Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-10-26
TRAIN In THE RIVER.



ging them to put an end to his suffering.
His left arm was torn from its socket
Both his legs were broken. The people
cried to him to hold on. At last boat
from a tug which had halted in It's jour-
ney up the river came and took him on
and brought him to land. Then his
strength all left him. In less than nail
an hour he was dead and DIS oooy lay
covered with a sleeping-car blanket 81
the place where the train had lett the
track.
Surgeons came from the neighboring
towns. and injured men and women were
taken away to neighboring hospitals, and
hen sad professions to the city began
BY the light OF lanterns and harins
torches all through the night the work
Of search for the dead and missing went
on.
CoRBErr AT THE WRECK.
James J. Corbett and his company,
the members Of "a Naval Cadet" were
booked for the Inflated train, and had
they made connections they wouit nave
been I'm the sieeping-cars which plunged
INTO the huQSOn iiftts tH1sNet ~ "T--o
in the following train.
When his train was stopped by the
disaster Just ahead. Corbett and the
men of his company rushed to the scene
and assisted in the work Of rescue.
Corbett carried number OF those
brought ashore up the bank to sheiter'
and did the work OF two or three men.
His great strength came In handy IN
the work OF rescue. and he directed the
members OF mis- company, who assisted
him in the volunteer work.
PRESIDENT DEPEw TALKS.
Chauncey NJ. Depew, president of the
New York Central; General-Manager van
Etten, and a number of minor ofhcials
of the road were kept busy In the room
of Third Vice President Webb, at New
York, receiving details of the accident
and giving explanations as far as they
could. a map showing every inch OF the
river and the country between Highlands
and Garrison was spread out on table
and was frequently referred to.
There is no accounting for the acct
dent" said Mr.. Depew, 1T was one of
those things which apparently ne human
foresight could prevent. The Atlantic
express. very heavy train. passed in
safety over the very spot where the ac-
cident occurred only 80 minutes before the
Buffalo spectator, to give the unfortu-
nate train its official name, No. 46-came
along.
ITO show still further how inexplicable
the whole occurrence is. IL must be un-
derstood that at o'clock this morning
the main office In this city received the
usual notice that the track-walkers on
that section had Just reported 1t all
right"
Mr. Depew was asked II he could not
give a probable cause for the disaster.
II am very loath to attempt to ox-
plain. standing here, what happened
nearly 100 miles away" he replied, land
| can only surmise."
Pressed still further for an answer, he
said:
"rhe embankment into which the trucks
run is built up from the river on a ledge
of rock. The ledge may have given way,
and then the embankment slipped of
But what caused the ledge to give way,
thus allowing the embankment to slide
of, Is problematical.
Possibly the action OF the water may
have had something to do with 1t, but
there have never been any slides at that
point before. A careful investigation
conducted on the spot must be had be-
fore the real reason for the accident can
be determined with certainty"
Mr.. Depew turned TO General-Manager
Van Etten and asked him II he could add
anything as to the probable cause that
led up to the disaster. but Mr.. Van Etten
only shook his head
II am at a loss to understand IT, hs
said. 1.-THE road is kept in as perfect
condition as human skill can possibly
devise. The bed IL laid on rock and is
constantly inspected"