The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-29
BAD WRECK AT A SWITCH.
Three Negro TTampS Killed and Seven
Train Hands Injured.


The Lock at the Switch Burst Open for
the Purpose of Wrecking the Train.
The Passengers Miraculously Es-
cape Uninjured-The Train Running
As Miles an Hour at the Time.
Mobile, Ala, Sept. 2S.-A Gulf Port,
Miss. special to the Daily Register says
"The worst wreck in the history of the
Mobile and New Orleans division of the
Louisville and Nashville was one which
occurred here this morning at O'Clock
Passenger train No. 2, consisting of three
sleepers, passenger and smoking coaches,
mail, baggage and express car and en-
gine and tender, went into an open switch.
The train was urunning forty five miles
an hour when the accident occurred. In
vestigation by the railroad officials after
the accident showed that the switch,
which had been properly set and locked,
had been opened. The lock had been
burst off with a large pine knot and
thrown away.
THREE TRAMPs KILLED.
Three negro tramps riding on the blind
baggage, between the tender and the bag
gage car, were hllleu- AuOGu6T tramp
was probably fatally injured. The en-
gineer and fireman were dangerously
hurt and two postal clerks, the express
messenger and baggage master were
slightly wounded.
The casualties are
Killed-John Allison, George Anderson
and William Robinson, negro tranps
Wounded-F'rank Coffin, engineer, of
Mobile, serious internal injuries, head
and face badly cut; George Morgan, fire
man, negro, New Orleans, left foot
crushed and amputated, severe scalp
wounds; Louis Robinson, tramp, danger
ously internally injured; Joseph Hughes,
Algiers, La, postal clerk; e. G. Caro-,
New Orleans, postal clerk; William
Lock, Greenville, express messenger,
and Henry Kingston, GreenviLe, Ala,
baggage man slightly hurt.
THE PASSENGERS IN LUCK.
The escape of the passengers from in
jury seems almost miraculous.
The train left Mississippi City ten min
utes late and the engineer was running
to make up lost time When the engine
struck the switch frog it jumped so that
the fianges rode on top of the rail thirty
or forty yards, then left the track to the
right and plunged through an empty box
car on the siding,
calamity stuck to their posts and at
tempted to apply the air brakes. The
shock uncoupled the tender, which kept
on the main track, riding on its wheel
fianges till a hundred yards beyond where
the engine was wrecked, and as it left the
rails capsized completely.
The baggage and express car followed
the engine and collapsed alongside Of IT.
SHATTERED INTO sPLINTERs.
The mail car left the track to the left
and was shattered into splinters.
The smoker and passenger coaches fol-
lowed the wrecked engine and baggage
car and the tirst-class coach were piled on
top of the smoker.
The first sleeper left the rails, but re-
mained on the road-bed. The other two
sleepers did not leave the rails. The
train reached Mobile at II AS o'clock this
morning with the wounded negro tramp.
The physicians think that no other per-
sons injured are mortally hurt.
Physicians from Mobile, Bay st. Louis,
Mississippi City and Handsboro were
sent to Gulf Port by the railroad officials
The news of the accident was received in
Mobile and New Orleans this morning
early, and wrecking trains from Mobile
and another, from New Orleans were at
Gulf Port before daylight, and the
wounded men were given every attention.
TWO MEN HELD AS SUSPECTS.
Pass Christian, Miss, Sept. 29.-Deputy
Sheriff f. p. Lazina has arrested two
men supposed to be part of the gang that
wrecked the mail and express of the
Louisville and Nashville railroad at Gulf
Port last night. One gave his name as
George w. Young, from Richmond Va,
and the other as c. E. Muncie, from Roa-
noke Va. They each weighed about 165
pounds. Young is blonde about AZ years
old, Muncie is brunette with dark eyes
and hair. One of them had two railroad
switch keys in his pockets. They are in
the town jail to await an investigation.