The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1904-08-12

fifteen miles an hour. as he approached
the arroyo. which was spanned by q
bridge ?6 feet in length. The condi-
tion OF the bridge was not known until
the locomotive. one OF the monster pas
senger type. had nearly crossed. Fire
man Frank Mayiield. with torch that
the engineer and fireman had been ne
ing TO ascertain the condition OF the
track, was in the gangway When En-
gineer Hlndman felt the tremor in the
great machine and caught the glimmer
on the water, he shouted his last
wordsi
Put out that torch. evidently think
ing that in the acciden. he felt certain
was coming. the flames would serve to
spread fire.
But before Mayfield could obey, while
the words were still on the lips OF the
doomed man, and his hand seeking the
mechanism controlling the air, the
bridge gave way as If il had been q
stack OF knding wood, and the loco
motive dropped with the Kissing of
steam 30 feet TO the bottom Of the ar
royo. crosswise TO the track.
The baggage car. smoking car and
chair car followed the locomotive into
the stream and were swept away. All
the occupants of these cars. save three
men. persisted. and had not the roof
Of the chair car burst asunder none
would Lave escaped. Tho fireman. as
the locomotive went over. was thrown
out, and, managing to grasp a piece
or wreckage from the bridge,
floated with that to curve
made by the caving bank. and crept
out of the water. He ran toward
Eden. meeting on the way President
+. w. Jones and his wife, who had al
ready started up the track. They had
seen the headlight Of the approaching
train a minute before. and then had
witnessed it disappear with ominous
suddenness.
Notify Pueblo" came the voice of
the running man. THE trains gone
down and everybody is killed
Even as he spoke. relates the opera
tor. there were cries coming from the
distance. The two men ran to where
the bridge had been. to search, but in
vain. for victims of the disaster. When
they reached the spot, all cries for
help had ceased.
Relief trains with physicians. wreck
and pile driving outfits and scores Of
workmen were hurried from the city.
The first train from the wreck came
in shortly after midnight with J NJ.
KILN. of Pueblo. whose escape was
miraculous: II S. Gilbert, Tony Fisher
and Fireman Mayfeld. These were the
four men in the midst Of the wreck
who escaped.
When dawn came the wonder grew
that four had been permitted TO
emerge from the raging torrent with
breath still in their bodies
The end of the Pullman car Ashmere
extended fous feet over the brink,
while broken timbers and twisted rails
hung still further over The arroyo
had been widened TO over a hundred
feet at the point where the bridge had
been. The water tore a zigzag course
across the prairie TO a depth Of so feet
in several places There was but little
left Of the baggage cara few rods.
truck or so, dimiy seen in the muddy
water. half buried iron safe.
The great locomotive. the boiler free
OF the trucks. the cab and tank gone.
lies where it fell
quarter OF a mile 70 the east.
where this gorge of death debouched
into the fountain. lay the chair car.
windows gone. thrce-fourths filled with
mud and sand. A hundred feet fur
Their on was the smoker. bottom-up
against sand bar A hundred and
fifty feet farther on. in the bed Of the
fountain. was the coal tender of the
engine. and from that point on. for
four or five miles. vcstiges of the
coaches. the engine and tender stuck
up from the bed OF the stream or lay
along the shore or on the islands Red
plush seats OF the smoker were strewn
all along the stream. Brass rails from
the coaches were found in the sand
half a mile from the site of the bridge.
and pieces OF the baggage car stuck
out Of the water in several places. Bits
of clothing, coats, skirts and women's
hats were found in the brush along
the shore and searchers scanned the
foliage for bodies Masses Of earth
had caved in from the high sides OF
the river at many places. and search
ers passed these with fear that bodies
were buried under them, which they
were helpless to reach
Five hundred men scanned every
inch Of the river and its surroundings
a few hours after daylight Monday
They waded in the stream and carried
out mud-begrimed bodies which were
found at wdeiy-separate points. some
OF them miles from the scene OF the
accident
EfpE AT T0llI Oh rDinnr