The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-10-23
DASHED TO DEATH.
FRIGaTFUL CATASTRoPEE ON AN
INCLINED CABLE RAILWAY.
The Machinery Fails to Work, the Cable
Snaps, and a Car Containing Nine Per-
sons Dashes from the Top of the Hill to
the Bottom With Lightning Rapidity.

CINCINNATI, October ia frightful
catastrophe occurred between 10 and l
o'clock to-day on one of the Mount
Auburn inclined planes, which lies at
the head of Main street and reaches to
height of between $50 and 800 feet in
space OF perhaps 1000 feet or less.
Two cars are employed, one on each
track. They are drawn by two steel
wire cables that are wound upon drum
at the top of the hill by an engine
located there. Nine passengers had
entered car at the foot of the plane,
and number were on the other car at
the top The passage of the ascending
car was all right until it had reached the
top, when the machinery refused to
work and the engineer could not stop it.
The car was drawn against the bumper,
the cables snapped in two and the car
ran backward down the incline at light
ming speed.
The crash at the foot of the plane was
frightful. a cloud of dust arose that
hid the wreck from view for moment,
but when it was dispelled the scene. was
horrible. The iron gate that formed the
lower end OF the track on which the ear
rested was thrown sixty feet down the
street. The top of the car was lying
almost as far in the gutter. The truck
itself aud the floor and seats of the car
| formed Shapeless wreck, mingled with
the bleeding and nangled bodies of the
| nine passengers. Two were taken out
dead-one middle-aged lady with gray
hair, recognized as Mrs. Ives; the other,
young girl of twenty, Miss Lillian
Oscamp, daughter of Henry Oscamp;
another, Mr.. n. Kneiss, teacher, liv-
ing at IA Euclid avenue, died soon after
wards. Five others were injured, per-
haps fatally, and one man escaped
miraculously with but sight injury.
This Incline plane is the Oldest in the
city. 1t was built twenty-one years ago,
and this is the first accident attended
with loss of life at any of the four in
clined planes, that are in almost con.
slant use. IT is too early for an exam
inatiou into the trouble with the engine,
but there have been only two similar
cases in the history of inclined planes
here. In both the others the engine was
got under control before the cables were
broken
perhaps the most horrible condition Of
any except the nine of the descending
car was that Of the passengers on the
other car at the. foot of the plane. They
were locked in, as is always the
case, and were compelled to await
the coming of the other car and
its inevitable crash beside them at the
foot of the track.
The list of the dead now stands:
Judge W. N. Dickson, Mrs. Caleb Wen,
Miss Lillian Oscamp, Michael Kniess,
Joseph Hochstetter. The wounded are:
Charles McFadden, both legs broken;
Joseph McFadden, cut on side and va
riouS portions of body, and internal in
juries; Mrs Hochstetter, cuts and in
juries; Mrs. Joseph McFaddeu. The
wounded were taken to the Cincinnati
Hospital.
Charles Goebel, who was the man at
the lever, who had the unspeakabe hor-
ror to find himself unable to stop the
engine, says that he complained that the
cutt-off was not working properly. Il
told the engineer about it this morning"
he SAID, land the engineer told me had
repaired it. But it was evidently still
out of order, and this must have been
what has been the cause of the accident "
Engineer Howard Wcrden could not
be found, found tthc-gn this is not considered
as evidence that he is hiding. The con-
fusion about the place was very great
for a considerable time. Coroner Rem
digs will make a thorough investigation
of the cause of the accident.