Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-02-19
A Fearful Holocaust - Eight Men
Roasted TO Death.

A horrible holocaust occurred at jack
son Springs, Moore county, N. c., Mon
day night. Dering the severe storm
which prevailed in that vicinity, party
of men working in turpentine were en-
camped in the woods. They built an
Enclosure between two large pines, brac-
ing the cross ridge pole in front between
the two trees. As they expected to be at
work in this spot for some weeks, they
made the structure as substantial as pos
sible, pillng upon the roof heavy layers
of earth and hickory poles, aud keeping
the whole secure by layer of the
largest rocks they could find. In the
centre of the temporary building
they built large fire, and after eating
their rations they spread blankets upon
the ground, and about IL o'clock were
sleeping huddled together around the
fire, which, as the weather was cold. had
been replenished with fresh logs. They
slept, it is supposed, until about clock
in the night. The storm was at its
height. There were ten men in the
place, all sleeping soundly, when, amid
the wild bowling of the wind, the horri-
bic trap fell in, with its mass of rock
and earth roof, VI hile the sharpened laths
and hickory billets came down in the
greatest hurry, impaling the mass of
sleeping humanity underneath, in two in
stances baYoneting to the earth the
wriggling bodies of the unfortunate
sleepers The work of devastation and
death was not complete, for the floor,
being covered with beds of leaves and
straw, and the sides of the structure
being made of interlaced dry twigs and
leaves, and there being a barrel of tur
pentine in the place also, the whole
caught from the fire and soon transformed
the place into furnace burning at white
heat. The two mangled and blistered
survivors of the night gave thrilling
account of the scene, and the horrible
sufferings of some of the unfortunates.
James Jarrett and VIM. Vex were
sleeping near the door, and were both
fearfully crushed by the falling mass.
Vex succeeded first in extricating him
self, although log was across his stom-
ach. He crawled from among the mass
so badly hurt and faint that he barely
managed to drag himself ten feet from
the place, when he lost consciousness,
and when he revived he saw streaks of
fame shooting up from the pile, and
heard the voice of Jarrett crying, Help
me, for Gods sake; | am roastingp
When he realized the horror of the stu
alton, he pulled himself on his hands
Zone of his legs was broken and he could
not walk to the place, and sue
ceeded in getting Jarrett out, but that
was all he could do, and his companion
was more seriously injured than himself
one foot being literally roasted off and
his left shoulder dislocated. The two
survivors were too helpless to venture
near the place again. The flames shot
higher and higher. and they heard the
agonizing shrieks from two of their COM
panions imprisoned in the burning heap
of turpentine, straw, leaves and wood.
Soon the screams gave way to groans;
then no sound was heard only the roar
of the flmes In half an hour after
ward the fire had done its work. The
two mems sufferings were intense, not
only from their injuries, but from the
cold. The next morning they were found
and brought to Carthage.
The blackened skeletons of six of
their companions were found in one
place, and in another corner two half
roasted bodies were discovered pinned
to the earth by the sharpened laths of
pine which had gone through their
bodies. These two men were William
Eylett and Alexander Gull, the latter
about twenty years old. The names of
the other six were Robert Sampson,
Donald Eylett, Houston Mortimer,
Albert Rhodes, David Meggs and Frank
Robias. Jarrett cannot possibly recover