[Illustration]
THE
ASHTABULA DISASTER.
BY
REV. STEPHEN D. PEET,
OF ASHTABULA, OHIO.
_ILLUSTRATED._
CHICAGO, ILL.:
J. S. GOODMAN--LOUIS LLOYD & CO.
LONDON, ONT.: J. M. CHUTE & CO.
1877.
Copyright, A. D. 1877,
By J. S. GOODMAN and LOUIS LLOYD & CO.
OTTAWAY & COLBERT,
PRINTERS,
147 & 149 Fifth Ave., Chicago.
BLOMGREN BROS. & CO.,
ELECTROTYPERS,
162 & 164 Clark St., Chicago.
PREFACE.
The narrative of the greatest railroad disaster on record is a task
which has been undertaken in the following pages. No event has awakened
more wide-spread interest for many years, and the calamity will not
cease to have its effect for a long time to come. The author has had
unusual facilities for knowing the particulars, and has undertaken the
record of them on this account. A familiarity with the locality, the
place and the citizens, personal observation on the spot during the
night, and a critical examination of the wreck before it was removed
in the morning gave him an exact knowledge of the accident which few
possessed. This, followed by intercourse with the survivors, with the
friends of the deceased, and the representatives of the press, and
by correspondence, which resulted from his assistance in identifying
bodies, and searching for relics, all added to his acquaintance with
the event and its consequences. The author is, however, happy in making
an acknowledgment of assistance from the thorough investigation of
the coroner’s jury, from the faithful presentation of facts by the
reporters of the press, especially those of the “Inter-Ocean” and
the “Cleveland Leader,” also from the pictures taken by the artist
Frederick Blakeslee, and from the articles published and sent by
various friends, which contained sermons, sketches and biographical
notices. He has to acknowledge also encouragements received from Capt
T. E. Truworthy of California, and his publishers J. S. Goodman and
Louis Lloyd & Co.
The discussions before the country in reference to the cause of
this accident, the author has not undertaken to give. These have
been contained in the “Railroad Gazette,” the “Railway Age,” the
“Springfield Republican,” the New York and Chicago dailies, and many
other papers.
Prominent engineers, such as C. P. Buckingham, Clemans Herschel, E. C.
Davis, L. H. Clark, Col. C. R. Morton, E. S. Cheseborough, Edward S.
Philbrick, D. V. Wood, F. R. Smith and many others have passed their
opinion upon it.
The accident at first seemed to involve the question of the use of iron
for bridges, and whether the European system was not better than the
American, and a comment upon this was given by Charles Collins, when he
testified that $25,000 more would have erected a stone bridge. Yet as
the discussions continued, the conclusion seems to have been reached
that riveted iron bridges might be safe if properly constructed, and
the engineers appointed by the State Legislature of Ohio, reported that
they “find nothing in this case to justify our popular apprehension
that there may be some inherent defect in iron as a material for
bridges. We find no evidence of weakness in this bridge, which could
not have been discovered and prevented.”
The erection of iron bridges with the trusses all below the track as
contrasted with so-called “through” bridges has also been discussed.
In this case the tendency to “buckling” where the track is supported
by iron braces rather than suspended from them was most apparent, for
engineer Gottleib testified there was not a single brace which was not
buckled.
The danger from derailment and the fearful result which must follow
in high bridges like this is sufficient argument for the addition of
guards, or some other means to prevent trains from going off.
These questions, however, are for railroad engineers to settle. The
responsibility of the railroad companies to the American public is a
point more important. The “Iron Age,” speaking of this disaster says,
“it is a disquieting accident.” It says also that: “We know there are
plenty of cheap, badly built bridges, which the engineers are watching
with anxious fears, and which, to all appearance, only stand by the
grace of God.”
The “Nation” of Feb. 15th says: “By such disasters and by shipwreck are
lives in these days sacrificed by the score, and yet except through the
clumsy machinery of a coroner’s jury, hardly any where in America is
there the slightest provision made for inquiry into them.
“Here are wholesale killings. In four cases out of five some one is
responsible for them; there was a carelessness somewhere, or a false
economy has been practised, or a defective discipline maintained, or
some appliances of safety dispensed with, or some one has run for luck
and taken his chances.”
It may be said of this case that the coroner’s jury were as thorough
and faithful in their investigation as the American public could ask;
and yet from the class of reporters who conveyed so inadequately the
results of that investigation from day to day no one was any wiser. The
conclusion, however, has been reached, and the verdict corresponds with
the evidence given in this book.
We have no space to give to the harsh words that have been spoken.
These have come not only from the bereaved friends, but from papers of
high standing, among manufacturers and others.
The accident has been bad enough, and the decision of the coroner’s
jury sufficiently condemning. The action of the State Legislature has
also made it a matter of investigation.
The letter of Charles Francis Adams also called attention to a demand
for a Railroad commission, and the subject has not been left, as the
“Nation” intimates that it might, to a coroner’s jury, nor even to a
legislative committee, but an enactment of Congress has already passed
to bring the subject before the Committee on Railroads.
