The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-10-17
The Michigan Railway Horror.

The Michigan Central railroad has plumed
itself for years upon it's freedom from acci-
dents, but its time for mourning arrived on
the morning of the 10th of October, at 90.
At that hour the Pacific express, due in Chi
cago at a. m, was rounding curve at Jack
son (Mich) Junction Just east Of the last
switch at the high bridge east of the junction,
when the engineer, Milton Gilbert, saw, through
the fog, an engine and train but few rods
ahead on the main track. The whistle sound
ed for brakes, and II is supposed the engine
was reversed and all efforts made by the en-
gineer and fireman to save their own lives and
the mass OF living freight behind them; but
they do not live TO tell the tale.
The engineer and fireman on the switch en-
CINE, which thus mysteriously stood upon the
main track just as the express might be ex-
pected, jumped and saved their lives. They
had just pulled out of the big switch, which
forms the gateway to the Jackson yards, to
back on the side-track, and were preparing to
back, when the express appeared, coming at
full speed around the curve
The express train was composed of the en-
glne, baggage-car, smoking car-in which
there were twenty passengers-two carloads Of
emgrants, mostly French Canadians going up
to the lumber woods of Northern Michigan;
one frst-class and seven Wagner coaches .
twelve cars in all. The engines grappled like
the lighter swltch-engne uppermost, and both
fell to the north side of the track, mountain
OF iron burying beneath it the crushed bodies
OF the engineer and fireman. The baggage
and smoking-car and tender were broken to
pieces, and, most miraculously, both the ex,
press messenger and baggageman escaped
with their lives, though badly injured
The next car to the smoking car, the first
second class, was the one in which the terrible
carnage took place The car in its rear left Its
trucks and telescoped through il and six feet
beyond. crushing over and through the seats,
and killing and wounding the occupants in a
manner that cannot be described, as scarcely
any eyewitness from that fated car is left able
to tell anything. Out of at least fifty passen-
gers it contained, there are fifteen deaths known
to have resulted. There were none in
that car that escaped death or serious
injury. In the car that telescoped this one and
did the fearful work there were none killed. but
many were injured. Back of this there were
none hurt, as the force of the collision carried
the entire wreck several rods and the long
line OF rear cars lost the great force Of the
shock and kept on the track Indeed, there
were many in the sleeping coaches who did
not even wake up.
Some idea OF the horror Of the wreck may be
obtained from the fact that the trucks of the
five cars were all crowded close together upon
the track, and occupied less than one-fourth
of the length Of the cars they belonged to.
The train was manned as follows: l. Ladd,
of Detroit, conductor; Milt Gilbert. of Detroit,
engineer; T.. b. Smith, of Detroit, fireman;
John Howell and William Pringle, brakeman;
K. Bennett, baggageman; and NJ. Carlisle, ex-
press messenger. The only ones killed of this
list were the engineer and fireman. The ex-
press and baggage men were badly bruised,
but had no bones broken.
The work of getting at the dead and wounded
was at once commenced by large force Of
railroad employees, and continued through the
night The wounded who needed care were
taken as quickly as possible to the Hurd and
Hubbard Houses at Jackson, and the dead
bodies to the different undertaking rooms
Nearly all the wounded had friends among the
killed, and means of anguish from the sufferers
both mind and body were agonizing beyond
description A full corps of physicians and
surgeons and many noble ladies we're busy all
night, making the wounded as comfortable as
possible, while the undertakers were assisted
in performing the last offices Of the dead for
those who were identified.
The number Of dead bodies recovered from
the wreck was seventeen while over POO persons
were more or less injured, of whom several
will die.
General Manager Ledyard aud several other
officers of the road resolved themselves into |
council of investigation. 1t appears that the
man engaged in making up the freight-trains q.
the east end Of the yard went to the telegraph |
Office at the junction and got information that
the Pacific was nearly fifty minutes late. He |
reported to Jones, the engineer of the switch |
engine, that they had forty-fve minutes of the |
Pacific's time in which to make up a freight |
train, and it was this work they were engaged |
in when the collision occurred Engineer Gil.
bert had made up at least twenty minutes OF
his lost time, and came tearing along at full |
speed through the fog, TO destruction fifteen
minutes before he was expected.