Cortland
Evening Standard, Wednesday, October 27, 1897.
TWO MORE RECOVERED.
McKay and Foyle Still at the River's Bottom.
FIENDS CAUSED THE WRECK.
Fireman's Body Was Jammed to the
Locomotive's Front—Rettenberg Was in the
Day Coach—Valuables in Express Car Were Found Intact.
GARRISON, N. Y., Oct. 27.—The event of the
day at the scene of the N. Y. Central wreck was the raising of the day coach of
the ill-fated train, the finding of an additional body there, and the raising
of the engine with the body of the fireman, John Q. Tompkins, tightly wedged
between two masses of iron in front.
For some hours and prior to the raising of
this car it had become an impression that several more bodies would be found.
When the car had been elevated and the water drained out of it, those watching
the operation saw at one of the windows a human hand badly bloated, and just
beyond the feet sticking out from under one of the seat tops. The wreckers tore
aside the debris and soon had the body out.
A search was made and the entire furniture
of the car were removed so that anything within could be easily reached to the
relief of the searchers, but no more bodies were found.
The body removed, making the 17th recovered
since the wreck and the 20th victim, was that of a man of 35 years old, dark,
with a dark short moustache. He was dressed in a gray woolen outing shirt, dark
blue vest and trousers, a black necktie and yellow socks. The shoes had been
removed and so had the coat. It was evident that the man had been sleeping in
the seat when death came. In one of the pockets of the vest was a wallet
containing six $10 bills, a $2 bill and a Casualty Insurance company ticket,
such as is bought at railway stations as an insurance against accident or
death.
It was made out for the usual sum of $2,500
in case of death, but very curiously the name, or at least the last name of
both payer and beneficiary were missing. The card so far as could be read
"Ike R." as the purchaser's name and "Mrs. E." as the
person to whom it was to be paid.
The railroad officials are of the opinion
that the man boarded the train at Rochester, as the hour of purchase of the insurance
card is marked 9 o'clock, and Rochester is the most probable station where, to
catch this train, it could be purchased at that hour. The body was taken to the
coroner's office at Cold Spring.
The contents of the car, other than the body,
showed that the people had made a great rush for their lives. There were
women's shoes and hats, six men's hats, a woman's coat, eight gripsacks of
various kinds, two men's coats and many small garments.
The other event of the day was the raising
of the express car, from which it was alleged that a large sum of money had been
lost by the dropping to the river bottom of a small safe. General
Superintendent Van Valkenburgh of the American Express company was present.
When the car came to the surface it was seen
that it was the most badly damaged of any that had yet been taken out. One-half
of the car had been entirely demolished and washed away. As soon as possible the
car was searched by inventory and then Mr. Van Valkenburgh gave out this
statement:
"None of the valuables in the car were
lost. The big dynamite proof safe was intact and fastened to the wall in its
proper place. The small safe, which it was thought might have dropped out of
the broken ear, he found in a corner, and the only thing of value known to be
missing is a small package of jewelry. Of course, all the merchandise in the
car has been destroyed, but we have luckily found most of the bills of lading
and settlement will be easy.
"The wonder to me is how our agent, Mr.
Smith, ever got out of the car the way it was smashed up. He did, however, and
had only a fracture of an arm. We found his vest in the corner of the car, with
the watch in the pocket and the fob attached. The watch crystal was not broken."
The heavy engine was dragged out of the
water, and President Chauncey M. Depew and
the three railroad commissioners, with Assistant Secretary Edward McEntee, saw
the operation. The divers had located the tender early and brought it up
without its trucks.
The engine was worked upon for several
hours, the divers finding it impossible almost to get the heavy chains under
it, as it had sunk so far into the mud. When it was brought to the surface the
front trucks were missing and the front of the boiler and the guards were
smashed into an unrecognizable mass.
As the great machine came in sight one of the
men on the lighter saw clothes dangling from the front, and it was found that
the rags covered up a human body. The body was wedged in front of the boiler,
where the engine number plate is and had to be dragged out. It was taken to a
train at once and sent up to Cold Spring to the coroner's office. [Fireman] Tompkins
was dressed in his working suit. There is much speculation as to how Tompkins
came to be on the front of the ponderous machine.
