The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-11-04
DROWNED LIKE RATS
Terrible Accident on New
York Central Railroad.

Terrible Accident on New
York Central Railroad.
TRAIN PLUNGES INTO THE HUDSON
Twenty-Eight Lives Were Lost-Disas-
ter Caused by the Giving way
! Of an Embankment.
Garrison's, N. Y, Oct. 26.-From
the sleep that means refreshment and
rest to the eternal sleep that knows no
awakening plunged in the twinkling of
an eye this morning 90 souls, men,
women and children. In the Shiny bed
of the Hudson river train laden with
umbering humanity plowed. dragging
through the waters the passengers.
There was nothing to presage the ter
rible accident which so suddenly de-
prived these unfortunates of life.
The New York Central train left
Buffalo last night, and had progressed
nearly nine-tenths Of the distance
toward its destination. The engineer
and his fireman had just noted the gray
dawn breaking from the east and the
| light streak of red denoting the SUMS
appearance, when the great engine,
servant of the rails, plunged into the
depths of the river. Neither engineer
nor fireman will ever tell the story Of
that terrible moment. With hand upon
the throttle the engineer plunged with
bis engine to the rivers bottom, and
the fireman, too, was at his post. Be-
hind them came the express car, the
com bination car and the sleepers, and
these piled on top of the engine.
1t is known that it was trifle foggy
and that the track was not visible, but
! if there was any break in the lines
of steel it must have been of very re-
cent happening, for only an hour be-
fore there passed over it heavy pas
senger train laden with human freight.
Neither is an explanation ready. All
is conjecture. The section of road was
supposed to be the very best on the en-
tire division. There was great, heavy
retaining wall all along the bank, and,
while the tide was high yesterday, it
was not unprecedented. What seems
to have happened was that underneath
the tracks and ties the heavy wall had
given way. When the great weight Of
the engine struck the unsupported
tracks it went crashing through the
rest of the wall and toppled over into
the river.
Then there happened what on the
railroad at any other time would have
caused disaster, but now proved very
blessing. As the train plunged over the
embankment, 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.
Following is a list of the dead as far
as ascertained up to midnight:
Thomas Reilly, of St. Louis.
E. A. Green, of Chicago.
w. H. Myers, of fremont, N. ].
Woman, unidentified.
Woman, unidentified.
Giuseppe Paduano, Of New York.
w. S. Becker, of Newark, N. ].
Unknown man, died while being res.
cued.
A. G. Mckay, private secretary to
General Superintendent Van Etten;
body supposed to be in the wreck.
John Folye, engineer of East Albany;
body not recovered.
John @. Tompkins, fireman, OF East
Albany; body not recovered.
Wong Gin and eight unidentified
Chinese.
OF eye-witnesses there were none ex-
cept the crew of a tugboat passing with
a tow. They saw the train, with its
light, as it came flashing about the
curves, and then saw the greater part OF
it 90 into the river. Some of the cars
with closed windows foated, and the
tug, whistling for help, cast off its
hawser and started to the rescue.
A porter jumped from one OF the cars
that remained on the track and ran into
the yard Of Augustus Cars house,
near which the accident occurred, and
stood screaming for help, and moaning:
'The train is in the river; all our pas
| sengers are drOwnedP'
In a few minutes Carr had dressed
himself, and getting boat, rowed
with the porter to the scene. As they
turned point into the bank, they
came upon the express car and the COM
bination car floating about 20 feet from
the shore. but sinking every minute.
One man was taken from the top Of the
car, and efforts were made to rescue
those inside. A few were gotten out,
the passengers left on the track making
a human bridge to the shore to take the
wounded on.
The day coach and smoker had gone
down in deep wate-, and rescue was
! impossible. In the latter coach the
condition must have been horrible.
The car turned completely over, and
the passenger end Of it was deep in the
water, while the baggage end stood up
towards the surface The men in that
| lower end must have fought like iends
for brief period, for the bodies, when
taken out, were mass OF wounds
The closing scene of the first day Of
! this tragedy is drawn around common
car that stands near the scene of the
accident, where nearly score OF badly
mutilated bodies, none Of them yet
| claimed by friends, are lying IN long
row. Qrewsome evidences of the disaster,
the greatest that has ever occurred on
| the railroad.
Total number of known dead, 10;
| estimated number Of dead, %.
A New Trial for Lustgert.