Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 September 1877 — The Recent Terrible Aeeident on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. [ARTICLE]

The Recent Terrible Aeeident on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad.

DmMoiNKd, lows, Aug. 18. The bridge on the Rock Island Road where the disaster occurred was over what is known as Little Four-Mile Creek, nine miles east of Des Moines. It is a little stream, generally ijulet, and never before known to be as high as it was made by the unprecedented rainfall of yesterday morning and the sight before. The bridge rested on a stone arch twelve feet in the clear, by walls flvs feet thick. The bridge is approached fnm the east around a curve and down a grade. It is thought the rails were lift standing alone as' the train apnroachsd, and the engineer who had slackened his speed till he came in sight of the bridg*. supposing all was right, dashed m>on it The channel of the stream was forty Dr fifty feet wide, and the banks about twenty feet high. The locomotive, in its wild dash, landed at th foot of the wedern side and half buried itself in the esrtt. Barnum’s car was next the engine. It dropped into the channel. The baggage tnd mail-car followed, passed directly ov«r It, smashing it to pieces, but going to the bottom, a bar of iron runningclear through it. The men In that car escaped aivs. Even the lamps were not put out. The first passenger-car pithed headdown into the channel, when the water was at least fifteen feet deep. The next car was plunged nnder this, telescoping with it, and the next telescoped hfif through the two preceding it. The dceping-cur did not go into the wreck, Bim|ly because there was not room for it. Its occupants were jarred, but none of them seriously hurt. The most of the killed veie In the car in front of the sleeper. The scene at the time of the iccident is described as having been terrific. Rain was falling in torrents, accompanied by wind, lightning and violent thunder. The crash put out the ligkts. and the scene of terror ensuing may well be imagined. The men who were not injured and could get out, went to woik at once to rescue the livlne and the wounded. They bad to go a mile to a farmhoute to get axes to chop them out, but they worked heroically, and by daylight had tie most of the wounded rescued. There were many pitiful sceoesand tender incidents. One mother wai killed sitting between two children who escaped unhurt. Ore little girl whohadlain in the water for four hours with a heavy man lying dead beneath her body, was discovered to be breathing, and was rescued and restored, and now showsnosign of injury. The dead were brought here on a train, reaching here at eleven o’clock, Bome twenty-five of the wounded cane with them.' The officers of the road were at the wreck all day, caring for the dtad and wounded, and have been and are doing now all that can possibly be donefouhem. The number of killed is estimated all the wav from ten to fifty. All the trah but a sleeping-car went down into the stream. The engine is completely out of sight. A special to the State Regiiter frem the wreck says there were sixteen killed so far as known. Twelve bodies are out on the banks, and four dead bodies are Sill seen in the wreck, but cannot be got ait at present.

Omaha, Neb., Aug. 30 R. M. Cherrie, of the firm of A. L Meeker & Co., Chicago, and neioe, at rived here to-day from the scene of tin disaster on the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, east of Des Moines. Mr. Cherrie says: “ The accident occurred about half-past two o’clock In the morning. It was raining fearfully at the time—pouring down. [ was in the sleeper, partially awake, and felt two or three slight jars. I raised the window and looked out, and heard the rush of waters below. I knew something had happened, though I could see nothing. It wss very dark. I got up and put on my pants, and the first thing I saw was people rushing out of the rear end of the car next to us, and it was not long before I knew the character of the terrible accident. Of course, everything was confusion, and it was some little time before those who were unhurt could get to work and relieve the others. It seems a stone culvert had recently been built, and on each side of it was trestle-worK that was being filled up with earth. The fireman, who escaped, says everything looked right when they ran on the bridge, but the next thing he knew was that ne vas lying alongside the engine in the mud below. Engineer Rakestrarc! called to him, but that was the last the fireman heard of him, and he probably died almost instantly afterward. There were thirteen persons in Barnum’s advertising car. The car was completely annihilated. Seven of the occupants were killed, three badly wounded, end they will probably die, and three were slightly wounded. It was a miracle that anybody at all got out of this car. One of the wounded men was carried down stream and landed on a small island, from which he was afterward taken off. The baggagecar shot across and over the engine, and landed on the bank beyond, with a rail through it lengthwise, and one through it sideways. It sits flat on the track, right side up, but without the trucks, which disappeared in this wonderful leap. The employes in this car were not hurt, strange to say, and even some blooded pigs th at were being shipped by express were unharmed. The baggage was not damaged at all. The smoking-car then came along, plunging downward, the rear end raising up and allowing the next passengercoach to go under it, and then the next car went under this last coach, and the rear ends of the two last coaches resting on the bank. There were three cars thus wedged in, one on top of the other. A lady crawled up through a hole and got on top of the smoking-car, with a child in her arms, and got down on the roof of the next car, where she left the child. She then returned down into the smoking-car and brought up another child in the same way, and next helped out an old lady frem the same place. I helped her down from the car myself. Out of that hole which she had left, we took five or six others, among whom was the conductor, who was badly wounded, while several pers&ns got out themselves without aid. All. that we helped out were severely wonnded. We then went into the car and made a thorough examination, but found nobody but dead persons of whom there were four or five. By this time it began to grow a little light, so we could see better to work. Up lo this time we had feared that the cars were going to tip over, but we now saw that they would remain upright. We got under the rear of the top car, as well as nnder the other two cars, and released four more that were fastened in. We used rope to pull them ont. A corps of physicians and train-wreckers now arrived from Des Moines, and they all went to work with a- will. The physicians especially deserve the greatest credit for their untiring efforts to relieve suffering. They did noble work. The ladies 'in the sleeper also rendered efficient services in assisting the wounded. A girl who was pinned last in the wreck was finally released from her dreadful situation. About eight o’clock we counted ten persons in that pit. We had to cut out the side of the middle car in order to rescue several persons. There wss more loss of life in this car than in any of the others, except Barnum’s. Eighteen dead bodies were taken out last night when we left. There were thirty wounded, four or five of whom will die. I cannot describe the terrible scene and do it justice in any respect. No one can realize such a situation unless he be there to witness It, and even then he cannot picture it to others in all its vividness of detail as he himself viewed it.” y