Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-08-31

door as soon as !hoticed the unusual
motion. The car swayed and stopped |
before | reached the door. was
about the first passenger out of the
train and could hardly realize what had
happened. Everything wass in con-
fusion, women were screaming and the
steam escaping from the engine add
ed to the disorder. Some one was level
headed, however, for j heard him say:
| Come. boys, let's help these men.
Two or three of us went downhto the
| baggage car, climbed over the trucks,
4 timbers md trunks, and found one side
of the baggage compartment complete
Il y torn away and the bpggageman in
side He did not seem to be very
badly hurt, so we took the mail clerk
to the top of the bank first. He was
in much. pain and somewhat dazed.
i The baggageman walked up the bank
i with some assistance, and by the time
we had these two men up. help had
arrived. The engineer and fireman
had eithercrawled or been thrown away
from the engine and had been cared for
by others. The women were a great
aid in caring for the men and worked
untiringly. | suppose was frightened,
but don't know, as it all happened in
so short time, ! hardly knew anything
, until we were all safe"
T. j. Davis, well known and veal
thy farmer living few miles from
Eldon. was returning from Ottumwa.
HE said. 4 think / was further toward
the front than any one else in the
smoker. i was surprised to find my
self thrown suddenly across the car.
! Splintered wood came flying over my
) head. l was thrown four times across
5 the car and received several bruises,
though none serious. My clothes were
, torn. but / have not scratch. / think
1 was born lucky
S. w. Rouch, of Leando, was enroute
home from the state fair at Des Moines
, and was riding lin the smoker at the
/ time of the accident. He hardly UNI
derstands how he escaped death. II
was seated near the corner of the, car
that was so badly broken up" he said,
"and as soon as it began bouncing oy-
er the ties, found myself between
1.-TWO seats. / was there when the car
lstopped and got out of the big opening
in the corner. I received nothing
/. Imore serious than few bruises. John
d. Mccullough, of Leando, who was
returning home with me was in the
last coach and, although scared, was
( not injured in the least, as that car re.
manned on the rails"
For a long distance along the track
back of the train, small notches were
noticed in the left rail, where the bro
ken fnnge hit the rail at every revolu
ton. These notches occur at irregu
lar intervals, which shows that tn.
broken wheel slid in places.
|, c. O'Gara, who lives on the Soutf
Side, and is employed inR the paving
igang at the Union depot, says he saw
/ that the fange was broken when thu
train left the depot, but it was theI
too late to notify the men. The littl,
notches in the rail spoken of abov,
can be seen even in the Ottumwa yard!
and it is reported that the broken piece
of the fange was found near the depo
in this city.
A. s. Udell,s Story.
A. S. Udell, of this city, was on tn
train yesterday enroute TO Keosauqus
but did not go any farther than Eldor
returning home in the afternoon vi
Belknap. Mr.. Udell occupied a sea
in the front part of the smoking cal
and admits that he was badly fright
ened, although he did not realize
until the wreck was over and he wa
safely out of the car. He said the frs
intimation he had that there was any
thing wrong, was when shower q
Ut glass rained in his face. He was reac
9. ing the Courier of the previous evening
&c and Just prior to the accident na
1T glanced out of the window and notios
st that the train was running exception
he ally fast. The next instant came til
ge flying glass and sensation as if tn
in train had left the rails and was on til
n ties. When the car finally stopped i
RS perceived that the front end was Sc
nd eral feet lower than the rear en-,
ed and began to investigate. He had III
yet conceived the full extent of til
ct accident. With much difficulty /
in climbed to the highest end of tt
nd coach and thus gained an exit. II
lie then beheld the completeness of tx
ar wreck. The car out of which he ha
mo- Just come was standing at an ang
IL of As degrees down steep bank, an
-, forty feet below was the combinatiC
nv mail and baggage car in the rive
go The engine was on the opposite side
the. track. total wreck, with stea
ne escaping from every creyice. The tie
'h der of the engine was on the san
ost side of the track on which the smo
1at ing car lay and everything was in co
ny fusion. A moment later the engine
les. and fireman were discovered in VIII
re- was first feared was dying conditio
The fireman, especially, was bruis'
land mangled, the blood flowing free
lis, from two large wounds in his hea
of Mr.. udell said the first act of tho
CO. who escaped was TO administer TO t
md injured. They worked heroically wi
IA. the engine men, and it seemed eve
we'd minute that their efforts would be
are tile, especially in the case OF McDt
mo mott. the fireman. 1t was with dill
49, Guilty that the flow OF blood was sto
~ ped. but as soon as possible the
~ iured men were conveyed to the Ho1
Dms Eldon where they could be bett
lali cared for. A search was at once
cry gun for the mali clerk and baggas
the man. Reinig, the baggageman, W
uch found sitting in the car down in I
me river still in a dazed condition, b
an Boyer. the mail clerk, in some mann
hat had gotten out OF the car and W
the sitting under nearby tree, apparent
n M / S, IL N