The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1882-04-06
FrightruI Railroad Accident.

BISMARCK, p. r., March %.
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
Maudaii was also on board. The unlucl1y spot
is about nineteen miles west of Bismarck, at
what is known as Soapstone Cut, on Sweet
BrieT Creek, and two miles east Of Sweet Brief
Station About 80 last evening the snow
pillow, tile work or boar1ing trains, and the pas
scnger left Sweet Brier in the order named.
The snow-plow passed safely over the ten-bent
bridge which spans Sweet Brier Creek, but the
work-train, which was composed of fiat cars
next to the engine, followed by two sleeping
cars for thirty men each, dining-car, htch-
en-car and store-car-did not.
The first Indication Of something wrong was
a sound like a 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 human
souls were landed into eternity. 1t seems
that wheel on the head truck of the aat-car
broke, an the whole truck had jumped the
track. Evidences Of its course upon the ties
extend back nearly mile from the wreck As
the short curve leading to the bridge was
reached the strain upon the car was 50 great
that the truck must have been broken in nu-
merous pieces, some Of the more tenacious
striking the ties on che bridge and showing them
before it. The iron being left without sup.
Tort the sleepiBg-ear was Immediately pre-
cipitated into the river. thirty feet below,
striking on its side. This was followed by
sleeping-car No 2, which careened over,
and finally assumed a similar position as
No. /. The dining-c followed, crushing into
both the others. After this the kitchen
car, which remained upright against the din
ing-car. The office and store-car was but par.
italy OIL the track. -Four bents In the bridge
were broken into spIinters, and their sleepers
completely demolished There were abOut
fifty men on the train at the time Of the acct
dent, and the escape OF even one seems
miraculous after viewing the wreck.
In sleeper No. / were about twenty-four
men. Some we're lying in their hunks asleep,
others smoking and reading, and some play
ing cards. As soon as the car overturned, the
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 fTnmed lately prappled such
buckets as they could find and worked like
heroes to extinguish the flames, but the straw
bedding, blankets and other combustibie ma
terial made 1t impossible. IL Is supposed that
seven Of the eight men killed were killed IN
stantly, before being burned as but the voice
Of one man crying "helpl" was heard. He
was lying with his feet TO the flames and held
in the tolls OF broken pieces of timber. His
cOmrs des 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 fhe charrcd
remains Of the unfortunate victims One Pc
euiiar 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-blades dislocated, and one Of
them had broken arm.
The names Of the killed, as far as recog-
niZed by their friends, we're as follows Ole
Johnson, Thomas Wilson, William Watson.
J. Mccormick and Thomas Grady.