News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-04-15
Terrible Railroad Disaster.

aSter near Deerneld, Mass, last w ed-
nesday night is unmatched in Ameri-
can railroad history. Its victims met
death by fire, by drowning and by
frightful mutilation. That any one
escaped alive from the charred frag-
ments that lie at the bottom of the
ragged precipice skirted by the Deer,
field River seems nothing short of 8
miracle. Yet there are two or three
who went almost unscathed through
this awful experience and danger
that for the moment each one believed
marked the crisis of his terrestrial
career. So complete has been the
ohliteration of train and contents that
no one can yet accurately measure the
extent of the disaster in its effect upon
human life. The record as thus far
made up is ten dead and twenty-eight
injured. No wilder spot in that wild
corner of the State could be picked
out where railroad accident would
be more disastrous. The road creeps
along narrow ledge, artificially wi
dened with earth to make it broad
enough for two tracks. Above towers
steep hill, several hundred feet high.
Below, the restless Deerfield swings
around the base of the hill two hun
dred feet distant, but at the foot of a
declivity so steep that it is easy to
shy stone into the boiling water.
The slope is composed of great rocks,
sharp and jagged, rudely tossed down
apparently from above, and burying
from sight the natural soil, if any ex-
lists. 1t is impossible to descend or
scale the rough steep with safety with
out the aid of lifeline carefully fas-
tened above. When the doomed train
approached this ugly spot the track
appeared to be in sound condition, as
usual. There were two or three feet
of apparently solid earth outside the
outer rail. A heavy freight train had
passed safely over less than two hours
before, and one or two section men
had been at work there during the af-
ternoon. Engineer Littlejohn had a
train of six cars, and, having just
pulled up the grade from Bardwel's,
the speed did not exceed Is miles per
hour. At spot perhaps within a
yard of the worst that could have
been pointed out, the engineer sud-
denly felt the track sinking from be-
meath his engine. He knew what it
meant, and in an instant he had
thrown back his reverse lever and
turned the air-brake cock. 1t was of
no use. The soft, water-soaked earth
beneath the outer rail yielded like
sand to the pressure of a boot heel.
The rail slumped two feet below the
level of the parallel iron, and the
the train began to tip toward the
river. The locomotive crossed the
weak spot, but the tender felt the
treacherous influence, and in an in
slant twisted off from its connection,
tipping the main body of the engine
over the edge of the bank, where it
perched upon its side. Every car in
the train, in its order, went in the di-
rection taken by the tender. With a
single exception the six cars whirled
over and over like immense rectangu-
lar spools grinding themselves to bits
on the cruel rocks in mad race to
reach the river below. Noore could
count the revolutions as they whirled
with the accelerated speed of gravita-
ton into the rushing stream. The
fifty people thus shaken in great dice
boxes hardly realized what was bap-
pening. No one had a chance to make
more than the most instructive move
ments for self-preservation. Some
could not even grasp the seats in
which they sat before they were whirI-
ing heels over head. Five of the
cars plunged into the river, which is
about twelve feet deep near the shore.
Three or four persons received their
death wounds during the whirling fall /;
as many more were plunged beneath
the water and knew no more. With
in few moments fire burst out at sew
eral places in the mass of broken
wood and metal, and the most terrible
death of all was added for others.
Under such a terrible combination of
circumstances the experiences of the
half hundred victims were as vari-
Gus as their individual numbers. No
two suffered alike. Some suffered in
greater or less degree from all three
dangers and lived, and others persisted
when apparently more favorably stu
ated. The danger by fire was the
only one that could be fought, but it
was crippled and fainting little band
of those less unfortunate that rallied
to the aid of those in greater peril. A
few were rescued, all, in fact, who
were exposed to fresh danger, before
the flames destroyed all that was COM
bustible in half the wreck.
Thirty or forty bags of mail matter
were taken from the river, and few
articles of baggage were recovered.
A considerable quantity of property
was recovered from the river some
miles below at Deerfeld. Meantime,
half the wounded and survivors had
been taken to Greenfield and half to
Shelburne Falls. 1t was not until
after several hours rest that any in
volyed in the calamity were able to
rehearse. even in their own minds,
their thrilling experiences. In the
course of the day some of the detailed
facts regarding the disaster began
to appear.
The following is a correct list of the
killed, ten in number, as far as found
Merritt Seeley, of Boston, Supt.,
National Express Co.; E. E. Hay
den, of Blandford, agent of the Fiske
Manufacturing Company of Springfield
Charles Temple, of Waltham, com
mercial traveller; Charles Durgin, of
South Boston, commercial traveller
j. R. Gould, of Middlebury, Mass.
or Abingdon, Conn. Herbert Little |
john, of North Adams, engineer of
the train; Viola Littlejohn, niece of
the engineer; Ora Littlejohn, neph-
ew of the engineer; G. F. White
house, of Boston, travelling agent
Mark F. Spencer, of Waltham, brake
man of the train.
Gen. Logan had a powerful sup
port, and the approval of the leading
officers of the army and the head of
the war department, in his recent re-
newal of his old effort to secure an
increase of the U. S. army to thirty |
thousand men, But there has always |