The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-10-18
SIXTY KILLED
In One of the Most Appalling
Railroad Disasters of
the Day.
An Engine Flows Its Way Into
Packed Excursion Car.
The Injured,

of the terrible accident on the Lehigh
Valley road last night confirm the irst
report. The big excursion trains left
Hazleton at O'Clock. Near Mud Run, a
small station on the other side of White
Haven, the second section ran into the
first section. The engine of the first Sec
tion was derailed, and before the signal
could be thrown out the second section,
with its large number of passengers, ran
into it. The engineer jumped off just be-
fore they struck. The fireman was seri-
ously injured. About sixty people were
killed and as many more wounded
twenty-five bodies have been taken from
the wreck.
The railroad officials we're mute. They
knew nothing. Gradually the stories took
a terrible form. Itleaked out that Super
intendent Mitchell and others had gone
down the road on special engine. Many
well-known citizens were seen at the
depot wringing their hands, with faces
full OF fear, and trembling with dread.
Women thronged the depot with terror
stricken countenances, sobbing, crying
or silent and trembling with dreadful
uncertainty. Still the railway officials
preserved their terribly cruel silence, de-
claring they knew nothing. The New
Jersey Central train finally brought the
news that eighty were killed. and the ex-
ctement grew intense. All the White
Haven physicians had gone to the scene.
There were seventy-eight cars, from
Wilkesbarre to Hazelton, the number of
passengers being about $780, The sec
tions were ell crowded to suffocation, fur
nishing the conditions for terrible loss
of life
| IN CASE OF A WRECK.
At $3.50 a. m. a report was in circulation
that arrangements had been made for the
receipt of large number of the wounded
at the hos pital. The rumor was soon
confirmed. The officials were expecting
twenty five of the victims. With such
list of wounded coming in this direction
the public pulse stood still over horrible
possibilities, and a thousand fainting
hearts quivered in dread. At thu scene of
the disaster it was learned that the third
section of the excursion train had stood
on the track a few hundred yards from
Mud Run, waiting for the section ahead to
get out of the way. The fagman, some
say, had been sent back with lantern to
guard the train from the rear. Suddenly
the passengers on the rear platform saw a
train approaching at high rate of speed,
Several of these passengers who saw the
danger jumped and escaped. In an in
slant the flash of the headlight illuminated
the train of the Inflated rear car.
THERE WAS FR1GHTFUL CRASH.
The engine plunged her full length into
the crowded mass of humanity. The
shock drove the rear car through the mex
for two-thirds of its length, and the sec
ond car was forced into the third. Not a
single person escaped from the rear car.
The second was crowded with mutilated
and bleeding bodies, and the third car had
but few passengers who escaped. The
terror stricken passengers of both trains
made their way to the tele3coped engine
and cars. The shattered engine was
heaving forth streams of soaldlng steam
and water which hid from their eyes the
fullest measure of tue horrible scene,
while its Kissing sound deadened the
shrieks and groens of those imprisoned in
the wreck. Ghastly white faces peered
into the windows to be greeted by faces
far more CHASTITY. Some of the dead sat
pinioned in their seats erect as in life,
staring open-eyed, as if aware of the hor-
rible surroundings. AS the steam and
smoke cleared away from the rear car its
awful sights were revealed. Timber5
crushed and wrenched, while on all sides
hung mangled bodies that we're burned
and scalded by the steam, and little re-
mained in the car which bore human
semblance. A young lady was found
caught by the lower limbs. One of her
limbs was quickly released, but the other
could not be freed, and unfortunately a
misdirected blow of an axe
SEVERED THE LEG FROM THE BODY.
The heroine bore her torture. She was
put on board the train and given all pos
sibls care, but she could not survive
her terrible injuries and died in the arms
of friends. To free the bodies in the
rear cars the trsinmen attached locomo
tive to the wrecked engine, and started to
pull it from the wreck. The first move
mentIof the shattered wreck brought from
the wounded such awful cries of distress
that surrounding friends ordered the en-
gineer to desist on pain of his life. They
did not wish to see mangled forms still
further nutilated. After ths news was re-
ceived at the hospital confirming the
worst fears, the scenes at the depot
were heart rending. A strong guard kept
the crowd back when the train approached,
and it was reported would go on to the
hospital. A desperate man sprang for
ward and with an awful imprecation de-
clared his family was on the train and any
attempt to keep him from them would
cost a life. As the train drew up
it was found to contain many
from Pleasant Valley and Minonk, who
had left their dead friends behind. As
they alighted and met scquaintances their
shrieks and walls we're pitiful to hear.
One young woman moaned that her
father and sister were dead, another a
brother, and so it went.
A special train of three cars in charge
of DR.. W. Trimmer, of White Hand, ar