The body had been driven into the mud so
deeply that he was not visible to the divers when they walked around it.
The fact of the finding of the fireman's
body in the position where it lay had led to the belief that the engineer's
body is somewhere in the locality, probably under the engine. All that remains
as a reminder of the wreck here now, with the exception of the wrecking
machinery, are the broken-up and burning cars on the river bank.
The fact that the front trucks of the engine
are yet in the river precludes any possibility until later of determining
whether a broken truck caused the accident.
Eighteen bodies so far have been recovered.
BODIES
IDENTIFIED.
No. 17
Proved to Be Ike Rettinger of New York—Chinamen Shipped.
POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y., Oct. 27.—Body No. 17,
which was found in the day coach, was identified at Cold Spring as Isaac
Rettinger of New York, 32 years old, dealer in eyeglasses. His father lives at
37 1/2 Webster street, Cleveland.
The unknown woman in McIlvary's undertaking
rooms is still unidentified.
The body of the Italian will be claimed by
his wife, who lives in Albion, N. Y. His
correct name is Giusuppi Padnano.
The bodies of the eight Chinamen were sent
to New York, where they will be buried by the Chinese society, the president of
which claimed them.
Rettenberg
Visited in Rochester.
ROCHESTER, Oct. 27.—"Ike R.," the
20th victim of the Central wreck at Garrison, is Isaac Rettenberg of New York
city. He came to Rochester Oct. 13 and stayed a few days. He was selling
notions. He is said to have been engaged to a girl here. He was on the way to
New York to attend his brother's wedding. His insurance was made out to his mother,
Mrs. E. Rettenberg of Cleveland.
 |
| Chauncey M. Depew. |
WAS NO
ACCIDENT.
The Garrison
Wreck the Work of a Fiend.
NEW YORK, Oct. 27.—The World today says:
Only less startling than the direful news of the disaster on the New York
Central road at Garrison was the statement made by Chauncey M. Depew last
night, that the so-called accident was no accident as all, but the direct
result of a malignant crime.
It was no landslide, said Dr. Depew, after
he and his experts had examined the locomotive, dragged by ponderous derricks
from its bed of mud. It was no sloughing off of a bit of rotten roadbed that
caused this terrible calamity.
It was the direct result of an explosion of
dynamite, placed on the track solely to send a train to destruction and its
inmates to sudden death.
"It is very singular," Mr. Depew
said, "but I am informed by one of our detectives that Chief Humphreys has
already received positive information tending to make good my assertion, backed
by the physical evidence, that this break was made by dynamite.
"He is working hard on the information
given and I am assured he is on the road to information which will throw a
great deal of light on the subject.
"The road has been blown up. That is a
certainty, and our detectives have definite and positive clues to work on."
EFFECT OF DYNAMITE.
BELIEVED
THAT THE ROAD BED WAS BLOWN UP.
Appearances
Point the Way and Circumstantial Evidence Justifies the Belief—Attempt to Wreck
this Train Two Miles South of the Fatal Spot.
COLD SPRING, N. Y., Oct. 27.—Suspicion that
the terrible disaster on the New York Central railroad was the work of a
diabolical plot gained strength among the railroad men this morning.
"If the embankment of the railroad was
torn up by dynamite, the motive of those who did it was not robbery, but
revenge,'' was the startling statement made by one official of the road.
The suspicions of the railroad company having
been aroused, a vigorous investigation is being made, and at least one man may
be arrested to-day.
When the
party of twenty-six roadmasters of the New York Central system arrived at the
scene early Monday morning and commenced a critical survey of the section of
the embankment which had been either washed or blown out, one of the roadmasters.
a man who had great experience in the use of dynamite, said to his fellow
officials that the excavation looked to him very much like the work of
dynamite. He has used this powerful explosive a great deal in his work on the Adirondack
division of the railroad and is familiar with its effects.
The tendency of dynamite is to blast downward,
rather than upward or outward, and one of the most expert track builders of the
road says that a very light charge of dynamite would have collapsed a section
of track fully as extensive as the section in question.
