Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-10-11
A RIDE ON THE CARS.
How Two Men were Fatally In-
Jured-The Noble Deed Of Brave

man. OF JTUDENf Z NF flt VIZ
From the Knoxville Press and Herald, 5th.I
On Tuesday evening at AIS o'clock,
while the first section of the western
bound freight train, on the East Tennes-
see, Virginia and Georgia railroad, was
standing at Q wood-pile, three miles east
of Greeneville, wooding up, two young
men approached the engine and assisted
the train hands in throwing wood INTO
the tender and after a sufficient quantity
of wood was thrown on, they got upon
the engine and requested the engineer,
Mr.. Light, to allow them to ride to Nor
ristown, saying they were going from that
place across the mountains into Ken
tucky. Mr.. Light told them he could
not grant them that privilege, as it was
positively against the rules of the COM
pany to do so, and that he would be vio-
lating the. rules if he took them. He
then politely asked them to leave the en-
gine, and they Immediately done so.
Mr.. Light then started his train, entirely
unsuspicious of their intent to board the
train again. asBut as the rear car Of the
train passed them, they got upon the
hind end of it-one standing upon the
lower round Of the ladder and holding
on to the top round with his hands; the
other stood upon the bumper and main
tanned his position by holding to the
break rod, which stands perpendicularly
on the end of the car, as also does the
ladder.
Meantime the speed Of the train in
creased rapidly, until it attained the
rate OF twenty miles per hour, when
about one mile from the wood-pile. AT
this juncture, one of the men dropped a
pair Of boots, and without reckoning the
velocity of the train, jumped off to re-
cover them AS soon as his companion
noticed his absence, he also jumped
from the car. Both Of the men fell in
the middle of the track, and were lying
PROSTATE upon the ground when Mr..
Taylor Williams, who was standing upon
the train, happened to look back and
saw them. Although Mr.. Williams did
not know how the men came in their
dangerous position, yet with his quick
perception of the danger from the two
trains, the second and third sections of
which were close on behind them, he,
without hesitation, ran down the ladder
and jumped of, at the peril of his life,
to perform a so. }Vitkf Il M c'N
AJtAi' NOBLE AND iDARING DEED,
that of running back and pulling the un-
fortunate men from the track, and flag
ging the second train down" which
would have inevitably run over them,
had he not succeeded in getting them
off, as this train was not stopped until
it had run, some two or three, hundred
yards beyond the point from which they
had been pulled from the track. Will
liams then had presence of mind to run
back and flag the third train " down, so
as to prevent it running into the second
train, which had stopped. He then mo
toned the middle train ahead, !, and called
1.-TWO men who were working in the Geld
near by, to whom he turned over the in
jured men. He then got on the third
train and proceeded to Knoxville.
The gentlemen who took charge Of the
injured men carried them to- the resi-
dence of Mr.. Harvey Ross, one half a
mile distant, who called in medical aid
and lent al the assistance in his power
10 assuage their wounds The unfortu-
n ate men are named Bird and Whitson,
an d are aged about seventeen aud
eig, ,1teen years, respectively, were from
North Carolina, and had been working
in the vicinity of Jonesboro. 1t is sup
posed they had no money, and adopted
this me ans of getting along the road.
Whitson, the younger of the two, is the
most riously hurt, having his teeth
knocked out, skull broken, and being in
iured internally. 1t is said he spit up a
gallon Of blood during Tuesday night,
and is now speechless. No hopes are
entertained of his recovery. The other
man is badly bruised all over his body,
and it is thought he will probably die
also.