wiil be
/, ON pIrtt,i when trains will again begin run
ming by the regular schedule time. The loss
TO the company will be several thousand dol
lar, as the property Is u total loss. The three
men who were killed weie all res!dets Of Den
Yer, and leave families.