The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-11-22

ave" oih .NoNtL5OtA Ac"-Ah L1
gloom of smoke, storm and fog that
darkened the rails of the Pennsylvania
railroad early this morning, between
Jersey City and Harrison. a belated
suburban train dashed into a gang of
workmen, killing eleven and injuring
four. Five others had remarkable es-
capes. All the victims lived in Jer-
sey City.
The accident happened about two
and a half miles west Of Jersey City
just beyond the H~ackensack river
bridge. At that point there are four
tracks, two devoted to passenger
trains and two to freight. At the
north are the shops, and tracks of the
Delaware. Lackawanna and Western
railroad.
Foreman Quirk saw that the fog
might mean danger, SO he sent ahead
two men, Lawless and Doherty, TO give
warning OF approaching trains, Law
les was to get west and Doherty east
and cover all the tracks. They were
to shout warning at the approach Of
trains. The passenger tracks were
kept busy with incoming suburban
trains, and the dense smoke and steam
from these trains helped to make the
atmosphere more dense.
Suddenly about $50 o'clock, there
was a shout from Lawless, who was
the advance guard of the gang.
Train, on No. g." he cried. 1t was
an eastbound freight train that came
along slowly, leaving behind it a heavy
pail of smoke. The men were scatter
ed along the track. Almost all of them
jumped over to track No. 1, the east
bound passenger track. The heavy
smoke enveloped them.
Lawless too, had jumped across to
track No. 1, keeping all the time a
sharp lookout. Suddenly there was a
a whistle. The Milestone local, de-
layed by fog, was coming along at the
rate Of forty miles an hour.
Lawless was struck and thrown thir-
ty feet away, mangled and bleeding.
On went the train. Engineer Van
Nostrand had scarcely noticed the
mans body falling through the air
when the engine struck Doherty; then
it ploughed into a mass of covering
men, who stood huddled together on
the track.
1T was an awful sight" said the
engineer later. There was a mass of
legs and arms and heads flying through
the air. 1t was drenched with blood.
I knew that something terrible had
happened and put On the air brakes
as fast as possible"
When the train came to a standstill
the passengers rushed out. The track
was drenched in blood. The meadows
and the track looked like a battlefield
covered with bodies. The shrieks of
the dying men drowned the cries of
the Mortified passengers. Women
tainted and men turned away in hor-
rOr Of the nineteen men, nine were
dead and six wounded.
Some one telephoned quickly to Jer-
sey City. Many of the bodies still
writhing in mortal agony were placed
on the train and borne to the city.
Two of the wounded men died on the
way. A relief train brought back the
others.
WV SoL1LlOlo4>o.
Wilton. Iowa, November 18.-Twen-
ty-two men were more or less injured
in two railway wrecks near here today
during a heavy fog. In a head end
freight collision on the Rock Island at
Moscow, Brakeman John Donahue was
fatally hurt. Brakeman Marshall Mil
Ter had a leg broken. Three other
trainmen were seriously injured. Don
ahue did not long survive.
Just after the Moscow accidnet. a
construction train which left here to
clear the wreck was struck by the fast
mail train. The crew Of the mail
train failed to see the signal displayed
at Wilton to stop. The construction
had on board about twenty men, in
Guiding section men and citizens of
Wilton going to the scene of the Mos
COW wreck. Of this number seventeen
were more or less seriously injured,
but one was killed.
TERRORIZED BY NEGROES.
Pana, Ills, November 1s.-Desultory
firing in every section of the city con-
tinued throughout the night. The
terrorized citizens huddled in groups
which were guarded by heads OF mali
lies heavily armed. Quite a number
of families left the city and spent the
night in the country with friends.
c. II. Heath. whose home is in
F1atham, a negro district, was fired
| upon by the blacks and himself and
family were driven to shelter in the
| country. The blacks claimed shots
were fired at their homes from Heath's
| yard, a statement which he denies
Members of troop B were kept on
the alert all night, but accomplished
| little. A colored union miner report
| ed to the police that a white man had
been killed in the F1atham district
| Officers started for the scene. They
were by Captain Butler, the militia com
, mander, who told the officers it was
unsafe for them to enter the F1atham
district. Captain Butler refused to
send a guard to accompany the off,
GERS.