Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-05-29

ST. LOUIS, Mo-, May 24.-The west
bound train on the St. Louis & San
Francisco Railroad, which left st. Louis
last night at Sis, was wrecked at a
point three miles west of Sullivan, Mo-,
which place is sixty-eight miles west of
st. Louis. Not a passenger escaped I'M
hurt, and fortv-tive are known to have
been seriously injured, though no
deaths are yet reported.
The train was running at a high rate
of speed, when suddenly without warn
ing the track gave way, and the locomo-
tive, baggage car and five coaches
went over the embankment: The
trainmen, and those only slightly
Injured, at once set to work to prevent
the additional horror of fire, In which
they succeeded, and then turned their
attention onto the more unfortunate IN
Jured, and in a very short time forty
five passengers, all badly hurt, had been
released ron the debris.
A temporary hospital was improvlsed
at Sullivan, and the most seriously In
jured were taken there, while others
were brought to st. Louis on the train
which was hurried to the scene OF the
disaster. The wounded are under the
care of DIR. Mcintyre, chief surgeon on
the road.
1t was 1:15 A. NJ. when the accident
occurred. The train was travelling at d
high rate of speed, and most or the
passengers had already gone TO sleep,
while the few remaining awake
were about to do so, There Is
a curve in the road about three
miles west OF Sullivan, and
when this point was reached a sudden
Jolt and Jar was felt all over the train.
Everybody felt it, and the people in the
rear cars could hear the forward coaches
rattling and rumbling over the ties IL
and the crushing noises OF cars being
demolished.
point, and there la q steep embankment
thirty 1eet high. Most of the passeG-
gers thought the train was going through
q bridge, and a feeling of horror chilled
their blood. In an instant all the
coaches except the two sleeping cars
had been thrown IRON the rails. People
were thrown about in the cars
in all directions, and some of them were
thrown from the coaches and down the
embankment. One man., Walter David
son, who travels for the Westinghouse
air brake, was thrown right out of a
window IN the opposite side OF the
coach from which he was sitting, and
sent rolling down tie embankment to
the edge of the creek. His feet were
in the water. Another passenger on
the same coach was towed from the.
rear end of the cut TO the forward end
and, in fact, men, women and children
were thrown about prOm1scuously.
The train proper was made up OF d
mail car, an express ar. baggage car,
a smoker, a ladies' coach. a reclining
chair car, and two Pullman sleepers.
The front truck of the first sleeper
jumped the track, but the rest of the car
remained on, and the rear sleeper and
track. Fortunately there were no fires
in n of the cars, and the jolt extin-
guished the lights Immediately.
The explanation given of it by the
trainmen to the passengers was that
the spikes and fish plates had
been removed from the rail
at the curve, thus leaving the
rail loose on the ties. The forward por-
ton of the locomotive passed the place
all right, but the tender jumped the
track ard was thrown part OF the way
down an embankment.
Who removed the spikes and plates
is not known, but the superstition is
the work was done by train robbers
who wanted to hold up the trainmen.
Still no robbers put in an appearance,
and if the accident was caused
by them they must have either
weakened in their purpose or
have thrown the wrong train. The
rOad officials claim it is a clear case of
train wrecking.
On the train was a large.body of phys
icians returning from Springfield,
where the state medical convention is
being held, ami they also rendered val
liable assistance in caring for the in
iured.