| From the Staunton Spectator {Staunton, Va.} |
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| March 17, 1863 |
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The Recent Terrible Railroad Accident in the South
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Through private sources we get some particulars of the
late terrible railroad disaster in Mississippi, by which more than
fifty souls perished. The direct cause of the accident was the washing
away of a bridge on the stream call the West Chunkey -- the result of
the recent heavy rains. The train that passed over the bridge previous
to the one to which the accident occurred, found it almost submerged
in water -- the water being within a few inches of the girders on
which the ties are laid -- but by making the passengers walk across,
the train succeeded in passing over, but not without imminent danger.
Knowing that the bridge was unsafe, and that it would probably be
swept away in a few hours by the water and drift -- the stream
swelling every minute -- the conductor cautioned the section master to
warn the next train of the danger before arriving at the bridge. He
said he would do so, but in this he failed, and the consequence was
that the train that left Meridian the next morning, receiving no
information of the washing away of the bridge, leaped into the awful
chasm, at fearful speed! The scene that ensued is described by our
correspondent as appalling. Screams, cries, groans -- whole car-loads
of human beings consigned to a watery grave! A gentleman who was in
the car nearest the engine, and succeeded miraculously in saving
himself, says that he does not think of the thirty men in the car more
than three escaped. The second car from the engine contained about
fifty, and it is thought that most of them also perished.
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The stream was so much swollen at the time, and the
current so rapid, that it has been found impossible to recover many of
the bodies.
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On some of the bodies that were recovered, were found
large sums of money. On the body of a soldier, concealed in an old
haversack, they found forty one thousand dollars, making this
discovery just as they were about to bury him remains. On the body of
another, were found eighty-four thousand dollars.
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The loss of life by this accident will never be known,
but it must be immense. It is one of the most fearful and appalling
railroad catastrophes that ever occurred in the South. The sad story
is marked by that strange fatality that marks all great accidents. The
conductor had observed great care and precaution, and had stopped and
examined all the bridges EXCEPT THE ONE of which this terrible
sacrifice of life occurred.
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Examiner
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