The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-10-25
FROM SLEEP TO DEATH

Peekskill. the baggagemaster He was
suffering from shock when seen, but
the scenes he graphically described. He
said:
John Shaw, agent of the Westcott
express company and myself were in
the compartment, when suddenly there
was q terrible bump and a rush Of wa
ter that forced us toward the roof of
the car. The car seemed to turn COM
pletely over and was filed with water
to within about foot of the top. When
we struck, the car whirled completely
around, the end which the Chinese oc-
cupied being under water, while our
end was tilted UP. We swan around
and got a ventilator open and, noting
the situation. got an axe from a tool
box, which was adoat, and smashed a
panel in the end of the car. We crawl
ed through the hole to the roof of the
car and a row-boat came out and took
us ashore"
Acker has been railroader many
years and has escaped from three seri-
GUS accidents. His arm is badly cut
and his body bruised. Shaw escaped in
jury.
The first victim of the disaster found
was lying on shore dying. He was bad
~ bruised about the head, body and
his right arm was cut off near the
shoulder, the bleeding stump alone
showing. The member was not found.
The man was placed on a train and
taken to Peekskill, but died on the way
The body was that of a middle aged
man.
Of the five first found three were
Chinaman, and none was fatally in
jured. The Americans were John Ryan,
badly lacerated hands, shoulder and
knee; Clarence Morgan, aged twenty
six, clerk in the office of the comptrol-
Ter of the New York. Central railroad,
broken shoulder. The three Cinnamon
were suffering from bad scalp wounds.
Morgan escaped from a floating car
through a broken panel and swan
ashore. Though badly hurt, he helped
another passenger out.
w. S. Bayonne secured an axe and
chopping out panel or one of the cars
he helped to rescue four people
At o'clock one of the express trains
left the scene with the man who had
died on the track and about twenty-five
injured persons The dead man and
five injured were taken to Peekskin,
where the injured were taken to the
hospital while the train proceeded to
New York with the rest of the injured.
This train had hardly left the scene
of the disaster when another train ar
rived bringing Division Superintendent
McCorr and Trainmasters Slack and
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simultaneously a wrecking train arriv-
ed from Peekskill and another came
from Poughkeepsie. The officials saw
at once that the wrecking cars would
be of little avail in raising the cars
from their positions in the river, where
they were almost completely submerg-
ed, SO the Chapman Wrecking company
of New York was notified to send a
river derrick and floats to raise the
cars.
General Manager Toucey gave The
first statement as to the cause of the
disaster to the representatives Of the
Associated Press:
'"The accident was caused by the bed
of the railroad being washed out by
some ineXplicable manner. In this I'M
dermined condition the track sank as
soon as the weight of the train was on
1t and the embankment, giving way,
the train was of course precipitated in
to the river. Such a condition as this
we have never looked for. Trains have
been running over this spot for years
and years without accident or difficulty
of any kind, and this piece of track was
considered as good as any section Of
the road. Not only was the road bed |
the hardest kind of an embankment, |
but it's was strengthened by a retaining |
water wall Of solid masonry three feet |
Thick
Other railroad officials were of tire
opinion that a quicksand foundation
of some kind below the water line was
responsible for the sinking of the road
bed. Before 10 o'clock a large number
of curious spectators had gathered at
the scene, coming from nearby towns.
The number of curious spectators
steadily increased as the day wore on
and excursion boats even came from
places far up and down the river, all
loaded down to the waters edge. I'M
ill at midnoon there were fully ten
thousand spectators about the wreck
lit required the utmost exertion on the
part OF CnleI humphrey Or the railroad
police and his force of detectives to
saold these people far enough in check
slo allow the railroad men to proceed
with their work. Chief Humphrey did
hood work in recovering valuables and
Ia there were any thieves about the spot
slo opportunity to ply their trade was
'iven them.
1 The American Express company has
number of its agents on the scene,
Tut they are powerless to do anything,
IS no attempt was made to raise their
lar. 1t was said that this car contain {
III thousands of dollars worth of valu-
&bles, but the officials said that all {
#ould be recovered, as the valuables I
tere in a stationary safe attached to
fle car.
FIT was at first thought that the ex-
Tess messenger, John Smith of Buffalo,
ad lost his life, but it was subsequent I
learned that he had been rescued by !
he of the tugs and sent to New York !
fifth the first lot of survivors. !
tLAmong the railroad men it was gen. t
tally believed that A. G. Mckay of {
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