The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-03-22
FRIGHTFUL RAILROAD DISASTER.
Over Twenty Passengers Killed, and
Many Seriously wounded.


Physicians and citizens hurried from
Blackshear to the scene of the wreck as
soon as the engineer, who ran to the vii
lage, reported the disaster. Messages
were sent to Superintendent R. @. Elem
ing here. He Immediately wired to
Waycross and Jesup for physicians. A
wrecking train was made up in the yard
right away; and Superintendent Fleming,
with DR.. William Duncan, the road ply.
sician, and large force of men, started
for the scene. An hour later another
was made up. 1t carried physicians, and
an additional force of men and cofins.
A dispatch from Blackshear states that
the ladies of that town are at the wreck
and are doing noble work attending to
the injured. About 400 feet of the tres
tie work was carried away.
George Gould and wife are the son and
daughter.in.law of the great telegraph
maenate. Mrs. Gould was the actress,
Edith Kingdom. The seriousness oi
their injuries has not been learned.
.C. A. Fulton left Savannah this morn.
ing. He is we'll known here, having
been until quite recently the assistant
master of trains of the Savannah and
Florida aud Western. When this road
bought the Brunswick and Western rail.
road Mr.. Fulton was made master. oi
transportation of the road. he is mar
ried man.
This is the first severe accident the
Savannah, Florida and Western. have
had. Just how it occurred has not been
learned. The railroad wires are crowded
with official messages. The officials here
are constantly in receipt of inquiries toi
the latest news, and they have readily
given all the information they could get
Great interest was taken in the accident
here, and the citizens were deeply
shocked.
The vestibule train which arrived from
the north vas held over. At $40 O'Clock
this morning the first section of the south
bound West India fast mail crashed
through the trestling just after crossing
Hurricane river, seyenty.five miles south
of Savannah, on the Savannah, Florida
and Western railway. So far as learned
twenty.one we're killed and thirty'sl1
were injured.
Ofthe killed ten were white and nine
were colored. Of the wounded ten are
ladies, twenty white, and six are chill.
dren. The spot is one mile east o.
Blackshear, Pierce County. The road
there crosses Hurricane river, and
beyond it is long stretch of trestle
work. The train left Savannah at 7.01,
standard time, this morning. 1t was
composed of an engine, combination.
baggage and smoking car, one passenger
coach, two Pullman sleeping cars, and
the private car of the Lehigh Valley
railroad, which carried President Wilbur,
George Gould and others. The engihe
passed over safely, but the rest of the
train broke through and fell fifteen feet
to the ground below. Before reaching
the bridge the trains always slow up, and
it is supposed, that the speed at which
the train wss running was not high
The combination coach is reported to be
the first one which struck the ground
On it fell the passenger coach, the sleep
ers and the special car, in which pri.
vate party was travelling. The scene al
the moment afte, the wreck was heart
rendering beyond description. The lower
coaches were smashed we'll nigh to
pieces. Fortunate were those passengers
to whom death came instantly. Every
coach was filled and scarcely passenger
escaped without some injury.
When the wreck was partly cleared
away the disaster, serious as it was, was
less horrible than was feared.
The injured have been taken to Jack.
sonyille. Undertaken Dixon was given
an order for 80 coffins.
Another Story Of the Wreck.
aWAYoRoss, GA, March 17.-Trair
No. q, from Savannah to Jacksonville
left Savannah half an hour late. 1t was
running two sections. Section No.
contained the private car of q. P. Will
bur, president of the Lehigh Valley rail.
way, one Pullman sleeper, one 6rst.class
car, second.class car and baggage car:
with fair. crowd of passengers. Near
the eighty.six mile post the road crossed
Hurricane trestle, small stream. The
trestle is fifty feet high and about hun.
dred yards long.
The train was running at the speed Of
forty miles per hour, when it struck the
trestle, and the engine had nearly crossed
the end oft, when the baggage car left
the. track, caused by a broken axle,
quickly followed by all the other cars,
They plunged headlong into the stream
below, fifty feet. All the cars were
broken into kindlipg wood, and the dead
and wounded passengers were buried in
the debris. The engine broke loose and
made the bank beyond safely. The
crushed cars, the shrieks and groans and
the walls of the wounded and dying, the
mutilated bodies of the dead, made a
scene ofhorror that will always lipger in
the memory of those that saw it.
Nineteen were killed outright, and
thirty five wounded. of which number
six have since died, and more must die.
Waycross has been turned into hospital
ground and morgue established.
The presence of mind of Engineer
Welch saved q fire horror. The Pull.
man car caught on fire from the stove,
and another cremation would have
resulted if this heroic engineer had not
rushed back and tagged the second sec.
tion and e1tinguished the flames.
A Third Account.
BLAcKsHEAR, Ga, March 1.-THE
first section Of fast mail train No. 27, for
Jacksonville, leaving Savannah at z
o'clock this morning, fell through the
Hurricane trestle, about mile and q
half east of Blackshear, at $3.50 this
morning. The entire train, consisting of
baggage Car, smoking coach, Pullman
sleeper, smoker, Saxon coach and the
private car, Minerva" of President E.
p. Wilbur, of the Lehigh Valley railroad,
went down, and all except the last named
were totally wrecked. The engine jerked
loose from its tender and escaped, but the
tender went down with the cars.
The engine came on to Blackshear and
gave the alarm. All the stores closed
and everybody went to the wreck to
administer to the wants of the wounded
and dying.
is at the cot of grade. Where the
train fell it is about twenty-five feet high.
Two thirds of the trestle fell with the
cars and of that standing there is nothing
but the columns, and strip~srs. The
crossties are cut into splnters. The
train caught fire from a stove, but tho