The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1896-11-11

OF many has taken With rough hands
the inmates.
In the town Of Swansea, our wor
thy fellow citizen, Erwin Hall, has
been called on to give up two of his
sons, Reese and Eugene. Two prom
ising young men have been sum-
moned away, and their remains have
been laid beside their kindred in the
family grave yard in ChinIuapin
township.
Thomas L. Martin, who has been
prostrated with fever, is very much
improved.
/ The lumber manufacturers here
have very decidedly felt the crushing
effects of hard times along with
other business enterprises.
The Methodist house of worship
in town is IN course OF construc,
ton and the believers of that fra
ternity hope to have it completed
soon.
The trustees of the free school
have employed Miss Josephine Lang
ford, the accomplished daughter O
DR.. A. F. Langford Of Prosperity, to
teach the free term here for the en-
! tire term, which I am reliably in
formed will be six months this year.
1t is expected to teach music also to
our girls and to employ an assistant
in the literary school. The school is
to commence on the 18th next.
We all still have hopes of better
times, "but hope so long deferred
maketh the heart SICK
The turn out on election day was
very small in all this county, in no
cases over half the white voters and
in some cases hardly one third. One
man told me "the biggest and
best majority" did not vote, lu'
as was among those who voted, [
did not agree that the "best majority"
staid at home.
The fearful wreck two miles below
on the South Bound Railroad has al
ready been given to your iders, but
the pen fails to depict it's horrible fea
lures in their realities. The hasty
reading of Sweden for Swansea by
an engineer who had been remark
able for his care and precaution and
fidelity, was the cause of the dread
full affair. Two engineers that morn
ing met, the two acknowledged by
the railroad authorities to be the
most CAREFUL discreet and capable
that were on the road, and both of
them strictly temperate and never
once known to be intoxicated, one
who had never taken drink in his
life-and he the very one who had
misread the trains orders.
Drs. Johnson and Langford were
soon on the site of disaster to look
after the injured. A few bones were
discovered and placed in a box, a
portion of one was found which the
doctors pronounced to be the heat
that once drove the blood through
the system. One shoulder blade was
all the one of anything like natural
size. The skulls of the poor victims
were in very small pieces. A peck
would hold all that were gathered of
the remains of the three men, Three
or four dlys after the citizens picked
up piece which was just such
specimen as the doctors had said was
a heart and believed by the men to
be such. It was laid aside to search
for more and dog, poor, hungry
dog, came along, gathered it in his
mouth and ran off into the woods
with ia poor, hungry dog running
off with the once round heart Of
man. Now the county will have to
encounter the costs of an indictment
at the next term of the court. The
Railroad Commissioners have indicted
Engineer Petit for carelessness in a
responsible position resulting in the
great loss of property and human
life.
It seems that the railroad author;-
ties still have great confidence in
Engineer Petit and it is said on good
authority that they will replace him
on the road. In the wrecked condi
ton both engines were reversed
which showed that the engineers just
before jumping had done tie last
thing the could to save disaster. The
emergency brakes were also on.
Spectator.
If all the testimony taken before
the jury of inquest was published
and true as published, it is onr can
did and unbiased opinion that the
crew of both trains are more respon-
sible fer the death of the three men