Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-10-25
River, with no passengers. The total
cargo of human freight consisted OF
something over hundred people.

speed, as is it's custom, TO run from that
point to Tarrytown at the rate OF about
25 miles an hour. Most of the passen-
gers were asleep, those in the sleepers
being in their berths, while the occu-
pants of the coach and smoker were
for the most part doubled up in their
seats. Just how the train met its aw-
full fate will never be fully known, for
the men who first felt the danger, en-
gineer John Foyle and fireman John
tonight lie dead in the cab
of their locomotive at the bottom OF the
Hudson 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 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 finisher of New York.
His left eye was cut by broken glass
and his body was slightly bruised. Mr.
began made this statement:
with my friend, w. H. G. Myers,
Of Passaic, N. j., who was killed in
the car from which l escaped, l had
been to Poughkeepsie. We boarded
the train at that place and took a
seat in the coach. Three other people
got on Poughkeepsie. One was a wo-
man and the two others were men, one
of whom looked like railroad en-
ploye. AS near as I can judge, there
were eighteen people in the coach,
most of them being women and chill
dren, and nearly all were asleep.
Myers and | sat in the middle OF the
car. When the crash came the car
gave a great lurch and rolled over on
it's side. The water rushed in and al
most instantly the lights went out.
| knew we were in the river. The
car seemed to plough through the
water for some time after it was SUBJ
merged The car was tilted over on
one side and l managed to reach the
fan light overhead and cling to it I'M
til help came | heard people in the
back part of the car grooming as II
they were pinned fast. 1t was so dark
that | could see no one and | think
the passengers must have been drown
ed like rats.
after a while-it seemed an age
/ heard people on top of the car and
an axe crushed through the roof. The
noise of that axe in the splintered tim
bers made the sweetest sound | ever
heard in my life. Soon they had hole
cut in the roof and pulled me out
through it. A man and a boy father
and SOM were also rescued in the same
way, but l know of no other occupants
of the coach escaping. The ceS at this
time was floating, but fast f,lIag with
water, and we were put ashore in row
boat l am sure that my friend Myers
was drowned"
Augustus Kah, a German living near
the scene of the wreck, gives this de-
was ABOUT nve minutes before &
when I was awakened by some one in
my yard calling for help.
Looking out of my window I saw a
sleeping car porter, who shouted: For
Gods sake, man, if you own a boat,
come quickly! Our train is in the
river and people are drowning
Il dressed myself and, accompanied
by the porter, got into my rowboat
and rowed around the curve to where
the train was in the river When we
reached the cars, which were sub
merged nearly to their roofs, the en-
CINE being entirely out of sight, the
crews of the tugboats were making
efforts to save the passengers. The
first man | saw them take out was, |
think, the agent of the express car.
The first persons we succeeded in res
cuing were two Cinnamon who were
sitting on the roof of the smoker
One had his arm broken. We put
them ashore and then took three more
persons off the top of another car.
At the same time people in their I'M
derclothes were being taken out of the
sleeping cars by the crews of the sew
eral tugs. One man on shore with an
arm cut off was dying, and we made
his last moments as comfortable as
possible. | want to say that the por-
tiers, although frightened, showed
great bravery and saved many lives"
One of the trainmen who survived
the disaster made it his first duty to
run to the nearest signal tower to tele-
graph for help. The place where the
wreck occurred is rather isolated. 1t
is just at the entrance to what is
known as the Kings Cut, three miles
south of Garrisons and five miles
north of Peekskill.
Two other express trains were follow
ing close behind the Inflated State eX-
press, and the engine of one of them
was sent to Garrisons for General Man
ager j. NJ. Toucey, who lives there,
while the other engine hurried to
Peekskill for medical aid Mr. Eoucey
was the first official of the road at the
scene, reaching there at 100 The en-
CINE which brought him there steamed
to Cold Spring and brought Drs. Wins
low, Fillbrown and Murdoch. In the
meantime, Doctors Charles and Herley
Mason. j. NJ. Tilden, R. c.. Snowden
and Ed. Lynn had arrived and all the
doctors were soon at work among the
injured.
Of the dramatic horror Of the situa-
ton in the combination car when it
left the track and struck the water, per-
haps the best account is had from the
story of Herman Acker. of Peekskill.
the baggageman and mail sorter. Acker
was suffering badly from shock when
seen, but the scene he graphically de-
scribed as follows:
John Shaw, agent for the Westcott
Express Company. and myself were in
the compartment when suddenly there
was terrific bump and then rush of
water that forced us toward the cell
ing. The car seemed to turn complete
ly over and had filled with water TO