The locomotive was found in the river at
least thirty feet south of the depression in the track, which makes it seem reasonably
certain that the engine leaped the space before it started in its plunge into
the mud bottom of the river. It is known that the engineer had shut off his
steam and applied the airbrakes to the train before the crash came, and these
circumstances lead the officials to believe that Engineer Foyle saw that
something was wrong with the track in time to apply the brakes before he went
into the river with his engine. Still it is admitted that he would have
instantly applied the brakes the moment he felt his engine sinking.
A gentleman who travels from Garrison to New
York every morning says that three weeks ago this same train, No. 46, had a
narrow escape from being wrecked at a point about two miles south of the spot
where it finally met its fate. A huge boulder weighing two tons was discovered
on the track just in time. "I made the remark that morning that I believed
some one had put that stone there and I still think so," said this
gentleman.
The boulder must have fallen from the top of
the mountain for it cleared the inland track in its fall and landed squarely in
the down track. "It looks to me as if some one bears a grudge against the
railroad company, but who it is I cannot say."
The suspicions of the railroad officials are
being quietly followed up by Chief Detective Humphrey.
Little remained of the debris of the wreck
this morning beyond the smouldering embers of the cars, all of which had been
raised and burned along the shore. A diver appeared on the scene at 8 o'clock
and went down to search for the bodies of Engineer Foyle and Stenographer
McKay, their bodies being the only ones positively known to be still in the
river.
The diver commenced a thorough search in the
mudhole from which the locomotive was lifted yesterday. This hole is 6 feet
deep and after searching in it for fifteen minutes, he returned to the surface
with a telescope satchel which had fallen into the hole after the engine was
taken out of it. He said that the depression contained a number of mattresses,
seat cushions and stuff of a similar nature, hut no bodies were in sight.
A steam dredge is on its way from New York
and if the diver fails to find the bodies the mud will be dredged in the hope
of bringing the bodies up in that way. The officials of the New York Central
deny most vehemently the statement made by Michael Clare of Cold Spring that he
resigned his position as section foreman because he knew that the roadbed was
unsafe and did not wish longer to take the responsibility for it. The officials
say that Clare was discharged for drunkenness and neglect of duty. General
Superintendent Toucey and others state that they saw Clare only last evening in
a very intoxicated condition.
TOWN OF
CINCINNATUS.
CINCINNATUS, Oct. 26.—Mr. and Mrs. F. L. Nichols were in Marathon
over Sunday, the guests of relatives.
Miss Hopper of Ithaca visited at D. J. Bolster's
part of the past week.
A reception was given to Rev. and Mrs. P. D.
Perkins on Friday evening of
last week, over seventy-five of their friends being present. Light refreshments
were served and the occasion enjoyed by all present.
The W. C. T. U. will meet with Mrs. Rouse on
Thursday afternoon of next week at 2 o'clock.
Arthur Brown and family of Whitney Point
were guests at Mrs. T. C. Rogers' over Sunday.
Rev. A. C. Smith of Preble was in town one
day last week. Mrs. Smith returned home with him.
Work was begun laying pipes for the gas
system on Monday. The gasoline tank will be sunk in or near the green in front
of the hotel and the machinery will be placed in Nichols & Lotridge's
cellar.
Ira Dodge was stricken with paralysis while
sitting in the Cincinnatus House Sunday
morning. At this writing (Monday evening) it is thought he can live but a few
hours.
Cincinnatus
Lecture Course.
For the past two years, the citizens of the
village of Cincinnatus have successfully conducted and supported a lecture course,
and the entertainments provided have all been of a high class. The course for
this season has just been arranged and the entertainments give promise of being
equal to those of the past. The course is as follows:
Nov. 10—An evening of music by "The
Ransom Entertainers."
Nov. 22—Edward H. Frye, Monologist.
Dec. 21—Lecture on Robert Burns by Eugene
Clinton, Esq.
Jan. 7.—Enos Johnson, violinist, from the
New York Conservatory of Music.
