The herald., 1897-04-28
A Street Car Horror at
Portland
BROKE THROUGH THE BRIDGE
KILLING THREE PEOPLE AND
INJURING FIFTEEN
Texas Miscreants Deliberately Wreck
a Train by Tampering With
Switch-Many Wounded
Associated Press Special Wire.

PORTLAND, Ore, April 27.-An cleo
trio street car of the City and Suburban
company left the track this morning and
plunged through a bridge which spans
the slough on East Morrison street.
Three people were drowned and fifteen
more or less injured. Dead:
w. s. Blanchard. usti.
Newton Hanson. a 4iaG
Miss Katherine Bailey. s.i.HE
The severely injured are:
Stephen Guthrie, arm broken.
Miss Lizzie Lawrence, internal in
juries.
William Gaskey, arm broken.
]. C. Butler, shoulder injured.
William T. Ransom; arm broken.
C. C. Miller, injured internally.
George Howell, head injured.
Albert Mattson, arm dislocated.
Motorman John G. Kiefer, only few
scratches.
There were thirtyfour people in the
car. The car was running down the hill
at speed of fifteen miles per hour and
on reaching a curve fifty feet from the
bridge the car left the track. The mo-
mentum the car had gained carried it
about $50 feet when the timbers of the
bridge gave way and precipitated the
car into the lagoon, twenty feet below.
The conductor, who was on the rear
platform shouted to jump, but only a
few were able to get out. The motor
man jumped when he saw that he could
not stop the car. The water where the
car struck was only eight feet deep aCd
the car was not submerged. In the fall
the trucks were broken from the SUPER
structure of the car, which fact saved
number of lives, as the upper portion
soon f1oated and allowed those to escape
who had not been stunned.
Some of the victims swan ashore,
while others waited until help arrived.
After the car had been raised 1t was
found that an axle had broken, which
was probably the cause of the accident.
]. c. Butler, who went down in the car,
in speaking of it, said: II was sitting
in the car near the front end. We
went laundering down on to the bridge
at a terrific rate. The first and last
thing 1 knew we crashed through and
ran into the water. 1t is impossible to
describe the terrible accident. 1 real
lied we were in trap. Z had tried to
make my way to the door when 1 saw
we were jumping the track. 1 saw
mass of fighting humanity, horflble
cries of distress and men tearing madly
at one another to escape from the fright
full death. 1 reached a window above
me. How 1 broke the glass 1 don't
know, but got hold up there and pulled
myself out. Around me, and hanging
to my coat, my trousers, my arms, feet
and legs were frantic arms and hands.
1 slipped back again and again. I saw
death staring me in the face and grew
desperate. Getting another hold,
pulled myself up by main brute force.
Those who held on came up with me,
and those who could not fell back.
clambered outside and pretty soon
found myself on shore"
Motorman Kieffer left the wreck soon
after it occurred and has not been seen
since. He will be arrested.
AN AWFUL CRIME
HOUSTON, Tex, April 27.-Train-
wreckers last night threw the switch
at Fairbanks, on the Houston and Tex
as Central, twenty miles north of here.
and the southbound passenger train ran
into it, causing a smashup of the for
ward coaches and derailment of others.
The dead:
H. S. Goldberg, Houston.
Badly injured:
Dr. E. C. Winnie of Sherman; back
and leg.
Walter Giles, porter; back injured.
Injured-Mrs. H. s. Goldberg, Hous-
ton, leg and body bruised; Charles Mc-s
Carthy of Wellborn, leg broken; Anton
Delhi of Houston; Dean Tompkins Dali
las; w. B. Cole. Dallas; G. d. Carter,
Sartis; j. Cornelius, Malta Gorda; M
j. Jacobs, Brennan; w. C. Duvall,
Houston; Wilbur, all bruised and
hurt.
Mr.. Goldberg was found about 200
feet from where the coach in which he
was riding stopped. He died within 80
minutes. He was thrown through the
window of the car with terrific vio-
lence. His external injuries were a
broken arm, shoulder and wrists, while
he had evidently been driven into the
ground with great force. His face was
completely filled with cinders, and he
was almcse unrecognizable.
Three attempts at wrecking have
been frustrated at this place within the
last year. This time the bolts of the
switching apparatus had been careful
ly removed SO that the rails were left
entirely loose, although they remained
in their places.
A FLORIDA WRECK
TAMPA, Fla, April 27.-John Fore
paugh, the circus man, and two prom
inent Spaniards of this city named An
dresene Circas and Joaquin Sierra, were
killed in railroad accident here this
evening. fast mail train on the
Florida Central railway crashed into a
street car on a suburban electric line,
smashing the car to splinters, killing
outright the three men named and
throwing the other passengers in the
car some distance from the track. None
of the others, however, were seriously
hurt. The motorman on the electric car
was responsible for the accident. There
are no conductors on the electric line
and the motorman, with his car running
at full speed, was engaged In a fight on
the rear platform with four Of his pas
sengers. some Of whom had failed to pay
their fares. The electric car dashed onto
the Florida Central track just ahead of
the fast mail train and was struck
squarely In the middle by the locomo-
tive. Immediately after the accident
the motorman fed to the woods and
has not been seen since.