The semi-weekly messenger., 1900-06-08

| NdrOendS, as dn extra Cduel at An
| napolis.
At 2:30 o'clock this morning the
| house was still in session.
| THE ACCIDENT AT GARYSBURG.
Whose the Fault Not Known-Foul
Play Suspected-A Sad Marriage.
The Richmond Dispatch in giving an
| account of the railway accident ar
Garysburg Monday, says in part:
The accident was the result of an
| open switch. The fast mail from the
| south, due mere at $3.50 a. m, left We'll
| don on time, and was coming north at
! the high rate of speed at which it US
ually travels. Three miles this side of
| Weldon, at Garysburg, the engine
| struck the switch, left open acciden-
tally or by design.
| Look out, Mr.. Cheatham, Sump'n n s
wrong" exclaimed John Smith, the col
| ored fireman, from the other side of
| the cab, as he saw the engine dash
| onto the switch, straight for a freight
which had just pulled in from the
north the glare of it's engines head
| light binding them.
| The brave engineer sprang from his
| seat, and seized the reverse lever,
| threw his whole weight back on it. The
| passengers in the cars behind felt a
| sharp jolt. The passenger engine struck
that of the freight The passengers be
hind felt another and sharper jolt.
| The tender to the passenger engine
| Sprang upon the cab, and a mail coach
was flung upon the tender. Mr.. Cheat
| ham was caught where he stood, be-
| tween the tender and locomotive. The
| Weldon correspondent of The Dispatch
| says, in describing the accident:
The crash was terrible. Engineer
| Cheatham was cut in half. His watch
was swinging from the vest pocket
and was running. indicating correct
| time"
THE INJURED.
John Emith (colored), of this city
| Mr.. Cheatham's fireman, was badly
| scalded by escaping steam.
Mr.. McGeorge, the mail clerk, was
| taken from his wrecked car, wounded
about the head, several ribs broken
and injured internally.
Hardy Durham (colored), the fireman
on the freight engine, was slightly in
jured about the head and back.
Mr.. G. n. F1ippen, the freight engin-
eer was in his cab but got not q
scratch.
When Conductor L. r. Tilley, OF
| Manchester, and the riagman Sprang
from the train and ran forward to the
engines, they soon saw that Mr.
man was being scalded. 1t was severa.
minutes before they discovered the
| crushed and lifeless body of a, mar
between the mail car and the tender
who had been stealing a ride.
The bodies were gotten out in com
| paratively short time, and Mr.. Nc
| George was released. The injured were
at once brought to the Home for the
Sick, at Petersburg. The injuries OF
Mail Clerk McGeorge are serious, AND
| possibly fatal. The two firemen will
recover.
A NAMEESs CORPSE.
The tramp was buried in the GENE
terry at Garysburg. There was nothing
on him by which he could be identified
The men took from the front Of a mil
itary cap which he wore the crossed
cannon insignia of an artilleryman
with the figure '1'' on it, and the let
ter "C'' beneath it, indicating that tn.
cap was, or once was, that Of a mem
ber of the First Artillery Battery c.
The remains of Mr.. Cheatham wer,
brought to this city at 11:10 O'Clock
yesterday morning.
| Mrs Cheatham was completely pros
trated, and had to take her bed Th,
four girls, the oldest % years of age
were equally overcome. The younges
of the five children is baby in arms
| A SAD MAhfI1ASTE.
The eldest daughter, Miss Catharine
was to have been married tomorrow
to Mr. Burton Lewis Morris, assstan
Association, in this city. Her fathe
took the run from Engineer Reams il
order that he might be at home for tn
wedding.
When Mr.. Harris heard of the dealt
of his sweetheart's father he went t
the residence and insisted upon a mar
riage at once, in order that he Nigh
give his wife and her family the com
forts to which his position as husban
would entitle them. This was agree
to. a license was procured, and yes
terday afternoon. in the darkene
chamber of the prostrated mother, an
in the presence of a handful of tn
, | closest friends, Rev. DR.. William T
Hatcher made the twain one.
a POPULAR RAILROAD MAN.
Mr.. Cheatham was about so years c
age. For twenty-siX years he had bee
an engineer on the Atlantic Coast Linz
AS boy he was devoted to mechanic.
. He was a machinist, and it is said h
could construct complete locomotive
He had accumulated a comfortable fol
tune, and frequently his friends hay
! besought him to give up his engin.
But he always declared he would ru
it as long as he was able to work tn
throttle.
CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT
2 How the switch came to be open
, | a mystery. There is a suspicion of 70,
play. A through freight from the mort
e pulled into the siding few minute
I before the accident occurred. The raj
e road men all assert with the utmo
n positiveness that the switch at II
t southern end of the siding was M
o touched, as there was no occasion
S use it. A freight passed it twenty mil
= utes previous to the accident