Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-05-31
NARROW ESCAPE.
Graphic Description by a Passenger in
the Inflated Car.

Graphic Description by Passenger in
the Inflated Car.
OAKLAND, May 3Oth.-James Dunlap
| who was tending the bridge at the time OF
| the accident, was found in very uncom-
municative mood. He said 81 was in
| charge at the time, and had Just opened
the draw to allow the yacht Juanita to pass
| through. was in the act of moving the
| draw back into place when the up train
from San Francisco came along, and that
| is all | know about it."
| He declined to have anything further to
| say in the matter.
F. F. Finley, of San Francisco, was a
| passenger on the ill-fated train, and he
tells graphic story of the disaster: "We
| left the city on the train for Alameda, on
| the narrow gauge. l was seated in the
| front seat of the first car facing the engine.
All went we'll until just as we approached
| the draw-bridge crossing San Antonio
| creek. As we drew near to the bridge it
seemed to me the bridge was open and l
was naturally on the alert. All of sud-
den | saw that ! was right, that the bridge
was out of place and a fearful accident was
| inevitable. Just then man jumped from
the engine into the water and then came a
crash.
"a horrible crushing of timber and the
swapping of heavy ir n-work followed, and
all al once CONSERVATION prevailed in the
the car. The next thing 1 knew the car
was in the water, and 1 found myself
blindly cropping for the door, which l for
| tunately reached and opened
when 1 found was on the platform l
gradually worked my way, by climbing
| and holding to the front of the car, to the
roof, which had just reached when that
end OF the car rose out of the water, and
quite number of people escaped in this
| manner, principally women and children.
The car was about two-thirds full when
| We left the wharf, and should Judge there
| were at least twenty-five to thirty people in
it. There was frightful outcry when the
| car began to fill, but this was almost inn
mediately hushed in one long final wall OF
despair. was very fortunate in escaping
with slight injuries to my shoulder and
man and have family at san Francisco u
MISS AUsTINs STORY.
OAKLAND, May 3Oth.-Mfss Mary H.
Austin of San Francisco, who escaped from
| the wreck, but whose father and sister
| were drowned, says: 81 was seated on the
left side of the car, with my father and
sister in the seat behind me. Ny father is
Henry S. Austin, of the firm of Austin
d Phelps, iron merchants, San Francisco.
When the car went into the water the
| people screamed and tried to get near the
top of the car.
II clung to my sister until the force of
the water separated US. A man in front
seat broke a window with his fist, and 1
was losing consciousness when rescued.
How got out of the window | don't
| know. l don't know how long was un-
| der the water. / held my breath as long
as / could.
My father and sister are still in the
water. I'm sure there is no hope for them,
they have been under the water so long.
| Oh! it was SO quick. They were mostly
men in the car and few children"
THE LATEST.
SAN Francisco, May 3Oth-Followine
are the names of those drowned who have
been identified up to o'clock this even
| ing:
Engineer Dunn, of the train.
Captain James Dwyer, of Sacramento.
j. r. Irwin, Singer sewing machine
agent of Oakland.
E. R. Robinson, OF West Oakland.
| W. r. Williams, of San Francisco.
n. n. Aud, of Honolulu.
L. Maletesti, of San Francisco.
Mrs. Bryan O'Connor, San Francisco.
NJ. Halleoseck (Japanese.)
Mrs. Kiernan, of San Francisco.
II. Austin and daughter, San Francisco
Among the injured were Mrs. P H. Look
and Mrs. j. II. Cooper. Their injuries are
slight.
Conductor Rerath, of the train, cannot
recall how many were in the coach, but be
believes that fully twenty. five persons, in
Guiding children, have perished. Nothing
definite, however, can be stated in regard
to this, yet all that is positively known are
the number of bodies recovered and those
who escaped.
THE ENGINEER NOT DROWNED.
OAKLAND, May 30.h.-At 5 o'clock this
afternoon the rescuers stopped looking fol
bodies, and it is supposed that all the
bodies have been found.
A young man named John Williams
walked up from Alameda tonight. He
said he had talked with fireman Charles
O'Brien and engineer Sam Dunn. The lat
ter was supposed to be drowned. Hesitate:
that the two men have been keeping out o.
the way.
| Fireman O'Brien stated that he and en-
gineer Dunn jumped from the engine into
the water Just as it went of the trestle
y Brien climbed up pile onto the bridge
when a stranger attempted to throw hin
overheard. He feared violence, and wen
Immediately to the Alameda mole with
the engineer.
REscUING THE IMPRISONED,
OAKLAND, May 30th.-To Commodore w
w. Blow and his son, Alfred H., are due
the lives of the few who did escape. Wher
the engine went over the car following il
stood endwise first with about twelve feet
of il out of water.
Young Alfred Blow, who was on the
bridge with his father, ran to the top of the
car and opened the door by main force
The iirst man to climb out was Captain
Hackett, George I. Hawley, hardware
man, was next, and after him came six Of
seven people. Then the car went slippins
further and the coupling broke, and thu
momentum pushed the engine further intc
the creek, and the car having then no res
went below the surface, submerging every
/ M 0r,o o>xx-oc taE - &C, 81.