The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-01-13
- =
THE WRECK OS THE II. d D..
As Described by IN Eye. Witness Tho Firo
man Cut In Two nnd tho Engineer DO
meath Him,

As Described by an Eyo. Witness Tho Firo.
man Cut In Two nnd tho Engineer 30.
I, meath Him.
80, From the Charlotte Observer.
! The afternoon pnssepgcr train, Sun
day, brought in several who Ind been
on the wrecked mail Friday night.
From one of tllcm the sleeping car ac-
count of the accident is learned.
| There were only four passengers on
board-Mcssrs. W. Ii. Aiken aide. J.
Bcrns, OF Baltimore, on the sleeper,
and ID. j.. Saunders, of PHILADELPHIA,
and i. Z. Brio kctt, Of Boston, OF, tho
passenger coach. Tho first tho nara.
tor know Of tho accident he was
thrown violently from his berth in tho
sleeper and awakened to tho conscious.
ness TINT something had happened.
Ihc conductor came running back and
called out that everybody was wanted
forward. Reaching what had been
the engine, the cut was found to be
filled with tremendous rocks weighing
tons. The engine was literally splin.
| tcrcd--the spokes and drilled steel
rims of the driving wheels stripped
from the hubs; the fragments OF the
cab on tho right md the remainder of
! the engine, hopclcssly torn up, on tho
| left. The tender was tclescopud under
the remnants Of the engine, and the
mail cnr having risen clear Off ills
trucks was reared over tho hinder Dart
OF the tender. One Of the mail agents.
jumping from tho car, and uroping
about among the ruins, put his hand
upon tho body Of the engineer. not
knowing at first what lie touched.
When light was brought the bodies
OF the onginccrand fireman were found
lying one upon the other, crushed
against tho sharp rocks on the ripht.
Inc lrcnlau was cut almost in two.
his bowels running from his abdomen.
The foot board Of the tender had
rammcd him against tho sidc of the
cut almost dividing his body in half.
and large rock lay upon his breast.
Tho engineer lay partly under tho fire.
man, but with his head and shoulders
tfcc. io rosc once or twice c0nvul-
sively but never spoke. When his
body was cXtricatcd his watch was
found to be crushed out of shape. The
story OF the catastrophe as seen and
iclt in the cab will never be told.
This accident occurred on the North
Carolina division of the Richmond
and Danvillc Railroad, two miles be-.
yond Lexington. The southern bound
last mail, Conductor Padcn Brown,
left Greensboro thirty-fvc minutes
late. Fifteen minutes before it was
the regular night passenger. Twenty
minutes ahead Of the passenger mo.
l") was freight. Both OF these
made Charlotte in safety. Track
walker Bill Hawkins followed No. I8
through deep rock cut Just bcvund
Lexington, aud had not gone more
than II few hundred yards when he
heard the fast mail coming. The next
moment, rs it reached the cut, he
heard terrific noise as the engine
struck Il boulder OF rock which had
come in on the very heels of the trains
and the trackwalkcr, but in time to
40 lis deadly work on the flying mail.
The slide was on n curve. and was not
seen by the lookout from tho cab in
time to stop; but the passengers were
saved by the severe application of tho
air brakes. which broke the force of
tho shock somewhat.
n gentleman of this city who ran
on the North Carolina road twenty
years ago states that this cut il tho
deepest on the road; that at that time
it. was the habit in wct weather, in the
absence OF trnck-wnlker, to stop the
train and send some one forward to
SEQ that the truck was clear. So much
attention did this cut attract at the
time OF the construction of the road,
that once Il special excursion train was
run from Charlotte to the placc to
give the people, at that time ignoraut
OF the difficulty of railroad building,
an opportunity OF examining it. 1t is
said to be about eighty-tivc feet deep.
The country around Lexington is
more rolling than at any other point
between Charlotte and Danvilc.
These two lives make thirteen which
have been lost in accidents OH roads
running into Charlotte within the last
three weeks. Besides the lives lost q
number Of persons have been more or
less seriously injured. The thing is
| getting decidedly monotonous.
GRANT ON NEICSJ<