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410 BETWEEN THE OCEAN AND THE LAKES
the train at New Hampton, Goshen, Chester, Oxfortl, and
Monroe. About a mile east of Monroe the railroad track
was carried across the outlet, or an arm, of Seaman's mill
pond by a trestle bridge. The opening thus bridged was
twenty feet wide and twelve deep. The water at the bottom
was shallow.
The young ladies of the seminary and their parents and
invited guests were in the rear car of the train. 'Phe next
car was one of the two " diamond cars." This car was
larger antl heavier than the others. It was filledwith passengers,
as was the one ahead of it. 'Phe combination car
was next to the milk cars. Among those in the second passenger
car was Oeorge Stevens, agetl seventeen, and his
sister. They were from New York and had been visiting
friends near Ooshen, at which place they got aboard the
train to return to New York. Just before the train reached
the trestle at Seaman's mill pond, young Stevens went out on
the rear platform. Ogden Hoffman, Jr., son of the famous
New York lawyer of that name, and who had also been
visiting friends in Orange County j Ogden H. Dunning of
Goshen ; Ira S. Crane, son of Dr. John S. Crane of Ooshen ;
John Hawkins of Hamptonburgh ; |ohn Monnell of Middletown
; and Edgar Monnell of Goshen, had also gone out and
were standing between the two cars, some on one platform
and some on the other. 'Phe train was moving rapidly on a
declining grade, when suddenly the passengers in the combination
car found themselves violently thrown and tumbled
about over and under the seats. Capt. Lytle, who had been
through the train collecting fares, was going toward the door
leading to the baggage apartment and was hurled forward
with such force by the sudden stopping of the car that he
was carried bodily through a pannel of the door and thrown
in a heap among the mass of disarranged trunks, hampers,
baskets, and other belongings of the passengers.
Almost simultaneously with the commotion on the combination
car, passengers in the second car felt it suddenly
begin to thump and bound roughly on its way. Occupying
one seat in the centre of that car were a little girl, who sat
next to the window ; Nathaniel Webb, Iisq., editor of the
Goshen Democrat . Capt. Israel H. Wickham of Middletown,
and his little boy. When the thumping began Mr.
Webb glanced ahead out of the window, and saw timbers flying
wildly, and water splashing. Then came a tremendous
shock, and Mr. Webb felt a violent blow on the left side of
the head. Then there was an awful crash, and for a moment
all was still, and then from beneath the ruins of the crushed
car there issued appalling and heart-rending shrieks. In a
minute, having partially recovered from the stupefying effect
of the blow on his head, Mr. Webb hastily put the little girl
out the window, and disengaging his feet with much difficulty
from the crushed seats, made his escape by the same
window.
The locomotive and two milk cars were about ten rods
beyond the stream, safely on the rails. A little in the rear
was a milk car thrown from the track. About two yards in
the rear of that was the foremost passenger car, deprived of
its trucks, and thrown obliquely across the rails. From this,
passengers were scrambling through doors and windows.
Then came the car from which Mr. Webb had escaped. It
was lying directly across the stream, with its forward end resting
against the bank and nearly on a level with the surface
of it, the rear end lying against the opposite bank, about two
feet below the level of the railroad, and so nearly broken in
two in the middle that it nearly reached the water in the
shallow stream below. Next came the diamond car, with its
rear end resting on the bank even with the track, and about
twelve feet of its forward end, the car lying obliquely, resting
directly upon the second car, which it had crushed down.
The fourth and last car was off the track. It had escaped
injury, however, as had its occupants.
'Phe rear car had struck the fallen car and run through it
about half its length, crushing down all in its way. Between
the floor of these two cars lay most of the'passengers in the
second car, imprisoned and crushed ; and it seemed that
necessarily most of them must be fatally hurt, so small was
the space where they were held. Their groans and shrieks ;
their heart-rending entreaties for help, mingling with the wild
and frantic cries of those who had escaped but were calling
upon the name of a missing child, parent, or friend; and the
sight of blood dripping freely through the broken bottom of
the car into the water beneath, all formed a scene of horror
to unnerve the stoutest heart.
After the firstpanic of the catastrophe was over, and it
lasted but a very short time, the hands belonging to the cars,
the passengers that were uninjured, and men from the neighborhood
who immediately repaired to the spot went vigorously
to work, and by demolishing the car succeeded in
releasing the sufferers one by one. 'Phis was before the days
of the telegraph, and wrecking cars or wrecking crews were
things unknown. Conductor Lytle despatched a man on
horseback for aid, and to carry the news to Middletown, with
instructions to get a fresh horse at Chester and another at
Goshen. He sent the locomotive forward to Piermont with
the news. From there word was sent by a fast steamboat to
the officers of the Company in New York.
The only mode of releasing the passengers from the telescoped
cars was to tear away the sides, or break up the floor
of the diamond car, which formed the cover to the death
trap. For some time the rescuers lacked tools to do this
expeditiously, but at last axes were obtained from neighboring
farmhouses. These had to be handled with care as well
as haste, for there was danger in striking a violent blow lest
further and perhaps fatal injury should be done to some one
of the imprisoned victims.
Only two of the young men who had stood on the platform
when the accident occurred could be found. These were
Ogden Hoffman, Jr., and Ogden H. Dunning. Neither was
hurt, but Dunning never knew how he came off the cars.
'Phe others, Ira Crane, Oeorge Stevens, John Hawkins, Edgar
Monnell, and Charles Monnell, had been thrust through the
end of the car anil were wedged in beneath the floorsof the
two for nearly an hour and a half before they could be ex-