New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-01-22
The WRECK NEAR TEHICHIPA
THE TRAIN UNREsTRAINED BY BRAKES.

| PERSONS KILLED, ELEVEN BEING BURNED BE-
YoND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SCENES WV
IDLY PORTRAYED.
| SAN FRA CISCO Jan. 21.-A dispatch from Los
es says: It is now ascertained that at the
time when the tram broke loose and ran down the
| grade the r-brakes had been taken off, and the
men who tended the hand-Drakes were away from
their posts attending to switching the engine,
| and the other relighting his extnguished lamp.
The train gathered hea lway quickly, and
was soon dashing down the grade at the
| rate of mile a MINUTE. At sharp curve
of the road the coach and moker, winch
were ahead, broke the coupling and separated from
the rest of the train, making the turn safely. The
sleeping cars and the mail, express and baggage
cars were dashed against q high bank and then
thrown back, rolling down an emDankment The
lamps and stoves at set fire to the wreck,
which was instantly in blaze. Henry COnnOrs,
news agent who was sleeping in the baggage car,
was awakened by the movement of the car and
aroused James Woodruff, baggagemaster, just as
| the cars made the jump. The roof Of the was
spnt open and both men were thrown OUT and
severely bruised. Conners, while lying on the
ground unable to render any assistance,
tho tram envelOped in flames and heard
the shreks of dying Victims and saw them valnly
endcayoriDg to struggle from the burning ruins.
Porter Ashe and wife, who occupied drawing
room of one OF he sleeping coaches, awakened
bv the crash. hey succeeded in getting out with
out injury but of sixteen other occupants of tho
car not one is be,ieyed to have escaped. Meantime,
The occupants of the coach which kept on the down
grade succeed ed III stop ing it, thereby saving tie
lives of some forty occupants of that and the smok
Ing-o1r. They Immediately walked back to the
scene Of the acci ent but found only tbesmOuderng
| remains of the tram and the few who had escaped
with their nyes lying bruised aud bleeding in tho
darkness, shIverng III ths piercing cod night air,
or rendering assistance to each other.
Relief soon arrived from Tehichpa, four miles
distant and as as possible medical attendance
was sent from sumner and Bakersfield, and. subse-
quently from Los Angeles A ;arch for the dead
soon showed that tweUty-One persons had pcrshed.
Eleven were beyond all recognition, only headless
BODIES and charred limbs being found OF the
body Of Mrs Downey only tho head and bust re-
manned. which were recognized by her jewery. All
the bodies and fr gments ot bodies placed IN
collins The wounded removed to the bag
gage car and the arrival OF the relief train from
Los Angeles sent to that city.
THE DEAD AND MISSING
Tho following is list of persons known to be
deau or missing:
CAss Ii, Mas. JAMES F.. the wife of mining
operator. Sne was on tne way with her husband
Ia their raucne in Los Angeles,
| DowNEY MRs wife OF Ex-Governor Downey Only
her head and bust were recognized, being identl-
he'd by pieces Oi jewelry
| LARRABgE. COLONEL. an ex-Cougressman from
| IscOnsin Ex-Governor DOwnry says tnat
Mr.. Larrabee was on the tialn AM has been
missing since the accident. Inc uody OF large
man. badly cnarTeo. was found ana IL supposed
| to De ,nat ol Colonel Larrabee.
| OIIVEE, MRS. III. -.
PirRsoS. CnAGLls, an express messenger. His
head was shattered.
| QUIRREs. MISS MAMIE Il.
" ETIIEREI- 81.
WnaHT, -, coored, n porter of one OF the
| sleeping cOaches Hr was Dadly crushed. aud al
| though alive wnen taken from the wreck, died
ia q short while.
Two men wuos: names are not known and who
arr supposed 10 be discouraged soldiers. were found
| dead nut not Durn-d. The remaining elcveI OOdics
| arr still unidentified. lne list OF wounded not
changed irom the previous report.
An Inqiest Is IN prUgrcs. pat as YET no news has
been received as 10 It's nndIng No one except tue
railroad and county officials are admitted 10 lno ln
quest.
A dispatch from Tehlchpa concerning the acc-
dent to tlo Southern express train there yes
teid ~ confirms the death of Mrs Downey aud says
| cx- Governor Downey IL ba ily hurt, but will re-
cover. Oniy few passengers lett hers on the
tran. A number got ON at way-statons but as
the list not made up until Moj1Vo Is reached.
iul List cannot be made except by personal IN
quIry.
dispatch from Fresno says :" DR.. Carsod, q
young physician OF this place who took tho train
ON Friday night which was wrecked at TchicnIpa,
is supposed to be among tue unidentified dead"
THE TEIIICHIPA PASS DESCRIBED.
HOW THE MOUNTAIN Is ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
AGAINST ACCIDENTS
Tho information regarding the details Of tho acci-
dent received by the officers OF the southern Pacific
Railroad IN this city yesterday was lar more meagre
than tina, sent in the press dispatches Ex-Governor
Le and stanford. president of the Central Pac fic
Company which operates the Southern
Pacific received brief kilograms that gave
no particular statement of the number of
the dead and wounded. Full particulars are ex-
prcted by mail, however The disaster a cause
of ex RENE re ret to the Central Pacific people, as
n ia the first serious accident which has occurred
their system of railroad since 1870 NotwIth-
standing the reputation of the roads IN that system
for the fast time made by their trains, their COLI
structlJn and management combined have been of a
character which reduced the chances of accident to
a minimum.
Talking on the subject yesterday {. p. Hunting
ton president of the Central Pacific said ii can
not imagine how the accident could have occurred.
1he road through the Tehichpa Pass is one of the
best pieces of work in the country. The strlctest
care was taken IN it's operation, and instructions
wers given to run all the trains slowly 1t is in this
pass through the Sierra Nevada range that
our road makes lOop-the only one believe, In
the railroads of the world. The work is ono Of
the greatest engineering feats in the world. 1t is
here that we have tho heaviest grade on the South
ern Pacific road-for twenty-slx miles the grade |
runs 90 feet 10 the mile IL was some time before
our engineer succeeded In finding route which |
would not involve enormous grades One Sunday |
he was out looking around and conceived the happy
idea of avoiding the heavier grades by making |
loop in the road. The surveys were ut once made !
by him and his assistants on that day. The road. |
az built after passing through tunnel, Is carried
up the side of spur of the mountains ]
or "butep as the Spanish call IL, |
makes a complets circle around the summit |