Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 May 1889 — WRECKED BY ROBBERS. [ARTICLE]

WRECKED BY ROBBERS.

Cars Throws P<nr»u ■■ yrt Piuaenger K'capea V injured. The west-bound passenger train on •he St. Louis end San Francisco railroad was wrecked three miles werfMJglJjv r u j i Ji t jt m»uy n passenger escaped unhurt, and farryfive are kndxn to ha\e teen seriously injured, though no deaths are yet reported. "The train was running at a high rate of speed , when suddenly , and without warning, the track gave way and the locomotive, baggage-car and five coaches went over the embankment. The train men and the only slightly injured at once set to work to prevent he additional horror of fire, in which they succeeded, and then turned their attention to the more unfortunately injured, and in a very short time forty-five passengers, all badly hurt, had been released irom the debris. A temporary hospital was improvised at Sullivan and the most seriously injured were taken there while others were taken to St. Louis on the relief train which was hurried to the scene of the disaster. When the accident occurred the train was traveling at a high rate of speed, and most of the passengers had already gone to sleep, while the few remaining awake were about to do so. There is a curve in the road about three miles west of Suhivan, and when this point was reached a sudden jolt and jar was felt all over the train. Everybody felt it, and the people in the rear cars could hear the forward coaches rattling and rumbling over the ties and the crashing noise of cars being demolished. A creek is crossed by the road at that point, and there is a steep embankment, thirty feet high. Moet of the passengers thought the train was going through the bridge, and a feeling of honor chilled their bleod. In an instant all the coaches, except the two sleeping cars had bten thrown from the rails. People were thrown about in the cars in all directions, and some of them were thrown from the coaches and down the embankment. One man, Walter Davidson, who travels for the Westinghouse air brake, was thrown right out of a window on the Opposite siae of the coach from which he was sitting, and sent rolling down the embankment to the edge of the creek. His feet were in the water. Another passenger on the same coach was thrown from the rear end, and in fact men, women and children were thrown ' about promiscuously. The train was made up of a mail car and express car, a baggage car, a smoker, a ladies’ coach, a reclining chair car and two Pullman sleepers. Back of these sleepers were hitched five empty coaches of the San Antonio & Arkansas Pass road, which bad been picked up at some way station. The front truck of first sleeper jumped the track, but the rest of the car remained on and the rear sleeper and empty coaches behind it never left the track. Fortunately there were no fires in any of the cars, and the jolt extinguished the lights immediately. Otherwise a conflagration would have been and there fe no telling how many lives might have been lost. As it was, most of the forward cars were smashed into smithereens and the debris thrown on both sides of the track. It was the worst wreck that- occurred in this section for a long time. The explanation given of it by the train men to the passengers was that the spikes and fish plates bad been removed from the rail at the curve, thus leaving the rail loose on the ties. The forward portion of the locomotive passed the place all right, but the tender jumped the track, and was thrown part of the way down the embankment. It probably would have gone the entire distance had not the forward end held it up. Whoever moved the spikes and plates fe not known, but the supposition is the work was done by train robbers who wanted to hold up the train. Btill, no robbers put in an appearance, and if the accident was caused by them they must have either weakened in thei purpose or throwfi the wrong train, and were not prepared to do their werk at that time. The road officials claim it is a clear case of train wrecking. On the train was a large body of physicians returning from Springfield, where the State medical convention is being held, and they rendered valuable assistance in caring for the injured. Among the latter was Dr. Russell, mentioned in the official report, who received very serious hurts. He had both ears taken off and was otherwise injured, bo badly that he could not be brought home and is new at Bollivan. A weapon fe anything that cap serve to wound; and sentiments are perhans the most cruel weapons man can employ to wound hfe fellow man.—Balzac.