The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1896-12-28
Coaches Filled with Men, Women and
Children Plunge Through Bridge.
SPLINTERED CARS TAKE FIRE
Imprisoned Passengers are Roasted
While Calling for Relief.
wREcKERs ROB DEAD AND DYING
People Burned Beyond Recognition
and Injured Taken From Wreck
with Hands and Feet Off.

Birmingham, Ala, December 2I-(Special)
Twenty-e ght persons Killed outright some
of whom are so badly mangled, bruised ana
charred that recognition so far has been i'm
possible. with a dozen more so terribly in
jured that they Will all die. is the result
of a wreck at the Cahaba river on the Biz
mngham Mineral railroad, twenty-seven
miles from here, early this morning
Men. women and children with faces and
hands blackened by tho same flames that
burned away their arms and legs are among
those whose death is a sure sequence of the
accident
Among the dead and among those who
have not yet been identified are trunks
without a head and trunks without arms
and without legs. Trunks are so horribly
blistered and blackened that Identification
Is practically an impossbility.
But the accident at Cahaba river this
morning was rendered decidedly more hor-
rible by the fact that it was the work of
train wreckers and by the further fact mat
the wreckers, ghoul-lke. descended upon
the dead and dying while those IN whom / ie
was yet left were calling for help-tor res
cue from the approaching flames.
The bridge is on the Br,erheld and Bloc
ton branch and is -iN miles west of Gurnee-
1t was an iron structure 10 feet high. rest
Ing upon four piers.
The train left Birmingham this morning
al $50 o'clock and passed over the LOUIS
VILE ard Nashville main line for fourteen
miles. reaching Tocea. where IL took tho
Birmingham Mineral road track TO Cur
nee, seven miles westward At Gurnee, six
miles from the river. the train went upon
tho Br4eriield and Blocton branch. From
Gurnee to tho river the track is smooth.
and upon it the trains move along at a good
speed. 1t is nearly straight, too and mere
good time is always made. Tho bridge was
put up after the most approved style. and
across It the trains go without Stacking
speed TO any great degree.
PLUNGE OFF THE BRIDGE.
Engineer White approached the bridge.
and seeing everything clear plunged upon
the rails at a good speed. Almost imme-
diately after the train strung out on the
bridge the engineer opened his whistle, and
the shril blasts that went out advised the
passengers that something was wrong. But
before a second thought could come there
was dumping sensation. followed by a
wild, downward plunge.
So quick d.d It happen that the echo 81
the whistle was stih ringing va the ears
or the passengers whaE they felt the plunge
they were taking With great force the
ears struck came to standstin, and all
most "a quick there was a flash. II was
then that the Few in whom life was loft
realized for the first time what had hap
Tered.
In falling the engine shot forward from
the pier over which IL lcaped and fen some
distance from the bottom OF the store
work. It evidently turned over IA II went
down, as the cOwcatchcr. or rather wacte
the cowcatcher should be, is half-turned
from the direction in which Il was moving
The tender and the combination car with
the smoker and the two coaches whirled
through space like they We're shot from a
gun The passengers We're thrown from
the seats ana seats were torn from their
fastcnings The stoves broke fTom their
iron bands and the hot embers Were scat
tered around. Piled upon the seats, with
the seats piled upon the stoves, were the
passengers when the coaches nit the hard
rocks in the bed of the river
The fall was over almost before anyone
had changed position In the coaches.
Twisting through the air the coaches
came down and when they hit upon the
rocks the force of the cars, augmented by
the momentum lpincd in the TAI, We're
shattered into splinters. Torn and twist
ed the mass looked more like "a cyclone
EttLltn imam IL hlA Inc a tfi7''.ie7NA 't@-t
So quickly was the descent made that il
was all over before anyone could realize
what had transpircd. II was fan none OF
those now alive viii ever forget
But for the few who We're dragged from
the wreck before the flames reached them
nothing but the pile of ashes and the de-
bris would have been left to tell what had
taken place. As il is the few who survive
are unable to tell much about it, Rather
the remnants of the terrible work tell the
story than those who were rescued.
Messengers were hurried in every dircc-
ton for physicians and every physician in
that section Of the country was quickly
drawn to the scene. Then as the doctors
worked upon the wounded the dead as far
as recovered. were removed TO the hillside
10 await the coming OF the railroad
officials As the bodies were removed at
tempts were made to Identify them as far
as possible, and 10y the time the wrecking
train reached the scene, of the twenty
eight bodies recovered only nine had been
identified.
LIST OF IDENTIFIED DEAD.
FRANK WHITE, engineer of Birming-
ham
GEORGE CARNEY. hagman. Of Biz
mingham.
a. p. CORNELL. conductor. of Birming-
ham.
TOM sTREETER. colored. porter. of Biz
mingham.
W. f. WEBB. residence unknown: identi-
fled by his watch engraved with his name.
JORDAN POWELL. WIFE and EIGHT
CHILDREN. Of Blocton.
Mrs HENRY HANBURY and TWO
CHILDREN. Of birmingham
JAMES BOILING. express messenger, of
Guthrie. Ky
l.. w. MARTIN. OF Brookwood.
. I I .,e "a
BRUCE PHILLIPS. of Blocton.
S w. TIBBS and WIFE, of Campbell
town.
THREE UNKNOWN CHILDREN. feet
burned Off
ANDREW BRYSON, of Blocton.
GEORGE GLENDALE. of Helena and
-FOUR OTHERS, unidentified.
OF the injured some were able TO give
their names. but many were unable to talk.
From those who could talk. each giving
his own name and address, partial list of
the rescued was obtained by the physi-