Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-08-18
Eyewitnesses Tell Graphic Stories Of
the Sad Accident.
BOTH DIED AT SAME TIME
Newspaper Correspondent and the
Chauffeur Of Ill Eated Machine
Reach Paris-Mr. Fair, Driving
the Automobile, Was Ill.

| made thorough lnVeStlgaIlOn at the
scene of the catastrophe and the
chauffeur of the i'll fated auto have
arrived here and given complete stories
of the affair.
The all important question, however,
as to which Of the victims died trst
Is still unsolved. On the deciding Of
this point rests the disposition Of the
Fair millions, the heirs of the one dy-
ing last, according to legal provision,
receiving the properties, which are of
enormous value.
The correspondent has just returned
to Paris from the Chateau Buisson du
Mai, near Evreux, where personal
examination into the circumstances
surrounding the deaths of Mr.. and
Mrs. Fair was made. Nine. Hourde,
wife of the gatekeeper of the chateau,
who was an eyewitness of the disas-
ter made the following statement:
when the automobile crashed into
the trunk Of the elm tree, l saw the
| occupants of the carriage shoot into
the air to half the height of the tree
Then they fell with thud. screamed
and rushed out from the gateway
and across the road, where I saw the
automobile tilted by the side of the
| roadway five yards from the tree.
Position of the Bodies.
"At first l did not see the victims
but afterward perceived them at the
foot of the tree Mr.. Fair was lying
at full length behind it, while his wife
was against its front, as though sit
ting and huddled, with her head lean
ing against the tree. Mr.. Fair ap-
parently was dead. took his wife's
head in my hands and gently laid the
body flat on the grass. She did not
give sign of life. The horrible gashes
on the heads of Mr.. and Mrs. Fair
upset me. and l ran back to the
lodge and called my husband, who
was i'll and in bed. to warn the people
at the chateau.
81 then returned beside the bodies
and was looking at Mrs. Fair when l
saw the gloved fingers of one hand
slowly opening turned to her hus-
, band and found his foot moving, as
though the leg was drawing up. This
| frightened me, and | ran back to the
lodge. When I returned with my hus-
band, the bodies were motionless and
never stirred again"
| When asked if she could say whether
the movements of the bodies she de-
scribed had lasted longer with Mr..
Fair or his wife, she replied:
"They took place simultaneously.
was too unnerved to remain and watch
and ran back to the chateau, and when
again saw the bodies they We're still"
DR.. Perriquet of the village of Pacy-
sur-Eure, who was summoned to at
tend Mr.. and Mrs. Fair at the time Of
the accident, said to the correspondent:
when | reached the spot Il quarter
both Mr. and Mrs. Fair We're dead.
and am convinced. from the nature
of their wounds. that death was III
Simultaneous in both cases.
Chnufreur's story.
The chauffeur of the automobile in
which Mr. ana Mrs. Charles l.. Fair
were killed. whose name is BrOtey. has
returned to Paris. In an interview he
threw some further light Oh the cause
of the accident. saying:
when we left Trouvile Mr.. Fair
was suffering from bronchial catarlli.
He coughed frequently on the road,
and during the fits OF coughing bis
face was much congested, evidently
producing slight dizziness. He had
lust been coughing when | noticed
that the tire of one of the hind wheels
was debated. l realized the danger,
and, jumping to my feet and leaning
forward shouted in Mr.. Fairs ear in
English: stop quick. Tire no good.
Mr. Fair glanced back. but he did not
reply Apparently he tried to stop,
lut in doin- 50 he must have made
the wrong steering movement, as the
machine sWcrv"d across the road and
went in a straight line for a tree. Mrs.
Fair, as she saw the direction the au-
tomohie was taking. clasped her hus-
hand's shoulders with her arm and
lulned her face back toward me, with
a look which said plainly, We are
lost. The next moment came the
crash. and ] was thrown into a field
beside the road and stunned, When
recovered. which did quickly,
lilnped to the side of my master and
mistress and with the help of the
chateau gatekeepcrs wife eXtricated
the bodies from the wreck
Asked if either then showed signs OF
life, Rrotey replied;
"They both seemed to be dead, but
was in such dazcd condition from
shock and so affected at the ghastl!
spectacle presented by the wounds on
the heads of both victims that | die
not notice whether either moved OF
not. The gatckceper's wife said after
ward that Mr.. Fair moved his foot
and that his wife moved her hand rs
they lay on the ground but | did moi
see the movements. The woman die
not say whether Mr.. Fair or his wife
stirred last"
The bodies have arrived in Paris