The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-10-25

ViVOrs OF the WRECK.
Garrisons, N. Y, oct. 25.-From the
sleep that means refreshment and rest
to the eternal sleep that knows no
waking plunged in the twinkling of
an eye yesterday morning 2s souls
men, women and children. Into the
Shiny bed of the Hudson river a train,
laden with slumbering humanity.
plunged, dragging through the waters
the helpless passengers. There was
nothing to presage the terrible acci-
dent which so suddenly deprived these
unfortunate of lives. The New York
Central train left Buffalo Saturday
night, and had progressed for nearly
nine-tenths of the distance towards it's
destination. The engineer and his fire
men had just noted the gray dawn
breaking in the east, and the light
streak of red betokening the suns APP
pearance, when the great engine went
into the depths of the river. Neither
engineer nor fireman will ever tell the
story of that terrible moment, for with
his hand upon the throttle the en-
gineer plunged with his engine to the
river bottom and the fireman, too, was
at his post Behind them came the
express car, the combination car and
the sleepers and these piled on top
of the engine
1t is known that It was a trifle foggy,
and that the track was not visible, but
II there was any break in the lines of
steel it must have been a very recent
happening, for only an hour before
there had passed over it a heavy pas
senger train laden with human freight.
AS the train plunged over the en-
bankment the coupling that held the
last three of the six sleepers broke, and
they miraculously remained on the
broken track. In that way some 60
lives were saved.
OF eye witnesses there were none ex-
cept the crew of a tugboat passing
with a tow. They saw the train with
it's lights as it came flashing about the
curves, and then saw the greater part
of 1t go into the river. Some of the
cars with closed windows fioated, and
the tug, whistling for help, cast off it's
hawser and started to the rescue.
Porter Gives the Alarm.
! A porter jumped from one of the cars
that remained on the track and ran into
the yard of Augustus Kah's house.
near which the accident occurred, and
stood screaming for help, and moan
ing: THE train is in the river and
all our passengers are drowned"
In a few minutes Kah had dressed
himself and getting a boat rowed with
the porter to the scene. AS they turn
ed point in the bank they came upon
the express car and the combination
n ~.
but sinking every minute. One man
was taken from the top of the car and
efforts were made to rescue those in
side. A few were gotten out, the pas
| sengers left upon the track making a
human bridge to the shore to take the
wounded in.
| The day coach and smoker had gone
down in the deeper water, and rescue
was impossible, In the latter coach
the conditions must have been horrible.
The car turned completely over and
the passenger end of 1t was in the deep
water while the baggage end stood up
towards the surface, The men In that
lower end must have fought like hends
for a brief period, for the bodies when
taken out were mass of wounds.
The wrecked train was known as the
state express. 1t left Buffalo at
/ O'Clock Saturday night and was due
| IN New York at o'clock yesterday
morning. The train consisted of one ex-
press car, one composite baggage and
smoking car, one day coach and six
sleepers. Poughkeepsle was the last
stopping place of the train before the
disaster, at $40 a. m.
At this time there were on the
smoker, in addition to the baggage
man, Herman AcBer, Of Peekskin, who
was in his compartment, eight China
men en- route from Canadian border to
New York, and q middle aged man,
supposed to be Thomas Reilly, of ST..
louis. All of these, excepting the bar
gagemaster, perished. The day coach
contained IS or 20 passengers many Of
whom were women and children. How
many OF these escaped Is not known,
but at least - We're drowned or killed
in this car
Most Of the Passengers Were Asleep.
When the accident happened most OF
the passengers were asleep, those in the
Bleepers being i'm their berths, while the
occupants of the coach and smoker
were for the most part doubled up in
their seats. Just how the train met It's
awful fate viii never be fully known,
! for the men who nrst relt the danger,
! Engineer John Foyle and Fireman John
Tompkins, lie dead in the cab OF their
locomotive at the bottom Of the Hud-
son river.
Conductor Parish, who was In charge
of the train, and who was making up
his report in one of the cars when the
crash came, was rendered unconscious
by a blow on the head. When he re-
covered he was three seats ahead of
the one In which he had been sitting.
One OF the occupants Of the coach
who escaped with his life was Frank
]. Degan, a wood hnlsher, OF New
York. His left eye was cut by broken
glass and his body was slightly bruised
Mr.. Degan made this statement:
with my friend, w. II. c. Myers, OF
Passaic N. j., who was killed In the
FaT from which / escaped, l had been