Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 47, Number 7247, 26 June 1874 — DIABOLICAL ATTEMPT TO WRECK A TRAIN IN MICHIGAN [ARTICLE]

DIABOLICAL ATTEMPT TO WRECK A TRAIN IN MICHIGAN

[Battle Creek, Mich., dispatch, June 10th, to Chicago Times.] A most infamous and diabolical attempt to wreck the night express on the Michigan Central Kail road was made at Johnson's curve, between this city and Augusta, six miles from this place and three miles from the latter, on Thursday night last, the particulars of which have been kept from the public by the railroad men and officials. On Friday morning, as the section men from Augusta were passing ov.r the track the boss or the gang noticed that the wheel of the hand-car was considerably jarred as it struck against the end or the rail. Noticing that the rail was slightly slewed out lrora the other, he stopped the handcar, wben, on examination, what was his horror to discover that the splice bars had been removed from e.ich end of the rail, and that every spike had been drawn out, except one in the middle, which just clung to the tie and that was all. Everytniug had been most deliberately planned by some devilish wretches to wreck the train and cause a great slaughter of human lite. About one mile east of tie curve is a signal station calied "Bedford." At tDis stopping place there is nothing except a small stationhouse, which will accommodate a few person*, and in which are kept such tools as are necessarily used by the track repairers. The country in and around the station i? quite well populated by well-to-do farmers, lor whose accommodation this point was uncle a stopping place by the company. In tbe immediate vicinity of the station-house, however, tiiere are no houses, and, in fact, tor some distance from it. The would-be train-wreckers first came to this sta-tion-house, pried open the door, without four of being discovered, and took just such tools as they were in need of to put into execution their hellish designs. Having procured the tools they evidently proceeded to tbe curve ami quietly displaced ibe rail at their pleasure, and then laid in wait to witness the awful result of their infamous work, which, very fortunately, did not prove successful. The express passed safely over the death trap. The little iron spike, just barely clinging to the wooden tie, was ail that averted the catastrophe. It was the slender cord on which hunt; a hundred precious lives or more. The passengers on the night-express on Thursday little know the doom which they had escaped, and the danger which they had passed through. It had rained thai evening aud the night was dark, and just such a one as would have been chosen tor deeds of violence and robbery. Johnson's curve is a very sharp one, right on the bauk of tbe Kalamazoo river, down which the whole train would have been piecipitated to the depth of twenty feet into the water, which at this particular point is deeo enough to take the whole train under water. Any person acquainted with Una locality cannot think of the consequences of the disaster without a thrill of horror. It would have been terrible, and another would bave been added to the list of great railroad disasters. Ii is not plain what tbe real design of the miscreants was — slaughter human life by the wholesale or to rob the express car. It is difficult to tell, it robbery was their object, bow they expected to succeed in it, as trie entire train would have been engulfed beneath the water, without any chance ot getting at the wreck to secure their booty. As soon as the accident was made known, all of the employees of the road who knew ot the affair were silenced, for the purpose of, if possible, getting some clue to the perpetrators. So very quietly was the secret kept that but four or hve persons knew about it in this city, and this announcement will tcke oar people completely by surprise. On Friday niehr, and for two or three nights following, the track along that section was patrolled by armed men, who were on the lookout for the return of the wreckers, but nothing has transpired indicating any probability of their return. Another question is, are these fellows in any wav connected with those who robbed the express car at New Buffalo, or ate they working by themselves! Perhaps there is a regularly organized gang of these robbers operating hi this State. — — » _