The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1881-05-05

CLINTON, Iowa, April q.
An appalling accident occurred on the Rock
Island Division Of the Chicago. Milwaukee 4
st. Paul Railroad, formerly known as the
Western Union Railroad, eight miles below
this city, and one mile below Albany, ILL.,. at
4:20 this morning. At that hour the expires,
train south, duo in Rock Island at six o'clock.
was passing along at its usual speed. 1t had
just left Albany. As the train approached the
trestle bridge, two hundred or three hundred
feet long, over the Meredosia River. near its
point OF juncturc with the Mississippi, the en-
gineer gave the usual short whistle; but the
bridge must have appeared all right, al he did
not slow up. When within few feet of the
bridge the engineer must have then noticed a
suspicious appearance, as he gave two or three
short, sharp whistles as signals Of danger.
Then Immediately followed a crash, heard
for three miles in either direction, a.
the whole train went down into the terrible
rushing waters. The Meredosia Is at a
very high stage from the overflow of the
Rock River bottoms beyond, and an unusual
torrent had un lermned the tcestle, 50 that
one hundred feet OF 1t gave way as the engine
passed upon 1t. The train was composed of
the engine, tender and three cars, the for
ward car containing the baggage express and
mail; tho second car contained eleven pas-
sengers; the rear car was the sleeper. and
contained three passengers and the colored
porter. The engine. tender and the two for.
ward cars went down into the river The
sleeper went partly over and hung on the
Verge at an acute angle.
The engine and tender, with the engineer.
William West, and the fireman, name not
learned, went down out of sight, and no sipn
of the locomotive or men has since been seen.
The engineer is believed to have bravely
stuck to his throttle, when he might pbssi-
bly, have saved his life by jumping.
The express messenger, Daniel Ellithorpe,
and the baggageman, Samuel Flanagan, had
Just gone into the passenger coach before the
accident, and they, with the brakeman, Henry
Meyers, the Conductors, Thomas Fuller all ga
capped by climbing on top OF the passenger
car as it was sinking, and leaping thence to
the top Of the sleeper. Meyers had his collar
bone broken and had to be helped out. ELI
thorpe and Flanagan were both badly bruised.
Three passengers in the rear car escaped by
climbing out OF their berhs up through the
rear end of the car IN their night-clothes, but
afterward recovered all their clothing. One
OF the gentlemen ran back to Albany In his
nfghts-cl0thes in the rain and reused the neigh
bors.
Meantime, the passenger coach, with its
eleven occupants, settled into the stream, and
doated OF across the water thirty rods to an
island, where it lodged, with only foot and
half of the upper part out of the water. For
tunately, the forward end was badly broken,
and out of this one man CROPPED his way, and,
with the help OF train man. pulled out a lady
and girl, who were the only female occupants
OF the car, except another child, q girl two
years old, who was drowned. The mother and
daughter were rescued with great difficulty,
and were in badly.bruiscd condition. The
daughter had two or three ribs broken, and
was otherwise badly hunt internally.