The San Francisco call., 1898-05-23

Fireman John H. Hickey lost his life and over two hundred passengers on Southern Pacific train narrowly es- capped death in wreck on the Alameda narrow gauge mole yesterday after noon.
 That no others were killed is almost miraculous, considering the terrible havoc wrought by derailed engine go- ing thirty miles an hour and drawing five coaches loaded with passengers.
 The Oakland narrow gauge train that leaves this city at 1:45 D. m. pulled out of the depot on the Alameda mole on time, Engineer Ed Baldwin at the throttle and Conductor Fred Toye in charge.
 The Oakland narrow gauge boasts of but one train, which must make the round trip from the Fourteenth street terminus in Oakland to the mole in time to connect with the half hourly boats, consequently the speed main- tained is higher than that of the other locals on the east side of the bay, and the light coaches go speeding up the long trestle and across the marsh lands to the Webster street bridge at top speed.
 The local had just reached the end of the trestle and was about to begin its journey over the newly constructed ground that supports the rails on the ] easterly end of the mole when the water tender in front of the engine jumped the track and began pumping over the ties. The engineer tried to stop the train, but the accident had rendered the air brakes useless and the train plunged on with the derailed ten der in front.
 Had the derailment occurred 100 yards further back a terrible loss of life could not have been avoided, as the first coach must have gone off the trestle with it's load of thirty passen- gers, and the chances of any of them escaping from drowning would have been small.
 AS it was the tender ran over the ties for some distance and then toppled over the bank. The engine with it's crew ran along for few yards and then upset. Turning in the opposite direction from the place where the ten der had fallen the engine jumped the | track, driving the pilot under the rails on the Alameda side and tearing the track and ties up as though they had been matchwood.
 When the crash came the engineer was thrown out of his cab and onto | the mud north of the track. His fire | man was not so fortunate, the topping machine catching him beneath it's pom 1 derous weight and crushing his life out 1 in an instant. That the first two or | three coaches in the train did not tele- scope on the wrecked engine is due to | the fact that the run over the ties had reduced the speed until it was almost at standstill when the engine tipped over
 | Inside the coaches pandemonium reigned. The screams of women added | to the excitement. In all the coaches wild rush was made for the doors, but before any of the passengers could reach the outer air the danger was over and the efforts of the cooler heads kept the excited people from jumping into greater dangers
 1 The forward coach suffered most, plunging into the derailed engine and becoming a total wreck and only the l high banks of gravel that had been built on the north side of the track to hold the roadbed In place prevented it from going over in the marsh. Brakeman Jack Bird of Ala | meda was sitting In front seat, and when the Jumping over the rails warned him that an ac- cident had taken place he grasped the rods between t e seats and held himself from going headlong through the win dows on the opposite side. He escaped with the loss of a few inches of skin a, 1 a wrenched back.
 .thers inside the front coach were not so fortunate. W. H. Raymond was sitting near the brakeman and was thrown across the car with serious re- suits. Violent contact with the arm of the seat broke the bones Tn the back of his right hand, and another jolt bruised his right leg so that he was scarcely able to stand. Several other passengers were also injured one man being badly cut by falling through window, the -roken glass cutting his hands severely.
 In the second coach, which also left the track, the passengers escaped with a few minor ~uises and were calmed down by Conductor Toye, who was here, there and everywhere to prevent ! a panic.
 The third, fourth and fifth coaches did not leave the roadbed, though the | only trucks that remained on the rails 1 were those of the rear smoker, which escaped without injury. When the | train, or what was left of it, was at a standstill the passengers streamed out 1 by scores to witness the destruction