The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-11-26

the bodies In the uncertain LIGHT was
slow, indeed At 8 o'clock half q dozen
bodies that had evidently hoated ont
of the car, and risen to the snrface
were taken from the river and carried
to the various morgues.
AN EYE WITNESS.
The following is a description of the
accident as related by Bridge Captain
Charles Brenner:
1T was about 7.20 o'clock when a
boat coming up the river whistled for
n draw bridge. / then gave the sig
nails to Engineer Patterson and the
gate guards. l shut both gates at the
north approach myself, ran I'D the red
light on the pole and hung the red Ian
terms on the gates. These red lights
SIGNIFY that the draw is open
The bridge had swung clear around
and the boat had approached almost
under 1t, when I was dumtounded to
see a large combination street Car with
at least twenty passengersinside slow
~ but surely approaching and only
about forty feet away.
Il cried out with all nv might
Stop, stop! For Gods sake, stop That
car! The motOIman was endeavoring
IO stop the car, but it seemed that his
enorts were OF no use, for the car came
s'eaolly on and crashed into the iron
gaGes, which gave way and q sec md
later the car had gone over the prec1nice
Just as the 8 struck the gates the
frightened mOtOrman jumped and fell
on the bridge"
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
Why the motorman did not see the
danger lights or the closed gates sooner
than he did, will always remain q mys-
terry, but he did not. A few feet from
the draw it dawnCd upon the motor
man that 1t was open. With q speed
OF desperation he applied the brakes.
The bridge captain shouted like a mad
man, but it awaited nothing. The car
was already or the down grade t the
draw and the brakes were not able to
hold the a on the slippery rails. The
mOtOTman then fOrsOOk the car and
with a wild cry leaped off the front
platform, ran down the viaduct in the
direction of Central avenue and disap.
peared in the darkness.
At the same instant two male pas.
sengers jumpted off the rear platform
and escaped death. The car reached
the closed iron gates and in an instant
the crash of swapping iron and break
ing glass was heard. This alarmed the
conductor and he was seen to make a
dash for the rear door, but he was toe
late. Ascend later the Car swayed on
the edge of the awful space, steadied
for An instant as though in a frantic
endeaVor to maintain it's equilibrium
and tOppled over. There was an agon-
iZing chorus of screams and in an in
slant all was quiet.
TIE a struck upon a projection Of
piles in the abutment beneath the draw,
then turning and collapsing it fell into
the river below, scattering its passen-
gers in all directions and breaking the
tow line between the tug and schooner
that we're passing.
The mOtOrman was found after mid
night by two detectives and he insists
that the reason he ran was because he
was panic stricken and he did not see
the gates OF the lights until the crash
came,
l PATHETIC SCENES.
The scenes about the river while the
work of rescue was being prosecuted
were pathetic in the extreme. The
thousands of people who had assembled
waited anXiOusly for the dis Covery of
bodies. 1t was a sad crowd, and out
of respect for the unfortunate dead, but
very little noise was made. Occasion
ally the wild scream of SINE frantic
woman who believed some one dear to
her was among the unfortunate onea,
would echo over the flats, only to be
taken up at a distance by some other
woman whose heart was breaking over
her loss.
AS the body of young boy was taken
fro M the fire boats an old lady nearly
fell into the river in her anxiety to see
the face of the dead boy. She threw
herself on the body, looked Into the
face and cried: THANK GCdI' Falling
upon her knees she raised her voice to
Heaven and prayed as only a mother
could under the circumstances. Press
ing close around her were any where
from 1000 to 5000 people. Those who
could see her raised their hate, and not
q few joined her in prayer.
At another spot two men we're try
ing to hold an almost distracted wo.
man. She believed her husband was
on the i'll fated car, and was almost in
sane with grief.
Divers worked all day recovering
bodies from the bottom of the river.
Fifteen we're brought out, and four
others are missing.
Last night August Rogers, the mo-
torman who has been held al q witness,
was charged with granddaughter. This
action was taken by Chief of Police
HOehn, after he had investigated the
accident. After the charge had been
placed againFt him, nobody was per
mitted to see Rogers.
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