Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-06-30
A CHAsM OF DEATH.
One Hundred and Ninety Priyates
and Thirty.twO officers Kill
ed or Roasted While Fifty
More are In
jured.

patch from the City of Mexico says
the accident at Mailpais loses none Of
its horror through receipt of fuller
and more accurate advices. For
some time past the district where it
occurred has been swept By fierce
storms, swelling the creeks into tor
rents and laying waste many fertile
fields.
The bridge spanning the river at
the point mentioned although known
to be unsafe, was stillin use when the
fatal train bearing a battalion of SOL
diers attempted its passage. The re-
suit was a crash, as the undermined
supports gave way and the engine
and cars were hurled headlong down
the chasm.
Scarcely had the magnitude of
the disaster become apparent when a
new horror was added. In the
freight cars composing a portion Of
the train was a consignment Of alco-
hol. This took fire, and the conse-
quent explosion contributed much to
the loss of life.
The few who escaped uninjured at
once applied themselves to the res
cue of their unfortunate comrades,
but it was some hours before the ex-
act extent of the disaster became APP
parent. 1t is now known that l3 Off
GERS and 1872 privates were either
killed outright by the fall or roasted
to death, while 80 others sustained
hurts of more or less serious char
acter.
The train was entirely consumed.
When the information of the appall-
ing calamity reached this city, the
excitement was unbounded, and
crowds thrOnged all the news centers
anxioYly awaitingparticulars. Never
in the history of the republic has so
frightful calamity been chronicled.
Its occurrence it is feared may
still further prejudice the popular
mind against railway enterprises.
However, ''Los Gringos," as the ma
tiveS term all outside barbarians,
can come in for no share of blame in
this connection.
A MEXICAN ACCOUNT.
CITY OF MEXICO, June 26.-The
following additional facts are learned
touching the accident on the Morelos
railway. A temporary bridge over a
chasm at Mailpais, on the recently
opened MorelOs railroad, was washed
away and train carrying the Third
Battalion of infantry plunged down
the abyss. One-hundred and ninety
FIVE prlvates and thirteen officers
were killed.
THE LATEST ACCOUNTS.
CITY OF MEXICO, June 2.-The
latest accounts of the disaster on the
Manelos railroad report that seven
teen officers and one hundred and
ninety seven privates were killed.
This list does not include the railroad
officials and employees, or the women
and children Of soldiers, many of
whom were on the train.
Only sixty persons in all were saw
ed alive, and Of these forty are more
or less IN ured. The disaster occur
red at eleven o'clock Friday night as
the train, which was long and drawn
by two engines, was passing over a
wooden bridge. For moment after
the plunge of the cars from the bridge
all was darkness; suddenly 100 bar
rels of brandy loaded on two of the
cars caught fire, and the burning
fluid inundated the mass Of passen-
gers struggling in the river.
Only few who were not disabled
or hopelessly wedged in the timbers
escaped. The dead and living were
wrapped in sheet of flame and slow
ly burned before the eyes of the sur
vivors who were unable tosave them
The secretary of public works and a
number of army surgeons went to the
scene of the disaster early Saturday
morning.
On the east fork of the Yuba river,
about five miles above Downieville,
Cal, is a snow slide, which completely
covers the river for a distance of sew
oral bundred feet This slide form