The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-08-29
H~EARTRBNDING ACCIDENT


&A8@S
wRGGHESvIkLE BEACH
she was Hun Over by the Train on the
Seac0ast Railroad Which LEFT Ocean
View for the City IT 8 r. M.-The
Funeral TO Take Place This Alters
noon at 5 O'Clock
A heartrending accident occurred yes
terday evening at sos O'Clock on
wrightsvilie Beach, which resulted in
the shocking death Of Mrs Susan L.
She vas run over and al
most instantly killed by the passenger
which left Ocean View at 6 p. m,
with Captain Henry G.. Bowden as con-
ductor and Mr.. J. S. Divine. as engi-
Mrs. Mcpherson went TO Wrightsville
Beach on the 10 o'clock train yesterday
morning and took along a colered girl
as nurse for her w little grand
children, one about 3 years old and
the other a year or more Of age, chill
dren Of Mr.. and Mrs. w. H. Northrop,
Jr. She spent most of the day at the
Carolina Yacht Club house and late in
the afternoon went with the children
to the cottage of their grandfather, Mr..
Samuel Northrop, where she remained
until train time, expecting to come back
to the. city. Mr.. W. Fl. Northrop, j.,
was at the beach and when the train
was coming up the beach left the cot
tage with Mrs. Mcpherson and the
nurse to help them on the train. They
intended to get on the train at the Sea
shore Hotel, which is only a couple Of
hundred yards north of Mr.. Northrop's
cottage. A narrow board walk runs
along the railroad track nearly on a
level with it or only a few inches high
er than the track, and they were walk
ing up this walk to the hotel while the
train was coming UP behind them. Mr..
Northrop was in front carrying n OF
the children, Mrs. Mcpherson was just
behind him and the nurse was a few
feet in the rear with the other child.
About midway between h hotel and
Mr.. B.. F. Halls cottage, which are only
a short distance apart, Mrs. Mcpherson
some unaccountable "a got on the
track right in front Of the locomotive.
and was run over and her body cut in
two by the wheels of the locomotive on
the side next to the ocean and in view
of the cottages along the beach
Several persons witnessed the horrible
accident and heard the train grinding
on the tracks when the brakes were
put on by Engineer Divine.
Mr.. Divine did every thing he could
to stop the train, and did so within a
locomotives length. The train had
slowed down for the hotel station, and
he says the speed was about six miles
an hour. He informed a Messenger rep
resentative that as the train came up
behind Mrs. Mcpherson n those with
her, she appeared to him to suddenly
stop on the track as if to cross in front
of the locomotive. She was only five
or six feet in front Of the cow-catcher.
and when he saw her get in front of
the engine he realized in a moment of
horror that she would be struck by the
engine. He reversed his engine and
applied the air brakes and brought the
train to a dead ~standstill, but too late.
The engine knocked Mrs. Pherson down
and she was rolled a few feet and then
h wheels of the locomotive ran over
her body. When the train stopped the
mangled body was just under the steps
of the cab, between the real wheels of
the cab and the front wheels of the
tender. The wheels had then cleared
her body, and Mr.. Divine in the in
slant jumped down and lifted the un-
fortunate lady up from the rail. She
Icd ilZeQ IIidI size was fatally luJuIGu,
and the only thing she said was, "Give
me chloroform, and let me go quick
After uttering these words, she instant
expired, within a minute or two, Mr..
Divine says after he had picked her up.
Mr.. NOrthrop was transfxed with
horror when he beheld that his moth
er-in-law had been run over, n he
went Immediately to her, while quite a
lumber Of people near by saw that
Cnrofhino auxf1J1 had hannarn1 onI
also rushed down to the track. DR..
Thomas S. Burbank, who has a cottage
a short distance from the scene, was
summoned and was there in a few min
utes, but the lady was dead by the
time he got there and beyond all hope
eve mad he been right on the spot at
the moment Of the tragedy.
The accident, so witnesses stated, was
unavoidable on Mr.. Divine's part, and
no blame can attch to him. though,
as a matter of course, his sensations
were deeply painful. The u~naccount-
able circumstance is how the lady got
on the track. Mr.. Divine says she ap-
peared to hurriedly attempt to cross
the track, but there was no possible
reason for her to do so, for she was on
the side Of the train on which the plat
form is for passengers to get on the
train. Then, too. she knew the train
was right behind her, for she said to
Nh. Northrop a second before the acct
dent, "Look out. the train is coming
The most likely theory is hat she &C.
cidentally stepped off the edge of the
board walk and stumbled onto the
track.
The remains Of Mrs. Mcpherson were
tenderly removed to the cottage of Mr.
Samuel Northrop, where the neighbors
gathered with hearts wrung with sor.
row over the awful calamity. Tele-
phone messages were Immediately sem
to the city to MI. John H. Hardin
brother Of the lamented lady, and other
relatives. Mr.. Hardin, in deepest grief
went to the beach on the returning
train at lis p. m, n at $3.50 p. m. thu
remains were brought to the city on &
special train. They were borne to he,
home at Mr.. Hardin's residence, OF
Sixth street, between Dock and Or
ange streets, whence the funeral ser
vices will be held this afternoon at
o'clock to ST. James Episcopal church
The interment will be made at Oakdal,
cemetery.
Our entire community a shocke,