The Central Nevadan. [volume] (Battle Mountain, Nev.) 1885-1907, 1901-02-21
Frightful Wreck.


day morning two niles east of Mill
City. The accident happened to the
%eastbound flyer No. 2, which was run
nlng at a speed of nearly fifty miles
an hour, and the flyer swept into an
enormous washout without any one on
the train having received the slightest
intimation Of approaching danger.
At the point where the wreck oc-
cured there is an embankment thirty
feet high crossing a ravine which
drains a watershed Of fifteen miles.
During the past two weeks heavy and
frequent snowstorns have occurr ed
IN the mountains, piling immense
drifts in the canyons. down which
during Friday and Saturday coursed
the floods due TO rapid melting Of the
snow on those extremely warm days.
AT IL o'clock Saturday night a wash
out was discovered one-half mile west
of Mill City. All the available men
ere put to work. but the break was
not closed until 4:30 Sunday morning.
During this time the passenger trains
Nos, 2 and 4 were held at Humboldt
House, nine miles distant.
But only a few miles further east
the floods from the mountains we're
backing up behind an embankment or
Fill" one hundred and fifty feet in
length and thirty feet in height, which
had only a small culvert at the center
and bottom to allow the passage of
water. The rising water honeyeombed
the embankment. finally broke through
and the rushing torrent soon wideued
the break to the terrible death trap
which awaited the coming of the i'll
fated flyer.
On account of being late the flyer
was running at a speed of nearly fifty
miles an hour when the wreck occur
red. The engine cleared the chasm,
ploughing into the opposite bank.
The tank turned half over and lodged
upright against the boilerhead of the
locomotive, the trucks Of the tender,
together with the mail and composite
car following, dropping into the rag
ing torrent below. The upper por-
ton of the mail car went co the left,
the ear end clearing the head of the
engine. The composite car also shot
across the gap, spanning it completely,
and telescoping the following Pullman
sleeper for about half its length. The
remaining two s~leepers and the dining
car remained on the track The shock
did not even awaken some of the
passengers aud they did not know un-
I'll two or three hours afterward how
near they had been to the solution of
the great mystery.
Mr.. and Mrs. Bissinger and daughter
and G. Coulter occupied berths in the
forward part of the telescoped sleeper.
Mrs. BIssinger and daughter we're in
"A drawing room, the mother having
the lower and the daughter the upper
berth. Mr.. Bissinger's berth was
next in rear of the drawing room and
MIR. Coulter's was opposite that of MIR.
Blssinger. The husband aud wife
we're killed almost instantly, their
bodies being horribly mangled, while
the daughter was only slightly injured.
The cries OF the girl attracted the res
cuers and she aud Conductor Markle
were taken III through an opening in
the roof of the wrecked Pullman.
Mr.. Coulter was evidently killed
outright. When found his body was
doubled up aud crushed and there
was a horrible gasn in the back of his
head near the ear.
When Engineer Abbay felt the en-
pine settling beneath him, he tried to
get out through the cab window, but
had hardly moved from his seat when
the crash came. How he got he does
not know. His escape was miraculous.
Conductor Markle and Brakeman
Reeves were riding in the composite
car. The brakeman jumped through
a window and landed in water up to
his waist i'm the stream below. He
vas only slightly injured. The con-
ductor escaped as before stated.
Fireman Whitaker met death with
out warning and at his post of duty
From the position of the body he was
evidently in the act of throwing coal
into the fire box when the engine
struck, and his life was snufied out
in a second. The body of the dead
fireman was wedged in by the taugle
of iron and thinkers, III plain sight, yet
in such a mass of wreckage that up to
8 O'Clock Sunday evening all efforts to
recover it proved futile.
Two tramps, who were probably
riding on the platform of the mail car.