The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-09-25

< E. J. Haylow of this city was so Y < badly injured that it is thought he ' < cannot recover. s%~%%~%<~<>~<%~
 Knoxville September 24.-Running on roadbed m a supposedly high condition of rnaiat.nance, and having about them every safeguard tnown to modern rail- roa.l!ng two trains on the Southern rail- way carryins heavy lists of passengers. came together in frightful head-end collision near Hodges, Tenn, today, sendi.g 54 reople to death, and injuring lse. several of whom p~ohsbly will die.
 This appalling loss e life and maiming of the living, resulted apparently, from the dsregarding of orders given to the two trains to meet at a station which has for long time been their regular meet ing point.
 The claim of failure to see either the station or signals, cannot be set up by the engineer of the westbound train, were he alive to enter a plea of defense, as the accident happened in broad daylight, and according to the best information ob- tainable, he had the orders in a little frame in front of him as his monster of iron and steefs-rtsnedss byg New Market and soon after came upon an eastbound passenger tfsain making for New Mar ket in compliance with instructions, to meet the westbound train which carried the seepers from the east for Knoxville, Chattanooga and other southern cities.
 M,,. Lf.x,. naaa ArIaen
 The possibility exists that the ill-fated engineer may have been asleep, or that death had suddenly taken the sight from his eyes before New Market was reach ed. But nothing is known save that the orders were not obeyed. The trains were on time and were not making over S5 miles an hour, yet the impact as they reached the curve and came suddenly on each other, was frightful. Both en- zines and the major portions of both trains were demolished, and why the or ders were disregarded, or misinterpreted, probably never will be known, as the engineers of the two trains were crush- ed their bodies remaining for hours un- der the wreckage of the monster loco motives, which but a short time before had leaped forward at the toucn of their strong hands upon the throttle.
 Some of the bodies have not been recov- cred yet, and many remain unidentified
 An Awful Disaster.
 |, The collision which is the worst dis asSter in he history of the Knoxville di,,Nsion of the Southern railroad occur red Netysgn eastbound passenger No. 12 and %westbofund passenger No. 15 from Bristol. No. S2 was heavy train carrying three Pulln.sbns, two day coaches and mail and hatggage car. No. 15 is a light local frain 3he greatest loss of life oc- currad in tbS heavy eastbound train. while in the wles.pouhu iraih ohiy the en- zine crew weifs kliieu.
 The wracls vlas due to the failure of the westbound sengineer to read his pass inc orders corrletly. The trains were to have passed at tNew Market. but En- gineer Kane ran through that place with out stopping, and Ahad gone nearly two miles when the conlision occurred. The trains struck each ot1her on sharp curve and were running at I'll speed or apout tor- ty miles an hour.
 Relief trains wereoN dispatched from Knoxville within an htprr All physicians In the vicinity of the wreck were doing what they could when tlPe local corps ar rived. The first train aErived here from the scene of the wreck at 4:z0 o'clock bringing about seventyf Of the injured. Six of the injured abossr rd had died while en route to the city anal after their bodies were taken off the trsdn, proceeded to a point near the general hospital where vehicles were in walting and a large force of physicians weFe ready to receive the injured
 The next train from( the wreck arrived shortly after o'clock It brought the bodies of forty-three fead. Six others who died en route on thS train of injured, brings the list up to fortG G-nine, and there are at least five more ar1the scene of the wreck. none of the bodifs of the train men having yet been recpvered.
 Editor Tells th1 Story.
 John w. Brown of Rohersville, Tenn, a newspaper editor, tells h most graphic story of the wreck He was in the rear coach of the westtt7 7und train and had no intimation of the wreck until the terrible crash came, acq pmpanied by a fearful jolt. All the seftts In the car were torn loose by the Ipomentum, and people and seats were Ahurled to the front end of the car. whdn ne recovered from the shock, he heard tfh$ screams and vroans of the dying and Injured com Ing from the front of the train.
 T left the car,'' said MT. pbrown' "as soon as I could, and walked tq the main part of the wreck. It was the most nor rible sight I ever witnessed irf my ire. I saw a woman pinioned by f piece or split timber which had gone Sompietely through her body. little chilQ quiver- ing in deaths agony lay benelath the woman. I saw the child die, ana within a few feet of her lav a woman1s head, while the decapitated bodv wasi several feet
 -Another little girl whose belad was fearfully mashed was pitlfuliv calling for her mother. have since learnled that ~tA was Lucille Conuor of Knoxyhle. and