The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-30

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.,, May 29.-Sev-
eral Springfield people were on board
the Chicago & Alton train which
crossed the Eads bridge at ST. Louis
during the terrible cyclone, and which
was reported to have been blown into
the river. One of these, Mr. Fred c.
Dedds, of the Chicago, Peoria & st.
Louis railroad general officers here,
gives the following description of his
thrilling experiences:
TT was about $40 o'clock when we
left the Main street station on the Mis-
souri, side of the river. 1t was then
blowing a gale and was as dark as
night. The air was filled with dust
and dirt and some Of us were afraid it
would not be safe to venture on the
bridge with the train, but another
train behind us was due and the train
men decided to take the chances We
had gone about half way over when
we came in
RANGE OF THE CYCLONE.
The air was filled with debris that
struck the car windows and broke
them. With the crash of the first glass
the passengers began to crowd under
clouds of missiles that were being
thrown through the air.
"All at once the train stopped. I
understood afterwards that the force
of the wind was so strong that the en-
| gineer, although he put on a full head
| of steam, could not move the engine in
the face of the storm. A moment later
| the train moved up and we stopped
| outside the east pier on the approach.
by this time the storm was awful.
| The train was rocking like a cradle.
and we were being tossed about under
the seats in way that filled us with
terror. The sensation was as if the
train was running wild at the rate of a
THOUSAND MILES AN HOUR.
What helped to give this impression
was the horrible noise The great
steel trusses and rods of the bridge
were being torn and twisted from their
places. Masses of masonry from the
pier were crashing down on to the
structure below. and added to it all
was the awful roar and hiss of the
storm. The newspapers have not ex-
! aggerated it in the least. 1t cannot be
described.
The rocking increased and got
worse until at last our coach went
over 1t was thrown on its side on the
next track and here it lay while a tor
rent of rain poured in through the
broken windows. The coach back of
us went over on its side in the same
manner as ours did.
1T WAS A MIRACLE
we were not thrown into the river and
all killed. All the coaches went over,
the structure above and behind us be-
gan to give way and was thrown down
upon the tracks. Had our coaches
been a few feet beck, they would have
been crushed in like eggshells.
MY first thought was to get out
of the coach. This I did by crawling
through window. I think I was the
first one out, the other passengers fol-
lowed and we went forward to the
baggage and smoking car which were
still standing. The crew of the train
was a remarkably cool-headed one
Like all of us they were frightened
badly, but they stayed at their places
like heroes and showed all the atten-
ton possible to the passengers. The
brakeman carried a woman back to the
bridge, crawling with her over the
wreck and risking his life to get her to
the city. The engineer had to pass
THROUGH A WORSE ORDEAL
than any of us. While he was clinging
to his engine he could see his own
home in East st. Louis being swept
away and when the storm had sub
sided he could look down on the wreck.
He. of course, supposed his family was
killed and his anxiety over them was
pitiful. He did not wish to desert his
engine and at the same time he was
wild to know the fate of his wife and
children. Finally he could stand the
suspense no longer, and turning his en-
CINE over to his fireman, he started for
Lis wrecked home. 1t was not long be-
fore he came running back with the in
telligence that his family was SAFE