Doubtless the results will be, increased safety of travel, and the
holding of railroad corporations to a strict account by the authority
of law, for all accidents which may be caused by the want of skillful
engineering or proper management. The Westenhouse brake may have caused
the projectile force of the whole train to have fallen upon the centre
of the defective bridge, but is there not some way of stopping trains
from plunging entirely down into these fearful chasms?
Increased appliances for stopping trains, proper precautions in putting
out fires, the frequent inspection of bridges, some method of keeping a
strict account of the numbers on the train will be required.
The object of this book, however, has not been to discuss these points.
As will be seen by the narrative, the religious lessons of the occasion
are made most prominent.
The author’s sympathies were early called forth; access to the
survivors enlisted all his sensibilities; correspondence also showed
how much need of consolation there was; and the book was prepared under
the shadow of the great horror; but if the reader shall find the same
comfort from a view of the lovely characters and the Christian hopes
which span this dark cloud with a bow of promise, the author will
consider that his mission has been accomplished.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
Ashtabula 9
CHAPTER II.
The River and the Bridge 13
CHAPTER III.
The Night and the Storm 18
CHAPTER IV.
The Wreck 26
CHAPTER V.
The Startling Crash 34
CHAPTER VI.
The Alarm in Town 42
CHAPTER VII.
The Fire and the Firemen 49
CHAPTER VIII.
Care of the Survivor 56
CHAPTER IX.
The Robbers 61
CHAPTER X.
Midnight at the Wreck 66
CHAPTER XI.
The Public Excitement 72
CHAPTER XII.
Scenes at the Morgue 81
CHAPTER XIII.
The Railroad Officials 89
CHAPTER XIV.
The Arrival of Friends 96
CHAPTER XV.
The Wave of Sorrow 104
CHAPTER XVI.
The Search for Relics 113
CHAPTER XVII.
The Passengers 120
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Experience of Survivors 131
CHAPTER XIX.
Personal Incidents 138
CHAPTER XX.
Kindness shown 144
CHAPTER XXI.
The Memorial Services 152
CHAPTER XXII.
The Suicide 159
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Character of Mr. Collins 166
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Loved and Lost 170
CHAPTER XXV.
Sketches of Character 177
CHAPTER XXVI.
P. P. Bliss 183
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Testimony of Witnesses 197
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Lessons of the Event 203
The Coroner’s Verdict 207
THE ASHTABULA DISASTER.
CHAPTER I.
ASHTABULA.
The scene of this direful event is situated on the Lake Shore Railway,
midway between the cities of Cleveland and Erie, and about two miles
from Lake Erie.
The village itself contains nearly thirty-five hundred inhabitants.
At the mouth of the river is another small village, making in all a
population of nearly four thousand. Between these points of the village
and harbor many families of the poorer classes have made their homes,
the most of them being Swedes, Germans and Irish. There are a few
fine residences in this part of the town, but the homes of the more
prominent citizens are at least a mile away. Near the depot there are
several small places of business, two or three saloons, three hotels:
The American House, the Culver House, and the Eagle Hotel, kept
by Patrick Mulligan. It was one of the worst places for a railroad
disaster. Near the depot, not six hundred yards away to the eastward,
was a deep and lonely gorge. Across this the ill-fated bridge was hung.
It was just at the point where the trains from the East were likely
to slacken speed. Below that bridge the stream ran darkly. The only
access to the gorge was by a long flight of stairs which was at the
time of the calamity covered with a deep bank of snow. No road existed
to it, and the spot could be reached by teams, only as a track was
broken through gardens and down steep banks and across the valley and
along the stream. A solitary building was in this gorge. It was the
engine house. Here were the massive boiler and engine which were used
for pumping water from the stream to the heights above, and so to the
tanks at either side of the station house, in the distance. Situated
close by the river, and almost under the shadow of the bridge itself,
this lone house became to the wrecked travelers a refuge from the fire
and storm. On the heights above towards the depot, another engine
house was situated. It was the place where the “Lake Erie,” a hand fire
engine stood. Two cisterns for the supply of water were located near,
one on either side of the railroad track. It is difficult to picture a
place more retired and lonely than this gorge. So near the busy station
and yet isolated, inaccessible, and seldom visited. Its distance from
the village, and the nature of the surroundings, will account for many
things which occurred on that awful night; but it is a strange tale we
have to tell. In the midst of the habitations of men untold sufferings
took place, and the loss of life and fearful burning.
The fire department consisted of three companies, two at the village
and one at the depot. There was only one steamer, and that was a mile
from the depot. These companies were under the control of the chief
fireman, Mr. G. W. Knapp, who is a tinner by trade, and a man slow
and lymphatic in temperament, and one who, for a long time, had been
addicted to the constant use of intoxicating liquors; a man every
way unfit for so trying an emergency. The re-organization of the
fire department had begun. Many intelligent and prominent citizens
were members of it, but these had not been successful in securing the
removal of the chief, as several years of association had made many of
the fireman satisfied with his services. It was unfortunate that the
control was at the time in such incompetent hands, but no one could
have anticipated such an event, and no emergency had heretofore shown
the necessity for a change.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: THE OLD BRIDGE.
[From a Photograph by T. T. Sweeny, Cleveland.]]