The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-12-28

but the mere skeleton. AS rapidly as pos
sible the remains were taken out and laid
in a row on the river bank. At O'Clock
twenty bodies had been found and two more
were in sight. Ii is possible, however, that
there are others under the wreckaye and
also that some may be hid by the water.
OF the survivors. Samuel Spencer was the
only one of the train crew that escaped
alive. He was the colored fireman. He
jumped from the engine while il was N
midair and landed in the water some dis
tance from where the engine fell. His
only injury was a broken arm. He left the
scene for Blocton on foot almost ,mmedi-
ately after the wreck apparently craZed
with fright. The railroad officials nave net
yet been able TO see him and get a state
ment. OF the eight other Survivors three
were children. all of whom had their feet
burned and mashed, and woman who had
both feet crushed. The other three were
Henry Handberry. a conductor from Bir-
mingham. who taking his wife and two
children out for ride around the circuit.
and VIII Gardner and Andrew Bryson.
miners from Blocton. Handberry was on
the same seat with his wife and children
when the crash came. The latter three
were killed and he was pinned down aud
would have been burned alive had he not
been rescued by Bryson and Gardner These
two men also saved the unknown woman
and three children, who were likewise
pinned and appealing piteously for help, but
by the time they had rescued these four
the heat became. so intense that they were
compelled to desist i'm their work of rescue.
MOST WERE KILLED OUTRIGHT.
Ii is thought that fully three-fourths OF
the dead were killed outright in the crash
while the others were pinioned down and
burned. Gardner and Bryson were both
badly hurt. while Handberry will probably
die. The flames had completed the work of
destruction before any help could arrive.
The country around the scene OF the acci-
dent is sparsely settled and the few farm
ers who heard of the wreck and went to the
scene arrived too late to be of any as
sistance except to the survivors.
Dr. Ray. "a Blocton physician. who at
tended Gardner one of the injured surviv-
ors. telegraphed to-Eight the statement
made by Gardner as 10 the cause of the
wreck. Gardner says when he felt the cars
leaving the track he looked out and saw
three sayage-looking men rushing from a
hiding place down towards the waters
edge. and that after the wreck they went
through the wreckage robbing the dead and
wounded and then fled to the woods They
did their work quickly and offered no as
sistance whatever in the way of rescuing
the imprisoned and injured passengers.
This story, however. has not yet been cor
roborated, but other facts tend to show
that it the work of train -wreckers.
An examination of the engine shows that
Engineer While had shut off the steam and
reversed before it went down, indicating
hat ha In al as no bpd
the bridge. and tried TO stop his train. His
charred body was found with his hand on
the throttle. The survivors all agree that
the train left the track and bumped along
the ties and then with a crash plunged
through the bridge. Expert engineers say
that there is every indication that q rail
was removed which deraileu the train and
caused il to pull down the bridge The
| cross ties show marks of the wheels. To
| add to this is the fact that three men tried
| to wreck a Southern Railway train near
| Henry-Ellen, fifteen miles east of here.
| five days ago. by removing rail on a
trestle ninety feet high. The fast express
| left the track. but the engineer managed by
| superhuman efforts TO stop it before it tore
down the trestle This was regarded as a
most remarkable escape. In this case,
| three men were running from the
| place, and crowbar with which the spikes
! had been withdrawn was found. The scenes
| of both accidents are in wild, mountain
| Gus country.
| The relief train from the scene of the
wreck at Cahaba river reached Birming-
ham at o'clock tonight, bringing ten
corpses and three injured persons. Ten
| other dead bodies were left at Blocton
where the deceased resided, and one al
| Brookwood.
| Another serious wreck occurred near
| Cahaba river bridge at / o'clock this after
| noon. wrecking train which had gone
to the relief of the Inflated passenger train
| was standing on the line when it run
| into by a construction train from Birming-
ham, which was on its way with timbers
to rebuild the destroyed Cahaba river
| bridge. James Eustis, of Boyles. was IA
| tally crushed and several workmen more
| or less hurt.