The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1903-08-28
FATAL ] |! !'.EI- [, ., ACCIDENT. D
The Son Of, Col. D. P. Duncan Instant.
lyKilled Thursday.
THE BODY HORRIBLY mANGLED

/
! an Engine While Mt Work
4 ON the Footboard near
i Oalumbih. 4, 4. ~
4 While out on his engine footboard
!. olling some valves, as he was about to
complete a trip from Ashevillc, John
Peter Richardson Duncan, Southern
railway fireman., lost his foothOld
Thursday afternoon in some unknown u
way and fell in front Of his engine, be.
ing killed before he could even cry
out.
), The engine and the entire train OF
IL coaches passed over his body lcav-
. ing it dangling from the centre Of
Bookters trestle eight miles west OF
the city. The train, which had been
Slowed down" to pass over the trestlc
/ still undergoing repairs for the dam
ages received in the flood OF the early
part Of the summer, was running only
about six miles an hour at the time
Of the accident. None Of the train
crew saw the unfortunate boy fall.
l II - q 4 e H "
BoDYs HORRIBLY MANGLED.
Engineer j. II. Hunter, missing his
fireman, whom he had told to oil up
the valves, stopped the train, pas.
scngcr No. II due there from Asllc.
vile at 9 o'clock, just as it pulled
over the trcstle, and the body, was
found abo,it' IL train length behind
lying dangling between the rails The
skull was crushed into ShapelcSSness
from the ears and eye brows up; both
feet were crushed into formlcss masses
Of broken bone and bruised flesh, and
there was q slight flesh wound over
the heart.
The body was laid out i'm the bag
gage car, where on reaching the city
it was carefully dressed and prepared
for Shipment to his home neilr Sumter,
where it will go Friday morning at
40 for the funeral and the inter
mcnt.
HAD A BRIGHT FUTURE.
Young Duncan would have reached
his majority next MONTH. He was a
bright young. railroad man with fine
future before him. He was fearless,
probably too much SO, being almost
reckless about his own safety, often
assuming risks where they were moi
i necessary. Early in the day hc.went
out on the footboard passing around
, the cylinder for the same purpose
while the train was running 40 miles
an hour. This very element ins his
disposition, it is thought, was responsi-
], BILE for; the horrible accidenttthat sent
! hiuI@ifito eternity .in a twinkling
T Thursday. But all who come in CON
tact with his bright, sunny disposi-
! tiOn and bouyant nature were grievcd
at the news Of his death, for every
!, body likes and admircs brave, good
, naturcd, hcalthy-minded, vigorous
looking boy. Such youth was Dun
can, remarkably free from vicious
: habits for a lad in his business, and
kindly in his manners
LOVED THE SERVICE.
Young Duncan had been in the rail
: road service a little over two years.
Fascinated with the work, he left
WotTord college in his sophomore year,
where he had made excellent records,
and went out rs IL fireman on the old
South Carolina and Georgia Extension
road. Then after spending six months
in the shops there he was placed on
the extra list. a few weeks ago he
suffered confusion Of the spine In
the wreck near HcndcrSonville. He
had been working on the Asheville
, run only Il week, but was advancing
rapidly in efficiency and would likely
have been promoted in a short time.
He was finishing a locomotive run
ming" course in a correspondence
school and had made unusually high
} records in these examinations.
The dead boy was the son of Col
/ d. L. Duncan, secretary Of the rail
road commission, who telegraphed
, Mrs. Duncan TO come to Columbia al
| once and she was expected to arrive
Thursday night. The death bears
: the more heavily upon her because
t she had just finished an anxious ant
eXhausting seigc in nursing her littlt
daughter through an Illness from
, snakc-bitc that had all but proved
fatal.
5 THE ACCIDENT
! JuSt before reaching the treStlc, En-
ginccr Hunter asked Fireman Duncan
to oil the engine valves. This could
have been done from. the cab, but
Duncan chose the quicker method OF
going out on the footboard. Engineer
Green, who was returning from triI
TO Spartanbnrg, was sitting out on
the footboard on the opposite side OF
the boiler. Mr.. Hunter losing sigh,
of the boy on the side he had gone out
on and hearing from Green that lie
llnd not appeared on the other side
stopped the train TO investigate. They
learned from Mr.. II. l.. Pope, the
trcsClc foreman at. work in front of
the train, that the boy had fallen IN
front Of the engine.
Much sympathy is expressed fol
Col. and Mrs. Duncan and for Mr.. w
Gist Duncan, the dead boys brother
The State.
Killed Himself After All.