Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1897-04-29
KILLED AT A CROSSING.

The BeIRted southern P2ssenI ger Jr81n
Saturday Afternoon Killed a Co1ored
Woman and Two Mules at = Crossing
Near This City.
About three miles from this
city, on the Southern Railway,
there is a deep cut through which
the railway runs, and about mid
way of the embankment is d deep
counter cut through which the
county road leads across the rail
way. 1t is a dangerous crossing,
as a team approaching the track is
hidden from the engineer and vice
versa.
Saturday afternoon a team of
mules belonging to Mr.. Douglas
Hastings, a farmer beyond the
river, was being driven home from
a trip to this city, the occupants of
the wagon being two colored men
and a colored woman. The team
was in charge of one of the men,
but he had turned the reins over
to the woman, who had assumed
the drivers seat, and the two men
were sitting in the body of the
wagon. This was their respective
positions as the team entered the
cut to cross the railroad at the
point above described.
The passenger train over the
Southern that arrives here about
5 o'clock in the afternoon. was
nearly an hour late Sa,u day,
and just as the team emerged
from the cut on the crossing it
encountered the belated train
running at SO miles an hour. In
an instant a terrible catastrophe
ensued. The train struck the
team just between the mules and
the front wheels, killing the
mules and the woman instantly,
hurting the men high into the
air, on to the enbankment, but
without doing them other injury
than the severe shock, and tear
ing the wagon into fragments.
The engineer applied his air
brakes at the moment of the col
lision. but that was after the
death and destruction had been
done.
IF the train had not been run
ming at such a high rate Of speed
the shocking accident would not
have occurred. There was nc
necessity for its running at sc
miles an hour, even though an
hour late. for it had.no connection
to make at this point. Running
therefore, at so miles, Or more,
an hour, through a deep cut ins
tersoctei by a county road, ar
hour late, On a Saturday evening,
when country roads near a town
are most frequented, with nc
connections to make at it's near
by terminal, leaves the railroad,
in our opinion, entirely mex
cusable and directly liable TO,
the fearful ruin this accident has
wrought to life, property and
home.
Passengers on the belateo
train, from whom we gathered
the facts of the accident on theil
arrival here, could not REGAL
whether they heard the sigma.
whistle blow for the crossing OF
not. But even if the whistle die
blow, and the driver heard it, i
would have availed nothing ir
averting he accident, with the
train running so miles an hour
as at that rate of speed it wa:
but an instant between the whis'
tie post and the fatal crossing
and escape was impossible.
The woman xii; ed was named
Iona Gillis, who lived with hel
husband on the farm, and wht
had left him in the morning t.
leone to town to do some shop,
ping-never to return alive. He.
remains were turned over to hin
at the crossing, where he came
an hour or SO later, in answer t,
a summons carrying the suddel
and sad intelligence.
Washington, April 25,-Gen
erai Miles has been notified o
the Presidents approval OF hi
projected visit to the seat Of wa
in Europe. He will leave Wash
ington early in May, sailing pro
badly on the St. Paul from NeV
York.