The Batesburg advocate. [volume] (Batesburg, S.C.) 1901-1911, 1903-06-10
OCCURRED NEAR WEDGEFIELD


crowd of colored people to Columbia.
When eight miles from Sumter, going
at full speed, it plunged into deep
waShout. The engine, the baggage
car and three coaches were thrown in
a heap, and the crew and passengers
crushed in the wreck.
The water which had been lying
placidly beside the embankmcut had
become torrent unlaShed, and the
pent up force tore a gaping hole i'm
the path OF the train. Into this lis
sure the train plunged-and the At
lantic Coast Line service has lost one
OF its best passenger conductors: four
eXcursioniStS are reported dead, and
others are suffering from severe in
jurieS. There were b of the pas
Senger list of less than a hundred, who
suffered injuries of more or less i'm
portance.
TIE illfated train was an excursion
from Nichols, Marion county, and
was running just ahead of the REGULAR
morning train from Sumter to Colum-
bia. The cXcurSioniStS were negro
preachers and their friends going to
the commencement of one Of the col
olcd COlICSSS III SOluulDid.
DEAD AND WOUNDED.
j. }. Clements of Florence. conduc-
tor, killed Instantly 10y blow on head.
Frank Ross and Minnie Ross. his
wife, colored.
Joe Davis, colUred, Marion.
Ned Weston, colored, Marion. Died
on relief train while being taken to
Sumter
IN addition thirty-tive passengers
were hurt. The engineer, George
Wilson, was also badly hurt. All the
killed and wounded were colored eX-
cept Conductor Clements and Engi-
neer Wilson.
The worst cloudburSt which has
county III a quarter OF century SMepL
over Wedgetield community Tuesday
night and for hours the water fell i'm
sheets. The very clouds seemed To
have been drawn from under SuS-
pended lake. But the section fore
men and track inspectors of the Coast
Line went over the line and could find
nothing which forebOde the terrible
disaster which blotted train out of
existence. The morning passenger
train had passed over the same stretch
OF track on its way from Columbia to
Sumter, and freight train had also
passed along this very place and had
noted no weakening in the cmbank-
ment
TRIED no STOP TIE TRAIN.
The ominous booming of the break
ing OF the bank was heard by negro
farm hand, Alexander Robinson. who
lives near by, and terror stricken he
rushed from his cabin to warn the ap-
preaching train-for he knew that
the morning passenger to Columbia
was due in less than half an hour.
Desperate with anxiety to convey the
startling news, he ran down the track
toward Cane savannah, a station two
miles east of the place where the wa
terS made the breach, and six miles
out of Sumter. Had he not reached
the station his signal of warming and
OF distress might have been needed,
or had the regular passenger train
been running ahead of the excursion it
would have stopped. But if Engineer
George Wilson saw the improviScd
flag which Alexander Robinson llaunt-
ed in the face OF the invisible inilu-
ence which was luring the locomotive
TO its doom, no notice was taken, for
excursion trains are not expected 10
stop at such stations as Cane Savan-
nah unless they have had orders, and
the regular passenger train was run
ming but ten minutes behind. Fran
tically the negro waved in the face of
the engine long strip OF led paper
which he had taken from his hat, and
eagerly he pointed down the track to
the hole OF horror beyond. But his
well meant efforts were miSuudcr-
stood and the train dashed by at the
rate Of 30 to 40 miles an hour. There
was nothing for this humble meSSen-
ger to do but to wait for the inevit-
able, and his heart sank with fear as
he saw the train dashng on to its de-
Struction.
DEATH STARED HIM IN THE FACE.
The train was within 90 feet OF the
abyss when the engineer saw fate
beckOniDg to him out of the terrible
chaSm. With great presence of mind
he applied the emergency brakes and
threw the reverse lever back to its
furtheSt notch. Had he not done so
the weight and impetus of the engine
would have carried it across, the
coaches would have been piled in even
greater confusion than they were and
the loss of life would have been far
greater. But with it's feet tied by the
brakes, the locomotive settled serene
ly into the chaSm, its nose buried far
into the sand of the side toward which
IL had been approaching. The great
driving wheels sank to their top rims
in the bed Of sand the fires were i'm
mediately eXtinguiShcd. The eScap-
ing steam croOned sad requiem