The Princeton union., 1881-04-28
THROUGH a BRIDGE.
1cssSbte accident on the St. Paul Railroad
at Albany, H.. by Which Eight
4Ss PerSO3aS We're Killed.

Terrible Accident Oh the St. Pa,l Railroad
as Albany, ~. By Which Eight
Early on the morning Of April 81.
as the night express train, west-bound, on the
Rock Island division of the Chicago, Milwau-
kee q st. Paul railway was moving at ordin-
8 afy speed across trestle work over the Mere
dasla river, one mile south of Albany, Ill, the
{ Irestle work gave way, and the train, without
warning, was suddenly precipitated into the
river The train consisted Of an engine, ten
der, baggage car, passenger and sleeping cars.
All went down except the sleeper, which hung
over the bridge at an angle of forty five de-
grees. the upper end high in the air. Two
cars Hoated off down the stream. The passen-
ger coach lodged on an island forty rods
away. The baggage car struck the middle of
the stream about the same distance. Only the
roofs of two of the cars are in sight Engin-
eer West and the fireman, name unknown,
residing at Freeport,
WENT DOWN IN THE CAB,
and nothing has been since seen of the locom-
olive or men. Baggageman Sam Flanagan
and brakeman Harry Myers are missing.
Messenger Dan Ellithorp and Conductor
Thomas Fuller escaped All are injured ex-
cept the latter.
Eleven passengers were in the forward car,
including man and boy residing at Pine
River, who were enroute to Omaha, woman
and two children, who got on at Savanna
for Rock Island, DR.. D. W. Lundy, of Albany,
and five others, destination unknown. OF
these two men jumped ashore as the floating
car passed the abutment of wagon bridge
Another man leaped but fell back and drowned
a woman and one child and the boy from
Pine River were taken off the roof of the car
after 1t lodged at the island, and the other
SIX passengers, including the man from Pine
River, little child of the lady and Dr. Lundy,
were drowned. These together with tue
engineer and fireman make .. ..
EIGHT LIVES LOST IN ALL.
Only three passengers were in the sleeper,
anu they, together with the colored porter
climbed out the rear end and escaped uninjured.
The wounded were made comfortable at
hotel. The river is perfect torrent where
the trestle went out. It is said that freight
train passed over the bridge an hour or SO
ahead of the passenger. Twenty boats at
+
bodies and rescuing the living. All the bod
les are believed, however, to be washed out
A hole has been cut in the roof and some
baggage taken out. The shore here and fo1
six miles below is lined with people looking
for tokens of the wreck
When within a few feet of the bridge the
engineer must have noticed suspicious ap-
pearances, as he gave two or !hree short,
sharp whistles, as signals of danger. Then
Immediately followed a crash, which was
heard for three miles in either direction, as
!, the whole train went down into the rushing
waters. The Mercdasia is at a very high
stage from the overflow of the Rock river
bottoms beyond, and an unusual torrent had
undermined the trestle so that 100 feet of it
gave way as the engine passed upon it. The
engineer is believed to have bravely stuck to
his throttle when he might possibly have
saved his life by jumping. The express mes
senger, Daniel Ellithorpe, and the baggage
man, Samuel Flanagan, had just gone into
the passenger coach before the accident, and
they, with the brakeman, Henry Myers, and
the conductor, Thomas Fuller, all escaped by
eIming on top of the passenger car.as it was
sinking, and leaping thence to the top. of the
sleeper. Three of the passengers in the rear
car escaped by
CLIMBING OUT OF THEIR BERTns,
up through the rear end of the car in their
night clothes, but afterward recovered all their
garments. One of the gentlemen ran back to
Albany in his night clothes, in the rain, and
reused the neighbOrs. Meantime the passen.
ger coach, with its eleven occupants, settled
into the stream and foated off across the
water thirty rods, to an island where it lodged.
One man groped his way, and, with the help
OF train man, pulled out lady and girl,
who were the only female occupants Of the
car except one other child, girl two years
old, who was drowned. The mother and
daughter were rescued with great difficulty,
and were in. a badly bruised condition. The
daughter had two or three ribs broken, and
was otherwise badly hurt internally. OF eleven
passengers in the car only five have been found.
The lady is believed to be named Wilson, and
was travelling to Des Moines to meet her hus-
band at Savanna. ru....