Jan. 21.—Lecture by Prof. J. E. Banta of the
Cortland Normal school.
HALLOWEEN.
It Falls
on Sunday this Year to the Regret of the Small Boy.
The small boy is mourning because of the fact
that Halloween falls this year on Sunday night, so that be cannot observe the
event in the usual manner.
Hallow eve
is the vigils of All Hallows or All Saints' day, Oct. 31. All Saints' day is a
festival in honor of the angels and saints of heaven, observed in the Roman
Catholic churches on Nov. 1, and also in the Protestant Episcopal and Lutheran
churches. In the Eastern churches the same festival has been observed since the
fourth century. In the West it was instituted by Pope Boniface IV in the early
part of the seventh century, on the occasion of the dedication of the Pantheon,
a temple built by Marcus Agrippa, 25 B.C., in honor of Jupiter, the avenger. All
Souls, the day after All Saints, is set apart by the Catholic church for the
commemoration of all the faithful departed, for whom the mass of requiem is
said, and the office of the dead recited.
The popular observance of Halloween is on
the wane. It is of the Scottish origin and at one time was a feature of the
holiday observances is that country. It was supposed to be a time when spirits
in visible and invisible form stalked abroad. The passion for prying into the
future forms a striking part of human nature and this feature is one of the
most prominent in the observance of this night. From the early times there seems
to have been some attention paid to the celebration of this section of the year
when it was popularly supposed the spirits could leave their earthly habitation
and roam about to find their kindred.
BREVITIES.
—The Avalon dancing club will give the second
of its series of parties at Empire hall on Friday evening, Nov. 5. McDermott's
orchestra furnishes the music.
—One of the largest flocks of geese ever seen
to pass over Cortland, passed over yesterday on their way to warmer climates.
Those who saw them estimate that there were at least fifty in the flock.
—Henry D. Freer has sold the Ithaca hotel to
George F. Simpson and Michael Casey. The purchase price is not stated by any of
the parties but the report in Ithaca is that it was $40,000. The house is to be
repaired and refurnished.
—New display advertisements to-day are—Dey
Bros. & Co., black dress goods, page 8; Rosenbloom & Sons, parlor
suites, page 6; Wallace & Gilmore, "The Girl from Ireland," page
5; F. Daehler, merchant tailor, page 8; F. E. Brogden, wanted, page 8.
—The Junior league of the Homer-ave. M. E.
church will give a farewell reception at the home of Mrs. Frank Andrus of 70
Madison-st., the superintendent, at 7:30 this evening to Edmund and Dunham
Gearhart, sons of Rev. and Mrs. E. B. Gearhart.
—Solon is to have a big excursion to Cortland
on Saturday, Oct. 30, on the occasion of the starting of regular trains between
that place and Cortland. The round trip fare will be 35 cents. Tickets will be
good on a train leaving Solon at 1 P.
M. and returning, leaving Cortland at 5 P. M.
—Barnum & Bailey's circus will
not visit Cortland next year, for it sails for Europe in November for a year's
trip. The Buffalo Bill Wild West is to go tour in this country next season in
the districts that would otherwise be covered by the Barnum & Bailey
show, alternating with Forepaugh & Sells Brothers.
—Have you ever noticed that when you meet a
doctor, he says: "How are you?" A newspaper man inquires, "What
do you know?" But the lawyer hits you on the back and ejaculates,
"What have you got?" The preacher asks, "Where are you
going?" and that is the hardest to answer.—Norwich Sun.
—Gas has been struck at Auburn in the well
that is being put down there. It was found in Medina sandstone at a depth of
about 1,500 feet. It is not yet known whether it is in paying quantities or
whether it will last, but the gas now escaping is being utilized as fuel for
the boiler that drives the machine that is sinking the well further.
—The Italians who have been working on the
Cortland and Solon division of the E. &
C. N. Y. R. R. under Contractor Jacoby have finished their work, Mr.
Jacoby having completed his contract. They arrived in Cortland to-day and will remain
here till next Monday when they will receive their pay. Part of them will then
go toward Cincinnatus to help Contractor Coffin finish his contract. The others
will go back to New York.
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