The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-09-10
A Train Crashes Thro' a
TreStle.
Continued from Page One.)

senger cars in which she was and
crushing her body into shapeless mass.
Inc engineer OF the freight train must
nave met his death instantly. He was
round in the cab of the overturned
engine with his head crushed, but few
bruises upon his body When his body
was dug out of the debris this morn
ing, ms watch was still running or
time. His fireman escaped with few
minor injuries
The wreck developed at least one
nero. Mr.. Black, whose wife was
Killed beside him, was the last man to
leave the coaches, and what he die
the very first thing was to walk, with.
|all his bruised condition, to Catawba
junction, two miles away, get into the
telegraph office and send to Monroe
for help. He is telegraph operator
in the service of the Norfolk & West
ern Railway and was going to Atlanta
with his wife to testify there in a rail
road suit. He hardly realizes the blow
he has sustained. And fatal Gay on
the bank nearby, with mournfui eyes
and muttering to himself:
Miracle That Any ESCAPED.
"My God, what an ordeal for a man
TO bear"
The mass of wreckage of the two
trains is like a huge heap of junk.
Railroad men said today that they had
never seen such a complete demolish-
ment of engines and coaches.
They are lying heaped up and
crushed together. Looking at the
conglomeration, people wonder that
any one escaped. The wrecking crew
from the Seaboard shops at Abbevilie
s. c.. arrived about 10 o'clock this
morning and began to clear away the
debris 1t Will take days to get the linz
in passable condition, although the
trains are scattered to the side of the
tracks and in the ravine into which the
bridge fell.
George S. Fitzwater, chief detective
Of the Seaboard Air Line arrived or
the scene early in the morning and
took charge of the situation until or
gained help arrived. He said this af~
ternoon that he had found some spikes
and bolts and two angle bars which
had been removed from the tracks
with claw bars and he said he was
confident that dirty work had been
done. Mr. Fitzwater sent q telegram
to Superintendent Z. Berkeley at At
,anta, telling him that he had discov~
cred evidence of malice in this work
and expressed his belief that some one
had disconnected the joints in the
lower part of the bridge.
Sound Timbers SpIintcvcd.
The stretch of the track in that vi =
cinity is a clear, straight and appar-
emily well built one. The timbers OF
the bridge appear to have been
Wrenched from their fastenings, and
those that are splintered are of sound
wood. There was nothing to suggest
that the foundation of the structure
was undermined by q Washout, al
though the ground was somewhat
marshy yesterday.
The dead bodies were all taken from
the wreck about half past ten o'clock.
The woman who was so badly mutt
lated wore d simple gold ring with
the inscription "T'rom Tom to Anna.
October 20, 1885" inside. She was
probably thirty-two years old, medium
sized, dark auburn hair. She had q
purse containing s2.45, a return trip
ticket from Wilmington, N. c., to At
ANITA and a baggage check to 603, 59S.
AZ C. s. Coleman, of Virginia, said he
vas the only man in the smoking car
when the train was hurled over the
embankment and heard lots of shout
ing from the other coaches. In q
q. very few minutes he said the freight
train crashed into them and then ST
lence settled over the scene for several
minutes when the groans of the
wounded as they began to regain con-
sciousnes pierced the night air.