The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-06-25
35 KILLED.
Passenger Train Wrecked on
the Southern Railway.
Every Person Dead Except
Those in the Pullman.
BOTH FLOOD AND FIRE
Share in the Awful Loss of
Life.
Train Was Knocked Into Kind
ling Wood and Burned.
BOTH FLOOD AND FIRE


Atlanta, Ga, June 25.-A passenger
train on the Macon branch of the South
ern railway ran into a washout one and
a half miles north of McDonough, Sat
urday night, and was completely wreck
ed. The wreck caught fire and the en-
tire train, with the exception of the
sleeper, was destroyed Every person
on the train except the occupants of the
Pullman car perished. Not a member
of the train crew escaped. Thirty-five
people in all were killed. Following is a
list of the dead:
VIM. A BARCLAY, conductor, At
lanta
]. E. WOOD, conductor, Atlanta
J. H. HUNNICUTT. conductor, At
lanta.
J. T. SULLIVAN engineer.
w. w. BENNETT. baggage master.
Atlanta
T, E. MADDOX. cotton buyer, At
lanta.
W. ]. PATE, Atlanta.
TWELVE YEAR OLD SON of W. J.
Pate, Atlanta
H. R. GRESHAM. Pullman conduc-
tor.
GEO. W. FLOURNEY. Atlanta.
II. G. HIGHTOWER, Stockbridge,G Ga.
w. w. PARK. Macon, Ca
ELDER HENSON, travelling man,sup-
posed to have been from Florida
]. R. FLORIDA, Nashville.
| w. O. ELLIS, brigeman, Stockbridge.
D 7. GRIFFITH, supervisor.
]. II. RHODES. fagman.
| JOHN BRANTLEY, white, fireman.
! WILL GREEN, extra fireman
w. D. MORISETT, pump repairer.
W. R. LAWRENCE, foreman extra
gang.
ED BYRD. colored, fireman, Atlanta
ROBERT SPENCER. train porter
Four bodies unidentified
Eight negro section hands
The following passengers were res
! cued without serious injury:
Jesse L Rahe, Baltimore.
Walter Pope, Atlanta
| Miss Mary B. Merritt, Boston, Mass.
Miss Clara Alden, Boston, Mass
J. c. Flynn, Atlanta
| E. Schryner, Chattanooga. Tenn
e. T. Mack, Chattanooga, Tenn.
j. j. Quinlan, fagman.
7. G. Carter, Pullman porter.
Andy TomlinSon.
the train left Macon at 7:1O and was
due in Atlanta at 9:45 SATURDAY. night
McDonough was reached on time AT
this point connection was made for Col
umbus, Ca, and here every night the
| Columbus train is coupled on and hallI-
ed through to Atlanta. Saturday night
however, for the first time in many
months the Columbus train was report
ed Two hours late, on account of a
WashOut on that branch, and the Ma
con train started on to Atlanta without
its Columbus connection
Tremendous rains. of daily occurrence
for the past two weeks, have swollen al
streams in this part of the south and
several washouts have been reported or
the different roads
Camps creek, which runs into the Oc-
mulgee, was over its banks and its wa
ters had spread to all the Iowlands
! through which A
and half north of McDonough the
creek comes somewhere near the South.
ern'S tracks and running alongside il
for some distance, finally passes away
under the road by a heavy stone clllvert
A cloudburst broke over that section O
the country about o'clock Saturda,
night and presumably shortly aftel
dark washed out a section of the tract
nearly 1e0 feet in length. Into this tn,
swiftly moving train plunged The storm
was still raging and all the car window,
were closed. The passengers. secure Al
they thought, and sheltered comforta
bly, from the inclement weather went t,
death without an instant's warning.
The train consisting of a baggage car
second class coach, first class coach an,
a Pullman sleeper, was knocked int
: kindling wood by the fall. The wrecl
caught fire a few minutes after the fal
and all the coaches were burned excep
the Pullman car.
Every person on the train except tn
in the disaster There was no escap
as the heavy Pullman car weighed dow
the others and the few alive in tn
sleeper were unable to render assistanc
to their passengers.
For a brief time there was silence
Then the occupants of the Pullman ca
recovered from the bewilderment an
after hard work managed to get out c
their car and found themselves on tn
track in the pouring rain The exten
of the catastrophe was quickly appar
ent. Flames were already seen comm
from that part of the wreckage not GOV
cred by the water. AS the wreck bega
to go to pieces under the destructiV
work of both flames and flood. huma
bodies fOated down stream by the swit
current. The storm did not abate
fury. Flashes of lightning added to tn
steady glow of the burning train an
lit up the scene with fearful distinct
ness.
Flagman Quinfan, who was one {
the first to get out, at once started fl
the nearest telegraph station Maxim
his way as rapidly as possible in tt
face of the binding storm he stumble
into the office at McDonough and aft,
telling the night operator of the Wrec
fell fainting to the floor. Word We
quickly. sent to both Atlanta and Maco
but no assistance was to be had exec
in the former city as the fnterrl1ptf
track prevented the arrival of any ira
from Macon
Nearly the entire male population
McDonough went to the scene to rel
der assistance, but little could be dol
by the rescuers, as the fire kept the
at a distance. At daylight the bodi
that had f1oated from the gorge we
gathered up. One body was found
mile from the wreck and many we
seen along its banks.
A wreck train was started out fro
l. Atlanta at midnight, but owing to Il
= burning wreckage nothing could
= done until morning. A special train
l. 6 o'clock in the morning took doctor
s ministers. railroad officials and helpe
r to the scene, but nothing could be dol
!