St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-01-26

GREAT LOSS OF LIFE.

The Southern express train which
left San Francisco on Saturday was
wrecked near Tehichipa. A dispatch
from Los Angeles says: 1t is now as
cerlained that at the time when the
train broke loose and ran down the
grade the air-brakes had been taken
off, and the men who tended the hand
brakes were away from their posts, one
attending to switching the engine, and
the other relighting his extinguished
lamp. The train gathered Roadway
quickly and was soon dashing down
the grade at the rate of a mile min
ute. At a sharp curve in the road the
coach and smoker, which were ahead,
broke the coupling and separated from
the rest of the train, making the turn
safely. The sleepers and the mail, eX-
press and baggage cars were dashed
against high bank and then thrown
back, rolling down an embankment.
The lamps and stove at once set fire to
the wreck, which was instantly in a
blaze. Harry ConnOrs, news agent,
who was sleeping in the baggage car,
was awakened by the movement of the
car and aroused James Woodruff, bag
gage-master, just as the cars made the
lump. The roof of the car was split
open, and both men were thrown out
and severely bruised. COnnOrs, while
living on the ground unable to render
any assistance, saw the train enveloped
in flames and heard the shrieks of dy-
ing victims, and saw them vainly en-
deavoring to struggle from the burn
| ing ruins. Porter Ashe and wife, who
occupied il drawing room of one of the
sleepers, were awakened by the crash.
! They succeeded in getting out without
injury, but of sixteen other occupants
of the car not one is believed to have
escaped. Meantime the occupants OF
the coach which kept on the down
grade succeeded in stopping it, there
! bv saving the lives of some forty Occu-
pants of that and the smoking car.
They Immediately walked back to the
scene of the accident but found only
| the smoldering remains of the train
and the few who had escaped with
their lives, lying bruised and bleeding
in the darkness, shivering i'll the pierre
| ing cold night air, or rendering assis-
| lance to each other. Relief soon ar
rived from Tehichipa, four miles dis
! tant, and as soon as possible medical
attendance was sent from Sumner and
/ Bakersfield, and subsequently from
Los Angeles. A search for the dead
soon showed that twenty-one persons
| had persisted. Eleven were beyond
all recognition, only headless bodies
and charred limbs being found. Ex-
Gov. Downey was badly though not
fatally hurt, and Mrs. Downey was
killed, of whose body only the head
and bust remained, which were recog-
nized by the jewelry. All the bodies
and fragments of bodies were placed in
collins The wounded were removed
to the baggage-car, and on the arrival
of the relief train from Los Angeles
were sent to that city. OF the dead,
Wright, colOred, porter of one of the
sleepers, was crushed; Express Mes
senger Charles PiersOn had his head
shattered, and five were burned, OF
whom Mrs. DOwney was one, but not
| beyond recognition. Two men, names
unknown, but supposed to be discharg-
ed soldiers, were found dead but not
| burned. One other body, that of a
large man, badly charred, was found
and is supposed to be that of Col. Lar
rabee, ex-cOngressman from Wisconsin.
Ex-GOv. DOwney says Mr.. Larrabee
was on the train and has been missing
since the accident. The remaining
eleven bodies are still unidentified,