Year: 1859

a wagon near the same place,


The Railway.


THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL-Mr. RlcH,Rp Con.
DEN. since his return to England has written a
letter to the stockholders rthe above Road through
Messrs Benson & Co., Gresham House He does not
go INTO any details of statistics, finances, &c but
speaks merely Of the general idea and opinion that
he holds as to The probability Of the payment TO the
Company, by the settlers, Of the value Of the lands
sold them by the Company from the 2,G0O 900
acres bordering on the railroad of which the Cor
poration had the grant lie was pleased aud sat
sfed with the road as far as he saw its operation.
Nearly one half The land belonging to the Company
and bordering on the road bas been sold on credit
to immigrants, and the great question among Eng.
lish stockholders is will these settlers be able and
willing to pay for their lands Mr. Golden found
the settlers to number about 10000, whose pur.
chases averaged 100 acres each Being the first
comers their farms were of course nearest to the
road and its stations. This circumstance together
with their improvements had added SO per cent TO
their value The settlers almost to man an.
nounce their intention to remain on their lands.
and they hope to make yearly payments after the
gathering of the coming harvest The terms OF
purchase allowed them five years for payment in
instaments of 20 per cont Mr.. Golden says: 1.-The
result Of my inquiries was, that came away salts
fed, both with the willingness and ability of the
Company's settlers to pay for their land


THE MICHIGAN SOUTHERN Roam DISASTER.
The magnitude Of the late fearful disaster on the
Southern Road induced the American Railway
Bureau TO send ont an engineer to make althorough
examination OF the causes which led to that event
Mr.. A, T. Wilds was the man selected for that pur.
pose His report has not yet beel issued, but the
entire work being very lengthy, the Cincinnati
Commercial publishes its substance and conclu-
sions, which we copy satisfied that its interest will
more than atone for the space it occupies


After detailing at lcngth the construction Of the
bridge, and the circumstances of the disaster, Mr.
Wilds says.


In my Judgment, the immediate cause of the
disaster can only be attributable to Que Of the
most terrible rain storms that ever visited this part
of the country, or any other in the same number
Of hours, and had the opening Of the culvert
been three times as large, the large body Of water
and drittwood that came, would probably have
carried it out resting upon the foundation it did,
unprotected as II was. Had the cuvert been built
with a concrete foundation, or an apron above and
below the wing-walls, properly secured, think
tue CulNelI never WOulu nave started and with the
great width of bal Oyerit, the water would have
gone over the top Of the track without much dam.
age. All structures, whether OF wood or stone,
that bridge streams in timbered country, should
be protected by pile tenders or Otherwise from
driftwood


am told by those who have constructed bridges
ana dams over the st, Joseph river, in this ViCin
lty, that it requires the greatest care TO build
lOund atoms that will stand In this quicksand.


Mr. Densbur, through whose land tho railway
at this pOiDt. he ttld M tho for
meT road master, that the opening Of the culvert
wns not hall large enough, and that the Grat heavy
food would sweep II all out. A3 Mr.. Powers built
this culvert, he will probably have something to
say on the -uhleot when called into Court to ans,
wer. Mr.. ID, aud his neighbOrs all say that they
knew the culyert was not half lnrge enough, and
1t would not stand through this very night as the
rain was harder than in l840-yet notwithstand
ing all this knowledge, they went TO bed, after
the water was rising rapidly, perfectly unCon,
cerned and Indifferent, with full knowledge, Ger.
tRiuly, that hundreds Of living human beings were
rapidly sweeping on 10 danger, if not certain Do
suucuon, at their very doors, and yet these three
men, tnoghbors) living Pithip few rods Of that
very oulvort which they knew would 70 out with
that HOOD, went to bed before midnight and never
hited u hand 10 signal tho danger, nor u voice to
prevent this most terrible loss Of life and suffering
even worse than death, and this too. whom MI.
Densbur could have walked from his house to the
oulvert after the rain stopped that night without
50 much as wetting his feet or tho upper leather
Of bis boots with him and his neghbors, there
fore, rests the blame aud the terrible responsibli.
~ Of knowing all about the danger of this oulver
and that 1t must 60 of that very night and yet
would not go one step TO prevent this train from
rushing to sure and awful destruction, As far as
the officers Of the M. S. a n. 1. hallway arc
ohATgeable and guilty of neglect Of duty. let thom


There appears TO be many opinions rs to wheth.
or tue whole superslTucture went out before the
engine struck il, or went out after the engine
came INTO the embankment am of the number
who think that the cuvert and the embankment
were but partially gone when the engine reached
the embankment. The engineer could have seen
the gap at least three hundred feet with his head
ig1t Chad the bank been washed out) The way
ne had run IN the early part Of the night, together
with the fact Of his stopping at South Bend, only
halt mile from this point shows that he on
the look out for danger, and at the time the road
master, Mr Smith, passed this point al o'clock
r. M, all was right, and then his going on the
engine TO Keep good lOOl. out for washes and all
being found dead on the engine, leads me 10 think
that lhe embankment aud track were not all gone
when they came upon IT,


IL has been standing rule on this railway for
afl the section men 10 go over their divisions or
sections Of the track after every rain night or day,
and this order, am informed was re-issued only
ten days before the accident by the division super
intendent. That the section master this section
Of the track did not go, is positively certain That
hr smith did try 10 do his duty Is certain, and
lost his life in The effort


An express train on the New York Central Rail
road lately ran from Rochester to Medina, a dis
tance Of 40 - miles, in 81 minutes, including two
stops The actual running time was less than 20
seconds per mile. The train was drawn by the