Democratic Sentinel, Volume 3, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 October 1879 — The Michigan Railway Horror. [ARTICLE]

The Michigan Railway Horror.

Th< Michigan Central railroad has plumed Itself I>r years upon its freedom from accidents, but its time for mourning arrived on the morning of the 10th of October, at 1:20. At that hour the Pacific express, due in Chicago at 8 a. m., was rounding a curve at Jackson (Mich.) Junction just east of the last switch at the high bridge east of the junction, when the engineer, Milton Gilbert, saw, through the fog, an engine and train but c- few rods ahead on the main track. The whistle sounded for brakes, and it is supposed the engine was reversed and all efforts made by the engineer and fireman to save their own lives and the mass of living freight behind them; but they do not live to tell the tale. The engineer and fireman on the switch-en-gine, which thus mysteriously stood upon the main track just as the express might be expected, jumped and saved their lives. They liad just pulled out of the big switch, which forms the gateway to the Jackson yards, to baric on the side-track, and were preparing to back, when the express appeared, coming at full speed around the curve. The express train was composed of the engine, baggagc-car, smoking-car—in which there were twenty passengers—two carloads of emigrants, mostly French Canadians going up to the lumber woods of Northern Michigan; one first-class and seven Wagner coaches; twelve cars in all. The engines grappled like two living monsters, each piled over the other, the lighter switch-engine uppermost, and both fell to the north side of the track, a mountain of iron, burying beneath it the crushed bodies of the engineer aud fireman. The baggage and smoking-car and tender were broken to pieces, and, most miraculously, both the express iresso. ger and baggageman escaped with their lives, though badly injured. The next car to the smoking-car, the first second-class, was the one in which the terrible carnage took place. The car in its rear left its trucks and telescoped through it aud eix feet beyond, crushing over and through the seats, and killing and wounding the occupants in a manner that cannot be described, as scarcely any eye-witness from that fated car is left able to tell anything. Out of at least fifty passengers it contained, there are fifteen deaths known to have resulted. There were none in that car that escaped death or serious injury. In the carthat telescoped this one and did the fearful work there were none killed, but many were injured. Back of this there were none hurt, as the force of the collision carried the entire wreck several rods, and the long line of rear cars lost the great force of the shock and kept on the track. Indeed, there were many in the sleeping coaches who did not even wakeup. Some idea of the horror of the wreck may be obtained from the fact that the trucks of the five cars were all crowded close together upon the track, aud occupied loss than one-fourth of the length of the cars they belonged to. The train was manned as follows • I. Ladd, of Detroit, conductor; Milt Gilbert, of Detroit, engineer; E. B. Smith, of Detroit, fireman; John Howell and William Pringle, brakeman; E. Bennett, baggageman; and M. Carlisle, express messenger. The only ones killed of this list were the engineer and fireman. The express and baggage men were badly bruised, but had no bones broken. The worl of getting at the dead and wounded was at once commenced by a large force of railroad employes, and continued through the night. The wounded who needed care were taken as quickly as possible to the Hurd and Hibbard Houses, at Jackson, and the dead bodies to the different undertaking rooms. Nearly all the wounded had friends among the killed, and moans of anguish from the sufferers n both mind and body were agonizing beyond description. A full corps of physicians and surgeons and'many noble ladies were busy all night, making the wounded as comfortable as possible, while the undertakers were assisted in performing the last offices of the dead for those who were identified. The number of dead bodies recovered from the wreck was seventeen, while over 200 persons were more or less injured, of whom several will die. General Manager Ledyard and several other officers of the road resolved themselves into a council of investigation. It appears that the man engaged in making up the freight-trains at the east end of the yard went to the telegraph office at the junction and got information that the Pacific was nearly fifty minutes late. He reported t® Jones, the engineer of the switchengine, that they had forty-five minutes of the Pacific’s time in which to make up a freighttrain, and it was this work they were engaged in when the collision occurred. Engineer Gilbert had made up at least twenty minutes ol his lost lime, and camo tearing along at fuU speed through the fog, to destruction, fifteen minutes before hd was expected.