The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-10-25

Gleep that means re1TeSnment anu rest
10 the eternal sleep that knows no
waking plunged in the twinkling of
an eye yesterday morning % souls
men, women and children. Into the
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
nme-tenths of the distance towards Its
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 ap-
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 1t was a trine foggy,
and that the track was not visible, but
If there was any break in the lines OF
steel 1t must have been very recent
happening, for only an hour before
there had passed over 1t heavy pas
senger train, laden with human freight.
AS thu train plunged over the en-
banlcment 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 ya.lnesses there were mona ex-
cept the crew of tugboat passing
with q tow. They saw the train with
its lights as it came flashing about the
curves, and then saw the greater part
of 1t 60 into the river. Some OF the
oars with closed windows !loatcd. and
the tug, whistlng for help, east Off its
hawscr and started to the rescue.
Porter Gives the Alarm.
A porter jumped from one of the cars
that remained on the track ard ran into
the yard of Augustus Kah's house.
near which the accident occurred, and
stood screaming for help, and moan
ing: 1.-THE train is In the river and
all our passengers are drowned"
In a few minutes Kah had dressed
himself, and getting boat rowed with
the porter to the scene. AS they turn
cd point In the bank they came upon
the express car and the combination
car floating about 20 feet from shore,
but sinking every minute. One man
ri was taken from the top of the car, and
efforts were made to rescue those in
bide. A few were gotten out, the pas
sengers left upon the track making Il
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 !lends
for brief period. for the bodies when
taken out were a mass OF wounds,
The wrecked train was known az the
state express 1t left Buffalo at
2 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. Poughkeepsie was the last
stopping place Of the train before the
disaster at $40 u. IN.
At this time there were on the
smoker, in addition to the baggage
ali re nly,.Iyi t,l,n
was In his compartment, eight China.
men en route from Canadian border to
New York, and a middle aged man.
supposed to be Thomas Reilly. Of st.
Louis All of these, excepting tie ba"-
gagemaster. pershed. .The day coach
contained is or 90 passengers many Of
whom were women and children. How
many of these escaped is not known.
but at least IL were drowned or killed
In this car.
Most of the Passengers Wore Asleep.
when the accident happened most of
the passengers were asleep, those In the
slcepers being In their berths while the
occupants of the coach and smoker
we're for the most part doubled up in
their seats. Just how the train met its
awful fate will never be fully known,
for the men who first felt the danger,
Engineer John Foyle and Fireman John
Tompklns, 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 caTs 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
i. Degan, n wood ilnisher, OF New
York Ills left eye was cut by brofen
glpss and his body was slightly bruised.
Mr.. Degan made this. statement:
with my friend, ". H. q. Myers, of
Passnic, N. j.. who was killed In tho
sar from which I escaped, l had been
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