The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-09-10
Passenger Trainc Crashes Through Tfesut and Freight Train
 Piles on Top
FOUR ARE KILLED AND
 THIRTY-FIVE INJURED
Mir. Barr Makes Statement That There Are Evidences of Train Wreckers. Accounts of Disaster
 Are Horrible.

Portsmouth, Va, September 9.-shortly after 1 o'clock this morning train No. il on the Seaboard Air Line railroad con- sisting of an express car, mail car, two day coaches and Pullman sleeper was derailed at a trestle just south of the catawba river, South Carolina, and twen- ty-two miles southwest of Monroe, N. C., followed by the wreck of light engine and caboose. resulting in the death of others.
 Engineer E. ~. Barksdale Abbeville, s. c.
 Fireman Ed Roberts. colored. Atlanta. Ga
 Mrs. Black.
 Unknown woman.
 The Injured.
 The injured: Mrs. James Clay, Oak land, Tenn fractured jaw; T. c. Jerome, Atlanta, slightly bruised; Mrs. T. c. Jerome Atlanta, shoulder and head in jured; Dr. NJ. .. Eubanks, Athens, Ga
  land, Fla. foot amputated, may die; Mrs. Jerome Silvey, Atlanta, bruised; G. w.. Hinson, Georgia, jaw injured; Tom Nit chell, colored brakeman, Abbeville. s. C., head and shoulders injured; Pink Car penter, Monroe. N C., porter, head and body injured.
 The following are slightly hurt: s Loby Atlanta, Pullman porter; J. T. Turner. Pullman conductor; P. Mears, engineer, Monroe; J G. Duncan, brakeman, Ab- beville; H. H. Chapman, conductor, Ab- 1eville; c. H. Davis, express messenger, f-tianta; w. Fairman. mail clerk At I lanta R. T. West, conductor, Monroe. 1 ". C.. B. F. Meader, address unknown; 1 F c. Topleman, address unknown; Mir. l Black, address unknown; Robert Zeigler, address unknown; Molle Griffin, address nknown.
 A number of colored laborers were slightly hurt.
 At the offices of the Seaboard Air Line in this city it was stated that immediately after the receipt of the news of the ac- cident a special train with wrecking out l fit and doctors Started from Monroe to the scene of the wreck. The dead and injured were brought to Monroe.
 MT. Barr Makes Statement.
 J. M. Barr first vice president and gen. I eral manager of the road, said today that there was evidence of malicious attempt l to wreck the train, number of rail l joints having been found disconnected. He gave the following details:
 Train No. fl was in charge of Con ductor Richard West and Engineer Cas- 1 ton Mears. The wreck occurred about 1 o'clock this morning at the trestle just l south of Catawba river South Carolina. | and twenty-two miles southwest of Mon roe, N. c. The engine passed over the trestle and went down the embankment. l killing Colored Fireman Roberts and ser iously injuring Engineer Gaston Mears. I A light engine and caboose, running as | No. 19, in charge of Conductor Chapman | and Engineer Barksdale, which train was 1 passed by No. fl a short distance east of 1 the point where the accident occurred, ran into the damaged trestle. and on top l of the passenger train, resulting in the | death of the engineer of No. 19, the | fireman of the passenger train and of I Mrs. Lack, and an unknown lady pas senger. The Pullman employees, six rail- l road employees, one mail clerk, one South ern Express company employe and twen- l ty-three passengers were injured.'
 Running Forty Miles an Hour. Charlotte, N. C., September 9-The 1 wrecked train was running about 40 miles | an hour when the trestle which is about 300 feet long, spanning a meadow near 1 the Catawba river, gave way. The en- | zine and four cars passed over but were l drawn back into the abyss and upon the other cars, light engine and caboose piling in on top of the train of wreck 1 agc before it could be Jagged.
 Gaston Mears, the engineer of the pas senger train, escaped with some bruises l In, ba pS- capped death is beyond his own or any 1 ones comprehension. He said that was | driving at the rate of 40 miles an hour l as he crossed the bridge. Just before the engine had swept entirely clear of the structure, he felt 1t sinking, but the inn petus carried the engine and all the cars across except the first class passenger car and the Pullman, clear of the yswnine | gulf which was left when half the | bridge collapsed. but the engine and cars were swerved from their course to the | right, tearing the rail loose from It's fas- l tenings and hurling the entire train up- side down over an embankment in the meadow. about thirty feet below.
 Was Horrible Scene.
 A scene horrible beyond description en- sued. The accounts of the survivors arc | terrible. When the train went crashing | ever the embankment, every light went out, passengers were thrown against the | sides of the coaches. bleeding and bruised. | Mrs. Black sitting with her husband gave | short cry, and when ne managed to strike a match and find her body, he dis covered that she was dead. her neck | laying been broken.
 As the scrambling and shouting went | on in the darkness, above the noise a l brakeman with his head half way out of window was heard to shout:
 My God the freight train is coming | upon us"
 Freight Piles on Top. In less than minute the freight which had left Monroe fifteen minutes behind the passenger. came whizzing along the | tracks. struck the open space where the bridge had fallen and plunged It's way through the passenger cars. The woman whose identity could not be discovered then met her death. the freight engine having crushed through the side of the passenger car in which she was. and hei | odxr od int