Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 August 1890 — PERISHED IN A WRECK. [ARTICLE]

PERISHED IN A WRECK.

Fifteen Feople Killed and Many Mere Injured. [Boston special.] The noon express from Wood’s Holl over the Old Colony Railroad Was wrecked at •Quincy to-day and fifteen persons were killed and between thirty and forty persons injured. The disaster took place at what is known as the President's Bridge, just this side of the Quincy station and near the eld John Quincy Adams estate. The train was speeding along at the rate of forty-five miles an hour when it rounded tbe -curve at that point. It consisted of a single -engine, a baggage-car, a drawing-room car, -amok-ec, and five ordinary coaches. The train was heavily loaded, however, with businessmen returning from their summer houses along the south shore, excursionists, and a ■number of Grand Amoy veterans who had spent the Sunday at Martha’s Vineyard. • Whether the speed-of the train-caused it to jump the curve, whether It was .a spreading rail or a misplaced switch that did tbe work is now not known, but. mo sooner diid the engine reached the cut than it made a wild leap against the stone abutment. Somanraav was the space that lit -could not speed on, but such was its Horae that it turned completely about. The -cars behind were thrown from the rails, but the baggage, smoker, and Pullman continued their course over the sleepers. The fourth car, however, swung away from the others .and crashed Into the engine. This car was crowded with seventy-live passengers, and not more than twenty escaped alive and uninjured. The engine boiler was broken, and the scalding steam was forced into the ruined car, causing unutterable suffering among the struggling mass of men and women. The other cars were thrown to their sides and badly bunched. The police and fire alarms wore rung, and a crowd rushed to the rescue., Surgeons were summomed irom Boston, ant Superintendent Kendrick hurried with a wrecking train -to the scene. > The work of rescue was a painful one. The sloping lawn about the residence of Charles A. Howland was converted into a temporary hospital and the grass was red with the blood of the dead and injured. Just below lay the tangled wreck, with scores of men struggling desperately to release the dead or dying persons that remained crushed beneath the mass of iron and wood. The sound of the busy ax.es, tbe groans of ipon and women, and tbe anxious search of friends made an impression that will never be forgotten. By dint .of hard chopping the rescuing party sucoeeded In removing the body of Fireman Ryan. This was-complete-ly torn in twain. A man and a women were then taken out, the latter being dead. The man spoke a few unintelligible words on his removal, but died in a few moments. The fourth -ear was tbe scene of tbe most terrible suffering. Men and women there were wedged into every conceivable shape—some with blackened faces and wrenched necks, others with great pieces of tbe seats transfixing them so that the rescuers were obliged to cut away great masses of woodwork before they could be extricated. In several instances dead people were found sitting bolt upright as if dazed by the shock. In this posture sat a young woman whose graceful arm was still twined about a boy, but her eyes were glassy in death and her face bore a look of concentrated terror. The shapely head of the boy was charred to blackness and the face twisted into a most repulsive expression. There was a woman, apparently 45 years old, whose shoes had been torn from her feet and her hair from her head. Her face wore an expression of awe and her lips were parted as if in prayer. Next, was a heavy, middle-aged man, apparently a prosperous merchant, whose neck had been broken by a backward wrench so that the Adam’s apple protruded through the skin. Near him lay an elderly military man, calm and dignified in appearance, as though lying on his own eouch. No bruises of any sort were visible, while from hU pockets projected two visiting cards hearing the names of “Miss Butler” and “Miss Cutler.” A woman dressed In dark satin and wearing a handsome diamond ring was next removed. So the work was continued. There were some wonderfully narrow escapes. Prot W. L. Hooper, of Tufts College, who was sitting in the fourth car, thus relates his experience: “l was sitting in the fourth car on the right-hand side and next the aisle. I think I had been dozing a little. The first thing I" noticed out of the way was that the car began to sway, then to jolt up and down pretty badly, and then all of a sudden it seemed as If the seats were rising up and bobbing about in a crazy dance. Then we came to a stop Just as the craty dance stopped. The steam from the locomotive, whieh was right under our car began to escape and fill the car. I did not hear much shrieking, but there was a sort of a general groan to be heard amid the crashing and shiveAng of timbers and glass. As soon as I began to realize what had happened ! tried to break the window and get out, but the blind was partially pulled down so I couldn’t. However, I smashed the widow of the seat in front of me with my foot and crawled out.” There are various theories as to the cause of the accident. For several feet back along the track there is a sort of furrow which seems to indicate that something about the engine broke and plowed into the soil for some distance, finally derailing it* The most impression, however, seems to be that the engine was thrown from the track by spreading rails, and it Is stated that a gang of workmen had been repairing that portion of the track and may have left some 6f the rails Insufficiently spiked. There was no switch near by on that track, so that the disaster could not have been caused by a misplaced switch, as was first rumored.