The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-10-23
Awful Scenes at Railroad Wreck.

Awful Scenes at Railroad Wreck.
The conductor of the Wagner sleeping
cars attached to the express train, which
collided with freight train, al jackson,
Mich, gives the following account OF the
terrible disaster by which fifteen persons
were crushed to death in a twinkling:
NV train was made up of three Wag-
ner sleepers, the St. Nicholas, Fort Wayne
and Dexter, with forty passengers. We
did not get away from Detroit until
about 10 80 o'clock, being fifty minutes
behind time. We ran like the deuce
all of forty-five miles an hour-to make
up, until pulling into j Jackson yard, when
we Stacked up to twenty-five miles, l
is shackled at Detroit for Grand Rapids,
kind of browsing, when / felt slight
shock as though the engine had revers-
ed. Many a time / have felt a hard'r
jar from common causes, but l noticed
the train came to stand very quickly,
and stepped out to see what was the
trouble. There was a brakeman hurry
ing past with light, and he said in an
swer to my halloo of "what is the mat
terp" that the train was smashed up. |
Jumped off and ran ahead and saw the
terrible sight. Engines lay side by side.
up against the banks, the boilers together
as you would lay your fingers. Both
cabs were off, and l noticed that one
steam-box was stripped, the steam es-
Gaping from the vent with shrill roar.
Baggage and smoking cars were showed
together little, but not much, while the
two next cars were completely telescop-
ed. I never saw anything like it, they
being iammed through each other. It
was horrible beyond any words of de-
scription or Imagination. The first car
was well filled with emigrants, and their
groans, cries and shrieks made me sick.
did not stay long, as had my own cars
to look after and could give no assistance
there. 1t was right in the village, occu-
pied by road employees, and more than
thousand people seemed to be helping.
The engineer of our train was MAT "
Gilbert, and the fireman Smith. l did
not know the latter's first name. Both
men were killed outrisht. Gilbert had
both legs cut off and bowels torn out. l
C mt bear to think of it as saw him
lying with his hot life's blood shining
in the glare of the many flaring lamps.
Smith was cut and torn beyond recogni-
ton. I went back and found many of
my passengers rot even awakened, and
hastily aroused. threw out bedding,
towels and mattresses as fast as could be
done with the help of the porters. From
the little looking around saw there was
a siding right there, with freight train
on it. Our wrecked cars lay upon them,
and after awhile the freights were cleared
and our cars shifted.
Mr.. William B. Clapp, who, with his
wife, occupied a middle berth in the fri t
sleeper, was first apprised of the disas-
ter by beiI violently thrown from his
couch upon the floor. Mr.. Clapp said
1 gathered myself into standing posture
us soon as possible, but was unable for
| five minutes or so to make an exit from
the car, owing to the confusion. Upon
reaching the platform the scene revealed
was a sickening one. The lady inmates
of the sleepers. who had scrambled from
their couches, and had the horrible spec
tacle and its enormity suddenly revealed
to their vision. alternated their sobs with
prayers to be removed from the CHASTITY
sight. The first of the victims to whom
my attention was directed was f1axen-
haired little girl of perhaps five years.
! The right side of her face had been cut
away as if severed by some sharp instru-
mcnt, while the child's limbs were
tightly wedged in the debris. A short
distance away was q mass of six human
beings, jammed and disfigured almost
beyond recognition, with arms and limbs
in their nakedness protruding in the last
quivers of death. Still II little further
along were the bodies of the fireman
and engineer of the express train, under
a mountain of splintered wood and warp
ed iron. For the sake of a mother,
save the chiid!" came the husky voice
of young woman as she drew the atten-
tion of group of lockers on to little
boy wedged in among the wreck a few
yards off, who cried piteously to be liber.
ated, while its mangled head and shoul-
ders swayed in its struggle for life. Ol
course, such scenes rs these untitled the
stoutest heart for the work needed. As
morning wore on, however, the passen-
gers, the railroad hands and those at.
tracted to the scene, entered upon the
work of eXtricating the unfortunate
ones. The ordeal was one hope never
to pass through again.