The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-07-17

muddy water. The trestle is a COM
plete wreck. The rails are bent like a
shepherds crook and the ties are
ground to tooth picks. The locomotive
turned a complete sOmersault.
The scene of the work is a little over
two miles from Sacramento. It was
well selected for disaster, The loosened
rail was just at the end of the bridge,
and the momentum of the heavy train
could not fail to hurl a great part of it
into destruction.
VERY BITTER FEELING
The effect of the outrage has been to
make the soldiers desperately bitter
against the strikers. Where they
would have fred with reluctance they
will now shoot with actual pleasure.
Their feeling is shared by the militia,
and it is almost a certain thing that the
lives Of other men will pay for those of
the three soldiers.
The soldiers have already captured
two strikers who are suspected Of
knowing how the rail came to be mis-
placed. The cavalry brought the men
in, and they were under guard at the
depot for some hours before they were
turned over to the United States mar
shall. President Cleveland's proclama-
ton did not quite place Sacramento
under marshal law, so that the civil
authorities will deal with these accused
men.
BLOCKADE EASILY BROKEN.
The catastrophe came entirely with
out warning. The soldiers had cleared
the depot without a particle of trouble,
and except for some desultOry firing at
long range between the militia and the
strikers in the early morning, there
was no sign of violence of opposition.
The railroad people were already con
graduating themselves OF the success
full breaking of the blockade, and the
soldiers were shaking hands owe the
bloodless campaign, when the awful
news came. 1t was di5credited at first,
but presently a messenger arrived
from the wreck with a note from the
conductor telling of the horror. A
wrecking train, with army surgeons
on board, was hurried to the scene, but
there was little that they could do.
They brought the wounded to the mill
tary depot, and replaced their rough
field bandages with more elaborate
dressing. The dispatch of the cavalry
to the scene to find, if possible, the
guilty parties, followed and in q very
short time these solGiers were back
with their prisoners.
STRIKERS DIsCLIAM RESPONSIBILITY.
The strikers deny responsibility for
the disaster. Their leaders have eX-
pressed horror at it, and hope that it
would be the last act of violence in the
strike. They say that they cautioned
their men not to oppose the law and to
avoid violence of every sort, and say
they have posted guards and taken
many precautions to prevent such
work by other people, but all this has
not softened the temper Of the soldiers.
Last night they were raidiDg the
various sections of the city in a hunt
for strikers with arms. They have
found many guns and other weapons,
and what is more of q disappointment
than anything else to them, that they
have not been resisted. Whether the
strikers will hold their temper under
this treatment remains to be @
e. 81. Gould, the only passenger on
the train, relates his experience as fol-
lows:
"As the train passed slowly out of
the Sacramento depot and crossed the
Yolo bridge, through the town of
Washington we were greeted with
shouts of derision from immense crowds
of them that lined the track on either
side for nearly a quarter of a mile.
Just as we reached the trestle there
came a heavy jar. Three similar shocks
came in rapid succession. The cars
swayed violently, then stopped. Our
first thought was that a portion Of the
train had been destroyed by dynamite.
Rushing to the forward We were horri-
fed to see the engine and three cars
following derailed and completely over
turned. Soldiers were rushing forward
from the rear cars, expecting that some
felon might be near to fire the wreck.
But there was no in sight, and the
groans and cries for help showed that
there was work to be done. AS we
reached the left side of the wreck Fire
man Denekamp was crawling up the
bank. Private Clark, who had been
stationed on the tender, vas struggling
in the middle of a pond of water. He
was evidently wounded, and, weighted
as he was with ammunition and side
arms, he could not swim. Logs were
thrown to him and his comrades
plunged in to his rescue, but with a
cry Of despair he sank and was drowned
before our eyes. He foated face down
ward for q moment and then sank,
never to rise again."