, 1890-05-31
DROWNED.
Terrible Accident on a Cali
fornia Railroad.
A Passenger Train Runs Into
an Open Draw.
Thirteen Passengers Perish in
a Watery Grave.
San Francisco and Oakland
People Excited
Stories Told by Persons Who
Were in the Wreck.

Oh
most horrible railway accidents ever
known in California occurred at l:4o
o'clock this afternoon, when the local
train connecting at Oakland with the
ferry boats from San Francisco vent
through an open drawbridge over the
San Antonio creek at Webster street.
Oakland. A yacht had just passed
through the draw when a train appeared
going in the direction of the Alameda
drawbridge. The keeper endeavored to
close the drawbridge, but was too late.
and the engine, with the tender and first
car. which was filed with passengers,
plunged into the estuary. Engineer Sam
Dunn and Firemin O'Brien vent down
with the engine, The former, when he
saw that the bridge did not close, re-
versed the lever. but the movement of
the engine was too great to be stopped in
time.
The weight Of the engine and first car
broke the coupling and left the othe.
two 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
passengers we're thrown into the water.
The first car, which had fallen with the
engine to the bottom of the muddy
estuary, coon rose and such of the pas
sengers as had escaped theretrom were
picked up by yachts and small boats
which gathered at the scene Trainmen
and the rest of the passengers went to aid
in the work OF rescue and when the
wrecking train arrived from Oakland the
car was drawn into shallow water and the
small boats began dragging the creek for
bodies.
The top Of the passenger coach was cut
open as soon as it was raised above water
and the work of removing the bodies
commenced, thirteen being taken out in
quick succession. At the morgne The
bodies were laid out as soon as received to
scenes were witnessed as friends came
forward to claim theie dead.
The list Of identified is as follows: Mar
tin Kelley, Oakland: A. f. Austin, San
Francisco; Miss Florence Austin and
Mrs. Bryan O'Connor, San Francisco; j.
B. IRWIN, Oakland; 4. r. Robinson, San
Francisco; Capt John Dryer, Sacrament
to. Mr.. Williams, San Francisco; Fl. w.
Aud (colored), Honolulu; the two Misses
Keenan,, San Francisco; a Japanese boy,
supposed to be IL. Materta, San Fran
cisco.
The engineer and fireman both escaped
The experience OF the passengers in the
first coach, as related by those who for
tunately escaped, is horrlfying 10 the ex-
treme.
F. F. Finley of San Francisco said: Il
was on the front seat facing the engine
just as we approached the drawbridge. 1t
seemed to me that the draw was open and
a fearful accident was inevitable, Just
then a man jumped from the en-
a crash. The horrible crushing Of
timber and The swapping Of heavy iron
work followed at once. CONSERVATION
prevailed in the Cur. The next thing l
knew the car was 10 the water and | found
myself cropping for the door, which l
fortunately reached when that end OF the
car rose out OF the water, and quite a
number of people escaped 10 that manner,
principally women and children. The car
wa about two-thirds full when We left
the wharf and | should Judge there were
at least twenty-five to thirty people in 1t.
There was a fearful outcry when the car
began to fall. bnt this was almost hushed
in one long final wall of despair"
Geo. f. Hawley of Oakland said there
were about forty people, including chll-
dren in the car.
Conductor Perath said the first car was
a combination. When the disaster oc-
CURED he was in the rear car and had as
much us he could do Tor a few momentsto
attend to the passengers in the car, come
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 is not sure of the
number Of people in the coach.
james Dunlap, 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 passengers who went down,
but were rescued, sustained painful in
%juries. The frame of the car has been
raised and the bed of the creek thoroughly
explored and it is believed that no more
bodies are in the wreck. Conservative
estimates this evening place the number
OF people in the coach at about thirty
and 1t Is believed the thirteen bodies re-
covered comprise the list of the dead.
Thousands of people fiocked to the
scene OF the disaster and the streets lead
ing to the bridge were crowded by bur
rying men, women and children. The
widest rumors of loss of life were circu
lated 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 decorating
graves, a panic was created and men.
women ard children rushed into town
leaving all their floral tributes behind.
The engineer and fireman disappeared
right after the accident and have not yet
been found, and their version OF the acct
dent is not obtainable. The bridge tender
tonight maintains that he had a red
danger signal exposed. The trains
approach the bridge around a curve, and
it is possible the engineer did not see the
flag.
The Texas Spring Palace Burned.
Fort W ORTIZ, Tex, May 3O.-The