Show INTO A CHASM From the Lynchburg Va Daily Doily Advance Sept 16 1889 Another fearful wreck occurred on the Norfolk and Western rail rail- railroad railroad railroad road near the James River Biver siding about four miles mUes east of this city early Sunday morning The train was wa special No 28 pas pas- passenger passenger passenger with Mormon men women and children from England I bound for Utah in charge of nine Elders and how so many escaped death is one of the most remarkable things that ever happened The wreck occurred at 1220 the immigrant train running ahead of the r regular gular train tram and was caused hy by a short bridge over the creek at that place being washed away by high water Into the chasm about five thirty five twenty five feet in width and twenty twenty- five feet deep two cars packed with immigrants were proof precipitated The engine and baggage car passed overs over s fely but were wava iori il ditched about Mint 01 twenty yards this side of the gap The first passenger car was WaR com com- completely completely completely overturned seats broken loose lamps knocked down win win- windows windows windows dows smashed the platform carried away and a bi big hole knocked in one end and strange to say not a alife alife alife life was lost In this car as in the theother theother theother other were many children some only a few months old and how they managed to come out alive is simply miraculous us Oh 1 said an old woman Gods hand was in this and the Father was with us usi l When we crawled out and counted our party all aU were found except one little chick and the Lord be praised the baby was I andI found alive aUve behind the stove and when its mother took it in her arms it smiled so sweetly that we all aJl feltin feltin felt in better spirits Elder W P Payne of Utah who had bad charge of the party was in the second car which went only partially over one end resting on the abutment and the other in inthe inthe inthe the creek Not a sound was heard in the car he said Bald when I came out and T lid down my car carto to the end of the one overturned We thought all the whole party was killed I picked up a piece of scant scant- scantling scantling ling Jing and broke in one of the win win- windows windows windows dows and then cries for help came out I asked if any were dead and they replied that some were hurt but none were dead I tell teU you it was a great relief te to us Rain was then pouring down in torrents I have never seen it rain so hard There were fully two feet of water in inthe inthe the carand every one was wet to the skin They were gotten got n out as soon as possible and then stood for hours in the rain It was a terrible ex- ex experience experience ex experience but our party behaved w wonderfully well weB ant and even the ba- ba babies babies ba babies bies kept quiet Miss Mary l Claiborne one of the most intelligent of the Mormon maidens who was in the first car said the scene beggared description I was awake awak she said when the car went over but most of the party were asleep I was wa thrown about ten feet on top of a dozen people It was w s several minutes before any of any ofus us realized what had hud happened Water was running into ii th r and we all aU thought we had bad bee o plunged into a river and P maw 7 f every minute to be our last Jast Not ot g I 7 I T-S T word was spoken and the 1 t whisper L 1 heard was from a pone woman near me who 1 My babie My God take care efOW t babies babits It seemed an age after Pie we aCl accident ent occurred to when 1 Payne called out to us and then m U e 4 silence was broken and nd oh obi ohl how glad we were to say that we w were war alive c I In n the the second car all aU of the people men women and children w welt thrown WP in a pile to one end of the car with broken seats lamps lamps- J baggage cc but none were ello serio ly injured Dr J W Dillard who f a went down on a special tra jf attended the injured who wK w s taken to the house of Mr San Ewers They were as follow w T J gJ A Simpson engineer t burned T James ames Robinson head bruised bruised- br ise C L Mays hip bruised 1 William Furbush baggage n ter tel concussion of the spine it- it L H Durant hip badly bruited brul Mrs Ellen Robinson badly about the head collar lio jo bon broken Mary Ann Evans broken l Daniel ulder bru 1 j ii r Cole i Edith Coles and Lorenzo children cuts on the head t Adelaide Adelaide Allen Alien AlJ n arm broken Hattie Hatti Com fend head cut Mrs Jr-Mrs Mrs Evans collar bong bong- broken broken How master Baggage-master 1 and Captain James Robinson Who were in the baggage car cor comi D home from Crewe escaped Is i lt wonder to the railroad men A A- A stated above the baggage N cleared d tb the brid bridee e but was dashes dadud into fragments fragments fragments-by by being thrown from the track down the embank embank-d S z ment mente The car was literally packed with Immigrant baggage leaving leaving- barely enough room for the two to imen men to move around and yet both both- came out slightly bruised l- l lAn An Advance reporter was a th- th scene of the wreck early yes yesterday morning but found that Su a j- j I Cassel had preceded hta him a aI and had a telegraph o operator at I work sending reports to Roano and superintending affairs Th i superintendent ch cheerfully gave th tb reporter all the information ob obtains n able The bridge was an iron tr with trestle u underneath Abc About Abo feet above it was the cou counter road bridge which was away and was the cause of the raf road bridge going down s sI I The water in i n the creek rose to th tom height of about thirty feet in j hour and marks on the trees at t tn w n county bridge showed it was w t s feet over that point The water t the tobacco along the creek like tt scythe and tore big rocks up r f-r f j The Main lain rain fell in great sh shee land and b the rise from a tiny stream to fierce torrent occurred in an hoO hou time and in half an hour r the creek was only two feet depth It was plain that the Um tim from th the wrecked county bridge knocked out the he from der the railroad bridge and eq o 1 S the accident was the result of ot cloudburst Y rin n Sumpter assistant of t orid d td Commissioner Hill was Abe reporter when the was 88 made and said no blame POSSibly be attached to the company The wreck l Z t the s is the most 3 S i captain reese re- re J ese I have seen during twenty y p nu experience How so many SS l women WOlDen men and children could could V r TO Wiped escaped loss 1088 of life is Me t- t immigrants were scattered y 5 the Ithe 4 he track when the reporter reporter reporter- atri led Most of them were eating ng t not while others were search search- search t baggage i in n the wreck Oh Ob f hn pounds lorti of things Where W grandfathers grandfather's s slippers said a a- a girl giri plunging into the debris t see Bee a speck of my china china china- VOW aU n old woman an ani j I I guess itI it thel r I rt n I broken The people in the did all they could for fory comfort of the immigrants and tg men picked out all an the L and loaded it on flat cars i x xer Oder er Payne P estimated estimate i the loss to party at about 1500 t me ome of the immigrants were sent the city at night soon after the dent ent and nd others came in on a az z aI train tr in The whole party left the afternoon bet men en- en eno en No o passed ov-he ov bridge thirty minutes ahead of N No o d the section foreman who whom over later did not notice any- any w unusual about the bridge way pot way tway for the transfer of pasA pas- pas A PJ FB from the westbound train 89 soon pon D erected and a large force pushed ahead ad with a tem tem- g tre trestle tle over the chasm rhe Phe Wry wao completed by 5 6 p m and a COmPleted send op opened med f ff f y ID il tie be b several days before the kd lase engine and cars are re- re J eM wl- wl |