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..