Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-04-06
Terrible Railroad Disaster,
BISMARCK, D. T., March

BISMARCK, d. T., March q.
A special from Mandan to the Bismarck
Tribune gives the "details Of the railway disas-
ter as follows:
Your correspondent accompanied Division
Superintendent Taylor to the scene of the
wreck this morning, and the Coroner from
Mandan was also on board. The unlucky spot
is about nineteen miles west of Bismarck, at
what is known as Soapstone Cut, on Sweet
Brier Creek, and two miles east of Sweet Brer
Station. About 7:30 last evening the snow"
pillow, the work or boarding trains, and the pas
senger left Sweet Brier in the order named.
The snow-plow passed safely ovcrsthe ten-beHt
bridge which spans Sweet Brier Creek but the
work-train, which was composed of fiat carr
next to the engine followed by two sleeping
cars for thirty men each, dining-c car, kitchs
en-car and store-car-dd not.
The first indication of something wrong was
sound like broken wheel. The train was
going at about ten to fifteen miles per hour.
and the engineer, hearing the jar, immediate
ly reversed steam, but before he had time to
think the terrible crash came, and eight huma7
souls were landed into eternity 1t seenn
that wheel on the head truck of the flat-car
broke, an the whole truck had jumped tho
track. Evidences of it's course upon the tie3
extend back nearly a mile from the wreck. A
the short curve leading to the bridge was
reached the strain upon the car was so grea,
that the truck must have been broken in nu
merous pieces, some Of the more tenacious
striking the ties on the bridge and showing them
before it. The iron being left without SUP.
port, the sleeping-car was Immediately pre-
cipitated into the river, thirty feet below,
striking ON it's side. This was followed bT
sleeping-car No 2, which careened over,
and finally assumed a similar position al
No. L. The dining-c car followed, crushing into
both the others. After this WAS the kitcheIi-
car, which remained upright against the din
ing-car. The Office and store-car was but par
TALLY oil the track. Four bents i'll the bridge
were broken into splinters, and their sleepers
completely demolished. There about
fifty men on the train at the time of the acci-
dent, and the ESCAPE of even one seems
miraculous after viewing the wreck.
In sleeper No. l were about twenty-four
men. SoTe were lying in their hunks asleep,
Others smoking and reading, and some play
ing cards. As soon as the car overturned tha
bedding caught fire, the men fed, and The
dying were roasted almost beyond recognition.
The only deaths were among those in this car.
Those who ESCAPED immed ately grappled such
buckets as they could find and worked like
heroes to extinguish the flames, but the straw
bedding, blankets and other combustibe ma
terial made it impossible. 1t is supposed that
seven OF the eight men killed were killed liz
SANITY, before being burned, as but the VOICE
of one man crying "help!'' was heard. He
was lying with his feet to the flames and held
in the tolls of broken pieces of timber. His
comrades could do nothing, and were obliged
to see him gradually roast to death.
The scene beggars description. Scattered
here and there promiscuously among the
burned blankets, valises, clothing, broken
car-wheels, and iron rods, were the charred
remains OF the unfortunate victims One pc
culiar feature OF the accident was the fact
that but two of the twenty three Injured but
not killed were seriously hurt. They had
their shoulder des dislocated, and one Of
them had broken arm
The names of the killed, as far as recog-
nized by their friends, were as follows: Ole
Johnson, Thomas Wilson, William Watson.
j. Mccormick ard Thomas Grady
There are 2,o24,O09 acres devoted
to wheat in California this year.