Omaha daily bee., 1883-01-22
Ffightful Accident on One Of the
Heavy Grades Of the Central
Pacific.
A Passenger Train Breaks from
the Engine and Rushes
Backward to Ruin.
Five Cars Torn TO Pieces and Con.
sumsd by Fire.
Twenty-one Persons Crushed OF
Burned to Death anu several
Injured.


Special Dispatch TO THE BEs.
SAN FRANoIsco, January 20
Shortly after midnight the overland
xpres 5, on the Southern Pacific, which
left here at 900 a. m. yesterday stop.
ped near Tehacapi station to cus cut
an extra engine taken on at Sumner
to assist in pulling up tho Tehacapi
grade. While making the change, in
some means unknown the train got
away and started back northward,
down a grade OF one hundred and
twenty feet TO the mile. TIE train
consisted of two engines, express,
mail and baggage cars, two sleepers,
one coach and one smoker. 1t went
down the grade at
FRIGHTFUL PRED.
for about four miles, when the hinder
most sleeper jumped the track and
went over an e~mbankment about IF
teen feet high, carrying with it the
other sleeper, mail, baggage, and K
press cars, which were piled in shat.
tered heaps. These took fire and
we're consumed. The coach and
smoker went on down the grade, and
we're stopped without leaving the
track, about two miles farther on.
ALI on board these cars were unin.
jured.
The scene following the wreck was
terrible, and q number of persons
were iammed amid the ruins Of the
train and
ROASTED TO DEATH
before the eyes of those helpless to
ave them. At present 1t is impossible
to give the loss tf life accurately, but
II is believed from twelve to fifteen
persons we're killed or burned to
death.
The dead are Mrs. John Cassel,
wife of the we'll known mining man,
burned; F. w. Pierson, express mes.
sengsr; the porter Of the ~slespers,
named Wright, was taken out alive,
but died soon after, and Lawrence,
the porter of the other sleeper, who
was burned. IL is feared that the
wife of Ex.Gov. Downey, who with
her husband. was on the train, is
among the dead. A. 1850 %. m.
seven bodies had beer. taken out,
some burned beyond recognition.
TIE INJURED.
The following are reports nIured
MIRA. Caot4 J x. Brown, tss Id,
Brow n, Lee Waterhouse, MrscA. S
Waterhouse and two children, Johr
T. Cassell, ext Governor Tom Downey
maid If Mrs. Porter, Jas. Woodall, +.
W Dougherty, Mrs. p. @. Hatch,
Mrs. r. Hatch. 1t is a remarkable
fact that the wounded are almost with
out exception but slightly injured.
The following passengers are un'
hurt: Porter Ashe and wife, II. A.
Oliver, Miss E. Squiera and T. j,
Oliver. Many are missing and ART
supposed to have been buried in tho
wreck and consumed. Ashe and wife
who is the daughter of the late Judg.
4. b. Crocker, we're on their wedding
tour. They were in the sleeper which
first lett the track and their escape
uninjured Is almost miraculous. A
special train has been sent to the
scene from Los Angeles with physl
clans and uadsrtskers. The dead and
wounded are to be taken to Los An
geles. Meantime every possible at
tention Is paid them on the ground
A wrecking train has arrived from
Sumner.
FURTHER DETAILS.
Further advioes from Tehacapi Civ,
as the probable cause of the acciden
that when the train stopped the al
brakes were applied. On detachin,
the engine the brakes relaxed and tn,
hand brakes were either left open o.
were not strong enough to hold tn,
train. The movement mpy have beer
helped by o strong gale blowing. /
Is now certain that eighteen passenger
and two sleeping car porters wer
killed and ten or twelve badly injured
Seventeen bodies have been removed
from the wreck. One of them Is CON
sidered certainly to be Mrs. Downey
Capt. Waterhouse, previously reporte'
injured, is not expected to survive
The following were badly burned
Mrs. p. @. Hatch, Mrs. r. l.. Hatch
Mrs. Capt. Brown, 4 @. Rons. Capt
T. II. Thatcher, Stephen Ceiling, J
w. Seacles, j. d. Woodruff and r. w
Dougherty.
The wounded will be placed In tn,
hospital at Los Angeles at the rail-
roads expense. The remains OF uni
Identified dead, if any, will be gath
cred up and buried at Los Angeles
Superintendent Fillmore says it is no
yet known who was to blame, bu
some one was careless. The matte
will be thoroughly investigated. TIL
train carried from this city m pouc'
of registered matter for 81. Louis, Mo,
and about 100 packages of registere
letters for other points. The ma
was important and unusually ful
containing laftars and pr;ptad malta