Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-04-10
RIDING TO THEIR DEATH.
AN ENGINEER Asn FIREMAN, BURIED US.
DER THEIR MACHINE, BECGISG 10 Ia
RnOT.

AN ENGINEER Akb FIREMAN, BURIED w
DER THEIR MACHINE, BEGGlSG 10 Ia
snOT.
Prom dispatch 10 the PllladcIplla Times.
WILKEsBAERE, March 3l.--An ac-
cident occurred this morning on the
Lehigh Valley railroad, about one
mile north Of this city, which was at
tended with peculiarly horrible fatal
circumstances. The Buffalo aud
Western express train from Philadcl-
phia and New York, due at. this city
at l:l5 am, left on time. The en-
gineer and fireman had been changed.
The engine was one Of the best upon
the road, and the engineer, Nicholas
Shilingcr, one OF the Oldest employees
Of the company, had taken his seat AT
the lever Henry Stevenson, for the
past hali-do2en years upon the pay
roll Of the company, was in the fire
mans seat.
The signal was given and the long
train loaded with human freight start
cd of at thirty-mile run The bed
Of the road between Wilke-barre aud
Piltston is ordinarily Of the very best
and the curves are regular and long.
The nine miles between stations are
frequently made in twelve minutes.
This morning, however, there was no
! special necessity Of crowdiHg the
! schedule time aud the train wa.
/ bounding along through the suburbs
OF the city at the usual even speed
when it entered Il cut at the northern
| boundary OF the city. 1t has never
! been considered particularly danger
Gus place and no watchman has ever
been stationed there. The train bad
proceeded but Il few hundred yards
into the cut when, ~ the fireman -aid,
the engine began to 20 up aud
! down. and in an instant later it had
plunged hcailong into the right bank
Of the cut. The engine tender doubled
over upon top of the engine house,
and buried ia the ruins were the on-
ginecr, Nicholas ~hillingcr, and Henry
I Stevenson, the fireman. The pipe,
/ filed with -calding water aud steam,
were broken aud their content, turn
cd upon the poor unfortunate lying
under the engine. The baggage car
+ Of the train alone left the track. but
+ ihc suddeuIcrs Of the suspension OF
travel produced several severe coulu-
sions aud great fright. Ladies faint
cd and men were thrown over back,
OF seats aud upon the floor
The voices Of the engineer and FIRE
man, crying piicously for help, almost
drowned the noise of the escaping
steam. Shilliueer begged in the name
ot humanity for somebody to kill him.
He was German. and in his broken
accent he pleaded: "lf there be n
Ianu 80 kind to me will hc shoe; me
in the heart or cut my throat and
when he found his appeals for deliver
ancc from his horrible position uE-
avalling. he cried like child until
unconsci1usnc.s and death hushcd hi,
voice. The fireman was lying very
close to him. but IN more favorable
position. The willing hands Of sue
cor were, however, greatly baiilod for
some time in their determination to
render all the assistance human power
could command. The escaping steam
was 20 dense that nothing could be-
sccn around the wreck but the frag.
mcnis, and when assistance did come
the brave engineer was past all human
aid. The fireman with great Difficult.
ty was cxtricated, but died this eve
ming.
Your correspondent visited the fami-
lies of the men. Sicycson, befure his
death, lay upon bed. wriihing in
agony and praying for the end 20
come. why was not killed at
once and put out Of this misery? = was
his oit.rcpcated ejaculation. lie said
he was compelled TO breathe mir laden
cd whh furnace flames. while the
steam had - scaldcd him that the flesh
hung in shreds, upon the upper por-
ton of his body. His hands were
burned to the bone and the finger nails
dropped off. ShilliBger, the engineer,
is scarcely recognizable by his old
comrades. lie leaves wife and
! daughter. Stevenson had a wife and
two children.
/ All trains over the road have been
stopped at this place by reason Of the
wreck, aud passengers and baggage
have been transferred. The immcdi.
ale cause of the accident was a land.
slide from the left bank.
/
| Important TO Owners Of Real Estate.