The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-10-12
TIE LATEST HORROR.
Particulars Of The Railroad lDisas-
ter om the Michigan Cen
tral Railroad.
The Etery of the Wreck an Told hy
the Passengers A Sad Picture
of Deselation and Death
Whore the Reapon-
Hihility Eeats.


excitement here concerning yestnrt'ay's die
astor Immense crowds gathered Mt the ata
lion last night TO receive tho special train b
which the survivors were brought here
When the train arrived tho reception Or IN
nasaengera was enthusiastic. II seemed as
nearly every one was met by from ono l.
twenty friends. Every pnraon on the trat
whether great or small. was given q reception
by walt lng friends, except tho poor Imml
aranta, who were taken charge of hy MIR ]
Harvey, who came On the apeainl train Il
charge ~ the baERasn and were neno,ta,
aerues the street 10 "a hotel, where camfnrta
Die ~ luartprE were provided Tor thnm The
certainly looked ~ though they needed rna
and cate. They Will remain IA tbta city opl,
nm long as In necessary u adjust the damngsh
they may have sustained. large part q
the baggage destroyed belonged tn this oiaa
nf paaaenaara. Every sctar ST baggage tha
could be found waa brought Oh it.,tn MI.
af1urta Will ba ma,le III determine tho losa u
each one aa nearly AZ possible. tho COM nan,
exprpsaes The intention of paying AZ once. /
ia estimated thnt the accident will enat th,
company alnn,ho0.
GO. fafaana. of Boston. stated that Ii,
left the sleeper IN company with friend
When hn frat climbed through tho window
oil the tenacnped cnt. hn could scarcely find
room fuf hia foot, 80 thick were the ho,Ij,N q,
autfareta'wnra horrible. children were calI,,
for parents, mothers for their chttdren hus
bands Tor their wives AMI wiN"a for their hua-
banda. The horror Of their position rnunM bs
depicted. Tho body OF one little girl was
handed out, whose hoad had hcen literally
smashed 10 a pulp. A little boy was
passed through tho window hy Mr. EAraona
who was alao terribly emanhed. nno poor
fellow died 81 attangulation, nh iron bar hay
Ing PINNED him to the ground. Ihe liar luy
aorosa his throat, hut 80 great waa ita weigh
that II WAS impossible To resene hm. fhn
man hreathed hia laat within ak Inches OF
was found uniniured. MIR palsuns then won't
to the forward oni Of tho wreck. to aHaiat IN
taking out any nersona who might be buried
beneath the wreck.
One of the sacdeat faat,lrca of The accident
was here developed. family. cpnsistIng of
father, methar and one little boy, four yeata
af age, were crushed beneath q pile Of splin-
tered timber The husband and wife wnte
daad. tha mothers arm was elaaped HI tight
ly about her child that the little one could not
he e1tricatrd from this embraces of death fnr
several minutes Tho little low wae finally
gotten out of tho wreck after tive hours labor,
when IL waa found ono ot his lrga was bruIsHn
He acted like a little hnrt. A physician tool,
him to the Hubbard House and tenicrly
dressed his wounds. .5.z.nm@-
Mr.. parsuns patheteally refcrrrd "a another
Instance Ut u like nature. A child leaa than a
year old was. white nursing torn from its
found In the wreck.
The conductor. describing tho accident,
saya: was i'll the roar coach whom falt Il
slight shock, as though the engine had re-
Seraed. Many a tnc have felt harder jara
from common causet hut noticed tho train
came 10 n stand very quickly. We had alnpEed
III we came into jackson. and were running
twenty-five miles nnr hour. | ran ahead aud
saw the terrible sight. Tho onEiues lay side
by side up against the bank. hehaitrs TO-
6ather as You would lay Your fingers. Both
cabs were off and noticed that one steam haA
ENas stripped and the steam escaping from tho
Went With ahril roar. ihe baggage and
Knocking cara We're showed together. whiln
Valc next two cars were completely tri-
escoped. 1t WAS horrible beyond desserip-
tion. The first car WAS we'll tlci With
emigrants and their 9roans, cries and sllroks
made mo SEX. Ii wac right In the village oe-
cupied by road employees. and moro than 4
thousand people seemed to he helping Tho
engineer OF our train was Gilbert, and thc
sirt8an Smith. Both We're killed outright
GtSart had both legs cut or and Its howra
tCsSA out. j eau't bear IL think of the aylit
Saith was cut and torn beyond recognition
i went back and found many or MY passrn-
Eefs not even awakened, and they were u good
deal veSed at being hastily aroused | throw
out bedding, towels and mattresses NY fast ~
u could hn done with the help of the portcrs |
The only reliable estimates of the number of
wounded and killed that have heard given. |
place the injured ut thirty and the dead AT
twenty-five.
w. Is. Clapp, who, with his wifn. were III tho
first sleeper, was appriaed Of tho disaster hv |
being violently dumped from his couch upon |
the HGnr' but was unable for five minutes or |
50 70 make Al exit from the car, owing to the |
CONFUSION Upon reaching the platform ha I
says tha,aeene revealed was siekcning The
lady inmates OF the seepers, who had scram-
Died fEon their couches and had the horrible
speetaess IN tts enormity suddenly revealed to
their vision. alternated thtir srhs with PRAYERS
to be removed from the 9hastly sight Later.
when the men became sufficiently self nos
sessed tne work OF liberatng the victims was
begun. The first Of the victims to whom my
attention WAS directed was a haxan-
haired little girl OF perhaps five years. The
riGht side OF her face had been cut away as
II severed by some sharp instrument. while
her limbs We're tightly wedged in the debris.
4 short distance from this siekening sight
ammed and disfgured almost beyond recor-
iitiou. with arms and limbs III their naked
1esA protruding in the last auivers Of death.
stllSanrther along We're the bodies OF the fire.
narssnd engineer af the express train. under
! mountain OF splintered wood and warmed s
ron. For the sake of mother save the I
,hild, came the husky voice of a Young W. |
man as she drew the attention of q rroln of s
eokers-on TO little toy wedged in amidst
he wreck f W yards of. who cried pitaous 8
Y 70 he liberated, while its manslei head
ND shoulders swayed III Its struggle for Hfa !
such scenes as these necessarily untitled the
'toutest heart for the work needed. As morn
ng wore On. however the passengers. rail i
oad hands and those attracted to the scene .
'ntered upon the WORK of extricating the IN I
ofNlnate anes. The ordeal WIS one | hone !
lever e pass through again.
Another passenger says the front cars were \
lA OF passengers. most OF whom were French :
en- route for the pgey region The
ar In which sat was filled with men. women
I'd children. All at once it was dark. and
ould see, on looking around, about dozen
len. all the reet beng buried IN tile dehris O
he car was literally smashed to kindling 2
pod, and the pieces were used 10 make fire I
1th later. received several slight hurts
Do must have been stunned. This car suf- t
red the worst OF any, sixteen Of its inmates a
ing killed. / did net. in any way. feel the
lock At the time. and At first did not know
hat had occurred.
THE RESPONSIBILITY FoR THE DISASTER 7
JACKSON, Mich. Oct. u.--Those hurt by ths Il