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About The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 1888)
Columbus Journal, VOL.XIX.-NO.aL' COLUMBUS, NE&, SEPT. W.1888. WHOLE NO. 908. FEARFUL WRECK ! . ncrian Escap tf 165 State. . At Gardner Siding, five miles west . of Duncan and twelve miles west of Columbus; on'the Union Pacific, oc- ' curred Tuesday afternoon at 1:15 one '-of the most remarkable smash-ups .. that has happened lately. The train ' was' an .'east-bound . passenger train, having on 'board, -besides' the usual .number of travelers, quite a number of men. women and children who had been in attendance oh the camp-meet- , at Grand Island, of the beventh Day Adventiste. c Thirty to thirty-five'. miles an hour is the estimate of speed by the passen gers, and there are all kinds of opin ions as to the cause of the wreck, some saying a defective wheel on the ten der, others a spreading track. The engineer, G. B. Fisher, put on the air brake as soon as the train began to jump. The sensation of passengers was de scribed as that of a rider of a bucking pony, coming 'down at very short in tervals. The- ties first struck by the jumping trucks were only about a car's length behind the train after it stopped, 'so that the thoughtful en gineer did good: work with the air brake. The engine.and what was left of the tender (the rear trucks being .off) were ahead of the remainder of the wreck about-five hundred feet The mail car-was ditched on die south side .and. stood partly imbedded at an angle of 45 degrees. The baggage' car was about the same; the smoker slid clear off its own trucks and on to others, was left, box ntact, nearly square across the track; TTEe next, a passenger coach, lay at an angle of 45 degrees on the north side of. the track; the next coach, a Pull man, was derailed and leaned slightly to the north, while the rear car was standing on the track. Had the air brakes not been applied, all the coach- . es would doubtless have been telescop .edmdthe loss of life most fearful. As it was, the escape of so many men, women and little children from even serious hurts, was almost miraculous. The only person injured, to speak of, was not a passenger, but a young man of respectable appearance, steal ing a ride between. the tender and mail car. He gave- his name as Har ry Blackmore, 111 Eighth street, Omaha. His collar bone was broken. Much indignation - was aroused against a doctor on the train who re fused to look after the injured man until compelled to do so "by N. K. Boswell of Laramie. Afterwards, Dr. Martyn of this city looked after the injured man, and he passed east this (Wednesday) morning " nino saying-that he didn't know anything about the matter until this morning. In the immediate neighborhood of this, there have been recently two other bad wrecks. Among Platte county people on the train were Geo. Streeter, J. H. De Groat, (who were slightly hurt) Peter Snyder and his daughters Rettie, Effie and Ada. It was nine hours after the wreck before a special, sent from Omaha, arrived to convey the passengers on their journey. While passengers were very thankful for their wonderful es cape, they began to complain at night fall that they were still on the ground. Many availed themselves of the soft corn in the field by the track, to strengthen the inner man, but 'most were patient at the loss of a meal, seeing that the weather was fair and and the full moon bright. Mr. Costello's force from here did excellent service in laying a traek around the wreck, and trains are now running on time again. The wrecking train arrived on the ground about nine o'clock, and the injured coaches will be picked up on. short order and sent in for repairs. Knowing ones estimate the damage to the company at eight to ten thousand dollars. Those who were on the train will never cease to think that some super ior Power prevented a wholesale loss of life, as no chance throw of so much material could have been made without more disastrous results..