Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1888-06-18


men Killed and a Number Injured.
This cry was thrown ir;o tho greatest ex.
,i,ement Saturday night abony uine O'clock
he Inc news being rapidiy circulated that a
,etdole accident had happened to train M.
q i;he Louisville expresS) on tbs " NJ 4.
" Four men, is wa- al list reported. had
bsen hi led outright and number injured,
and those having relatives aud friends on
,beillfs ed train we ethrown into paroxgsms
offrisbt and compelled to undergo a terri
HE ordeal Of anxiety uatil the facts con.
cernins the disaster cou'd be learned.
When the truth had been sscertained it was
fund that the fist rumors had in nowise
baep exaggerated, but that four of our citi-
zsos had met q horrible death and that
mat number OF households had been thrown
into the greatest sorrow.
The Louisville express train left this city
At $50 Saturday evening IS usual, in charge
Of Conductor Henry S. Pitts; Dir. Edward
Hsnlzmon engineer, Mr.. Lee Makely fire.
man, and Mr. John Poss baggage master
Mr.. c. w. Mayo, telegraph operator in the
company'5 office here, was on the engine,
having determined TO spend Sunday with
his father, who lives at Charlottesville
The train had not proceeded more than ten
or twelve miles when some portion of the au.
tomato whistle ofthe locomotive became de
ranged, aud upon arriving at Ravensworth a
stop was made After about fifteen min.
utes' work the engineer succeeded in re-
pairng whatever damage had occurred and
the train was sgain put in motion, the speed
being somewhat accelerated in order to
make up the lost time. Fairfax was passed
AID the train sped Oh at lively rate to.
ward Clifton, aud " hen two miles this side
of that place. about one hundre ed yards from
Pope's Head bridge No. 2, and where there
is a curve in the road the engine left the track
dragging with it the three forward cars.
The rate OF speed was 30 great that the
traiu continued to tear along over the ties
for fully hundred yards, and stopped only
when the engine dug its head into the earth
and rolled over and down the emban kment,
distance of about ten feet The baggage
car also went down with the engine, but the
passenee. cars remained erect and the rear
car, one of the sleepers, did not leave the
rails AL the passengers were thrown from
their seats and some OF them were knocked
senseess. a scene OF indescribable coDfu-
sion followed as the crowd rushed from the
cars, but through the efforts of Conductor
Pitts degree Of order Was restored, aud tue
men went TO work to assist the injured.
S arcn was at oucs made for the engineer
and the men who were in the baggage car.
EGgineer Hantznon was found in the cab of
his engine, horribly crushed and alive, but he
died about al hour after being removed.
Baggage Master Poss and Express Agent
Hardy were found 10 the wrecked baggage
car, the former with his chest crush
ed in aud dead, while the latter was
badly Injured. These were removed,
but Charles Mayo, the young telegraph
operator who was known to have been on
the engine and the fireman, Makelv, were
missing Almost the whole night was 5pect
in searching for Them, but al O'Clock no re-
suit was obtained aud the wrecking train
returned to this Cit with the bodies OF
Hauzmon and Poss on board, together with
Agent Hardy aud few passengers. The
two bodies were taken in charge By
Undertaker Whestley, after which Hardy
was taken to Washington. The work of re-
moving the wreck was then continued, and
soon after daylight the bodies of young
MAYO aud Fireman Makely were found bu-
ried under car. When first discov-
cred nothing could be seen of them but their
hands They were both Sc badly crushed
when they were finally dug out that it was
only by means of ring on Mayo's foger
and glove on the hreman's hand that they
were identified. The two men had evident
ly attempted TO save their lives by jumping,
aud had been caught under the engine as ii
rolled down the hank The bodies were
brought here last night, and taken to Un
dertaker Demaine's.
When those on the train who escaped in
Jury recovered from he shock and began to
i;za Of : ha oil dc
started to work manfuily to extricate the
unforl unates and to alleviate as much az
possible ne pains of the injured. Engineer
Eantzmou, as stated, lived some time after
the accident, aud his sutleriugs We're excru
ciatiDg. lady passenger on the train had
with her q byperdermic syringe and some
morphine, and being unable to find any
male person present who knew how TO u-e
the instrument, with her own hands inject
ed the drug into the veins of the dying man.
The effect was instantaneous, the groans
CEASED and 10 few minutes death had re-.
leved him from his suffelings.
The next enigma to be solved was, How
10 Inform the Alexandria Office of the catas-
trophe? there being no telegraph Office near
er than Burke's, about eight miles north
east of the scene Of the accident. Break
man Arthur Penn was sent back to that STA
lion ana teiegrapned Tor assistance. a mum
Der of passengers, among them Mir. Worth
Ruish, of this city, volunteered to go to
Manassas and telegraph here for assistance.
Upon reaching Clifton they endeavoEed to
procure vehicle in order to facilitate their
progress. Failing, however, in their en-
deavors. they pushed their way on to Ma
nsssas and informed the Office here of the
disaster. The news spread throughout the
city in an incredibly short space of time,
and was almost the main topac of conversa-
ton. The depot was besieged by rela-
tives and friends of those known to have
been on the train and others, some of whom
remained all night, undergoing trying or
deal in waiting to learn the particulars.
A wreckiog train was speedily made up,
and with several railroad officials and Drs.
Powell, Ashby and O'Brien on board was
soon speeding to the relief of the wrecked