134

THE ASHTABULA DISASTER.

“It did not seem to me as if we had fallen. Iwas thoroughly collapsed for a minute or two.Then I heard two or three crashes—cars tum-bling oft' the bridge and striking ours. At thesecond crash I threw myself on the floor andcrouched down under the seats. I did not knowbut the next one would crush us all. There wereseveral people near me, and I told them to crouchdown.

In the coming down the feeling was a beautifulconglomeration of swimming and swinging—Ididn’t know whether I was on my head or heels.I can’t describe how I felt when the car struckthe solid ice. Every part of my body seemed tohe going in opposite directions. I did not expe-rience a dead calm, but a feeling of intense agony;and that continued until I came to myself. Itmust have been half an hour certainly before Iknew what I was doing. Then I got up andstruggled around. The terrible noise made bythe falling cars made me hold my breath when Ithought it was about time for another to comedown.

The story of Mr. George A. White is the mostinteresting of all. For, he not only describes thecar “ Palatine,” from which so many escaped, buthe gives such an account as no other one hasdone. Ills statement is given at length: