Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-01-01


But No One Killed Outright-Condition
of the Wounded The Car Smashed to
Pieces.
There is no intelligence fraught with the
horrors of uncertainty SO much as the first
vague news OF frightful railroad calamity.
intelligence is always accompanied by the III
evitable elements of doubt, and the slightest
gossamer threads of rumor are made to
serve as vehicle for the transmission Of in
formation that involves the most dread and
painful consequences.
Among the numerous disasters By rail
that have been chronicled since the opening
of the winter season, the vicinity OF st. Paul
has experienced a singular and fortunate i'm
munIty. Resting in perfectly natural secu-
rity, born of such happy condition of
things in the past, it was not strange that
the news of frightfully shocking accident
at her very doors yesterday morning should
give rise 10 the most sickenipg sensations Of
horror.
defective rail, having in its composition
hole not much larger than the eye of
cambria needle, had been penetrated by the
frost, and without q moments warning had
snapped like pipe stem, preclpitatlng the
most cruel and frishtful calamity.
PAINFUL UNCERTAINTY.
At $50 o'clock the news came that an &c
cident had happened to the No. morning
express on the river division of the Chicago,
Milwaukee & st. Paul railroad at Mendoza
Junction, about six miles from this city
and that the accident involved
serious if not fatal consequences.
The news of the disaster spread rapidly, and
the uncertain character of the report and the
absence CT details, gave rise to the most in
tense and feverish excitement.
Highly colored and exaggerated accounts
were circulated by the stupidity malicious or
knowing ones, and it would be difficult to
imagine more painful cSndl-
ton of things than prevailed pending def
mite information of The accident.
1t WIS known that the River express due
here at 6 O'Clock yesterday morning had
arrived two hours late. having been detained
that length of time at Red Wing owing to
an accident to freight train. TIE train
left here at $40 o'clsck yesterday morning
in charge of Conductor Charles Howard, and
and baggage car; two passenger coaches and
a sleeping car.
FIRST NEWS.
4 score of wires were set clicking and on
wings of lightning the additional informa-
ton came that owing to a broken rail the
sleeping coach had been thrown from the
track and precipitated down an embauk-
ment. No fatalities were reported, and it
was stated that the remainder of the train
had not shared in the terrible calamity.
With customary enterprise GLOBE rep
resentatiye was soon speeding fer the scene
of the disaster.
SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT.
Ia order 10 appreciate the appalling ma
ture of the accident the reader must neces-
sarily have some idea OF t. geographical
position of the adiuncts which conspired to
cause the calamity. No more consumate ar
rangement of circumstances can be i'm
apiped for the occurrence Of such an affair
than those presented at the scene OF the &C
cideat. The contour OF the location looks
rs if it had been formed by nature for just
such an accident.
Directly after passing the Mendoza juno
ton going westward from Mendoza, the
tracks of the Chicago, Milwaukee st. Paul
Railroad company shoot ct an abrupt angle
ito the left of the Sioux City railroad tracks,,
the bed road of the track gradually ascend
ing bluff, while the latter road runs parallel
on another bluff skirting the river and about
twenty-five feet below the bed road of the
track under consideration.
About half way between the Mendoza and
ST. Paul junction, fronting the village of
Mendoza, and 100 feet from The river. the
Chicago, Milwaukee & ST. Paul railroad
passes over the tracks of the Sioux City
road by means Of t-es;le work bridge,
which is raised about - fest the above
latter road. The bridge Is about 200 feet
long. the sides being partially protected by
bnlwarks of heavy timber, which present ST
distance the appearance Of ordinary siding.
HOW HE ACCIDENT ooCURSEp-
The exprsss train left the junction few
minutes before o'cl *, made up IS before
described. the sleeping coach. of course, be-
Ing in the rear of the train. A short time
before this. freight train Lsd passed the
scene of the subsequent accident in Per
feet safety. Just IS tie train pulled out
from the junction, Conductor Howard board
ed the near end OF the sleeping coach PEN
bins" passing through the car for the pur-
pose OF seeing to the welfare of the passsn-
gers. As the occupants of the '.Pen,bina
are the only ones who suffered by the terri
ble affair, and being iussperably associated
with this painful narrative. the psrsonel of
the passengers is herewith gwen
The occupants were eight in all, including
Henry \. Plstt, the colored porter. the pas
sensers being:
Prof. q. c. Whitney, of ShaitIck school.
Fsribault, occupying section No. >
Dr. Darling A. Stewart, of Winora. sec
ton No. Is.
Rev. ]. H. Covdry. Faribault, section
No. 4.
Mrs. c. H.Puor and son, wife and son of
Supt. Prior. sections No. aud 10.
Mr.. and Mrs E. J. Blood, of the St.
James hotel, Red Wing.
The train had gotten well under way and
was running IT about ten miles an hour st
the time of reaching the bridge. Ths engine
passed over the trescherous place and steamed
on to the bridge in safety, no shock being
experienced by NJ. W. j. Davis, the en-
eineer, except the subsequent irregular mo-
lion caused by the other cars, which estab-