Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1890-06-07
THROUGH A BRIDGE
A Terrible Memorial Day Accident
at Oakland, Cal.
An Engine and a Loaded Passenger
Car Go Through an Open Draw
bridge-Thirteen Dead Victims.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 31.-One of the
most horrible railway accidents ever
known in California occurred at 1;4'
yesterday afternoon when the local trair
connecting at Oakland with the ferry
boats for San Francisco ran through ar
open d~rswbridge over San Antonio
creek at Webster street, Oakland. A
yacht had just passed through the draw
when the train appeared, going in the
direction Of Alameda. The drawbridge
keeper e~ndeavored to close the bridge,
but il was too late, and the engine,
with the tender and first car, which was
filled with passengers, plunged into the
estuary.
Engineer Sam Dunn and Fireman
O'Brien went down with the engine.
The former, when he saw that the
bridge did not close, reversed the lever,
but the momentum of the engine was
too great to be stopped in time. The
weight of the engine and the first car
broke the couplings and left tho other
cars of the train standing on the track.
The second car ran about a third of the
way across the bridge and stopped, but
the jar was sufficient to break open the
front of the car and many of the pas
sengers were thrown into the water.
Tbe first car, which had fallen with the
engine to the bottom of the muddy estu-
airy, soon rose and such Of the passen-
gers as had escaped therefrom were
picked up by the yachts and sailboats
which had gathered at the scene. The
trainmen and the rest of the passengers
lent their aid to the work Of rescue,
and when the wrecking train arrived
from Oakland the car was drawn into
shallow water and small boats began
dragging the creek for bodies.
The top OF the passenger coach was
cut open as o o as it was raised above
the water, and the work of removing
the bodies was commenced, thirteen be-
ing taken out in quick succession. At
the morgue the bodies were laid out as
Dol as received to await Identification,
and ~heartrending scenes were witnessed
dead. The list of the identified dead is
as follows:
Martin Kelly, Oakland.
A. II. Austin, San Francisco.
Miss Florence Austin.
Mrs. Bryan O'Connor, San Francisco.
j. b. Irwin, Oakland.
T.. II. Robinson, San Francisco.
Luigi Malesta, San Francisco.
Captain John Dwyer, Sacramento.
Mr.. Williams, San Francisco.
ii. w. Aud, colored, Honolulu.
The two Misses keenan,, San Francisco.
A Japanese boy, supposed to be II. Nal.
erta, San Francisco.
The engineer and fireman both escaped.
TIM nVpnrinnna Of tha n.gpa.,nr
in the first coach as related by those
who fortunately escaped was horri-
tying In the extreme. +. +. Finley,
of San Francisco, said: II was on
the front seat, facing the en-
CINE. Just as we approached the draw.
bridge it seemed to me that the draw
was open, and a fearful accident was in
evitable. Just then a man jumped from
the engine into the water and then
came the crash. A horrible crushing of
timber and a swapping of heavy iron
work followed, and at once consterra-
ton preva led in the car. The next
thing knew the car was in the water
and found myself blindly cropping for
the door, which i fortunately reached,
when that end Of the car rose out of the
water, and quite a number of people es-
capped in this manner, principally wo-
men 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 a fearful cutlery when the
car began to fill, but this was almost
Immediately hushed in one long, final
wall of despair"
George L. Hawley, of Oakland, said
there were about forty people in the
car.
Conductor Reratha said the first car
was a combination. When the disaster
occurred he was in the rear car, and had
as much as he could do for a few
moments to attend to the passengers in
the car, some Of whom were in a state
OF frenzy. He then went forward and
looked down on the scene of death. He
noticed at least half a dozen men swim
out, but not any women or children.
He was not sure about the number Of
people in the coach.
James Dunlop, the bridge tender, had
nothing to say further than that he had
opened the bridge for a yacht, and was
just closing it when the train came
along.
Several of the passengers who went
down but were rescued suffered painful
injuries. The frameof the car has been
raised and the bed OF the creek thor
oughly explored and it is believed there
are no more bodies in the wreck. Con-
servative estimates place the number Of
people in the car at about thirty and it
is believed the thirteen bodies rccov-
cred comprise the list Of the dead.
Thousandsof people fiocked to the scene
of the disaster and the street leading to
the bridge was crowded with hurrying
men, m andchildren, The widest
rumors as to the extent of the loss of
life was circulated, and many people
went across from San Francisco to look
for friends. When the news of the dis
aster reached Mountain View cemetery,
where hundreds Of people were decorat-
ing graves, a panic was created, and
men, women and children rushed into
town, leaving all their floral tributes
behind them.
NAVIGATING THE MISSOURI.
A Prospect OF Having n Fast Mall as Well
rs = Freight Line on the River.