The Topeka state journal., 1897-10-25

The closing scene of the first day of
this tragedy was drawn around a COM
mon car that stood near the scene of
the accident where nearly a score of
badly mutilated bodies, none of them
vet claimed by friends, lay in a long
row, grewsome evidence of the disaster,
the greatest that has ever occurred on
this railroad.
The wrecked train was known as
the State express. It left Buffalo at
O'Clock and was due in New York at
o'clock in the morning. The train was
hauled by engine S72 and consisted of
one American Express car, one cOmbi-
nation baggage and smoking car, one
day coach and six Sleepers. POugh-
keepsie was the last stopping place of
the train before the disaster at 5:1o a.
IN.
At this time there were in the smok-
er, in addition to the bagga geman, Her
man Acker of Peekskill. who was in his
compartment, eight Cinnamon en- route
from the Canadian border to New York
and a middle-aged man, supposed to be
Thomas Reilly of 1850 Wisconsin ave
nue., St. Louis. All of these, excepting
the bagga ageman, perished-
The day coach contained 18 or 20
passengers many of whom were WOm-
en- and children. How many of these
escaped is not known, but at least II
were drowned or killed in this car. Be
hind the coach were the six sleepers,
with about IS passengers. The total
cargo of human freight consisted of
something over 100 people.
At Fishki1 the train lessened its
speed as it is the custom, to run from
that point to TarrytOWn at the rate of
about twenty-five miles an hour. Most
of the passengers We're asleep, those
in the sleepers being in 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
will never be fully known, for the men
who first felt the danger Engineer John
FOyle and Fireman John Tompkins, lie
dead in the cab of the locomotive at
the bottom of 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 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 few occupants of the coach
who escaped was Fred j. Degan, a
wood finisher 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. H. G. Myers of
Passaic. n. J, who was killed in the
car from which I escaped, I had been to
POughkeepsie. We boarded the train at
that place and took seat in the coach
Three other people got on at POugh-
keepsie one was a woman and the
two others were men, one of whom
looked like a railroad emplOye. AS
near as I can judge, there We're eight
cen people in the coach, most of them
being women and children, and nearly
all were asleep.
Myers and [ sat in the mfddIeaof the
car. When the crash came the car
gave great lurch and rolled over on
its side. The water rushed in and al
most instantly the lights went out. I
knew that we were in the river, and the
car seemed to plough through the water
for some time after it was submerged.
THE car was tilted over on one side
and I managed to reach the fan-light
overhead and cling to it until help
came I heard people in the back part
of the car groaning as if they were
pinned fast. 1t was so dark that I
could see no one, and think the pas
SengerS were drowned like rats.
After a while, it seemed an age, I
heard people on top of the car and an
ak crushed through the roof. The
noise of that ak in the splintered tim
berS made the sweetest music I ever
heard in my life. man and a boy
Gather and sOn were also rescued in
the same way, but I know of no other
occupants of the coach escaping. The
car at this time was floating, but fast
filling with water, and we were put
my friend Myers was drowned"
Augustus Kah, a German living
near the scene of the wreck, gives this
description: 1T was about five min
utes before 6 when I was awakened
by someone in my yard calling for help.
Looking out of my window 1 saw
Gods sake. man, if you own a boat,
come quickly. Our train is in the river
and people are drowning
4 dressed myself and, accompanied
by the porter got into my row. boat 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 engine
being entirely out of sight, the crews of
the tug boats were making efforts to
save the passengers. The first man I
saw them take out was, I think, the
agent of the express car. The first
persons we succeeded in rescuing 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 passengers off the top
of another car. At the same time peo-
pie in their underclothing were being
taken out of the sleeping car by the
crews of several tugs One man on
shore with an arm cut off, was dying
and we made his last moments as com
Iortapie as possible. 1 want to say
that the pOrters, 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 first signal tower to telegraph
Tor help. The place where the wreck
occurred is rather isolated. 1t is just
az the entrance of what is known as
Kings Cut, three miles south of Gar
rlsons and five miles north of Peeks-
The 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
Manager J. NJ Toucey, who lives there,
While the other engine hurried to
Peekskiu for medical aid. Mr. TOucey
was the first official of the road to the
scene, reaching there at : 80. The en-
glne which brought him there steamed
70 Cold Springs and returned with Drs
Winslow, Fillebrown and Murdock In
Lne meantime Drs. Charles and Perley
Mason, J. NJ. Tilden. P. @. Snowden
ana h d. Lynn had arrived, and all the
doctors We're soon at work among the
injured.
OF the dramatic horror of the situa-
ton IN the combination car when it