The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1904-09-29
TERRIBLE DISASTER At NEw MARKET
Graphic Account Of the Horrible Affai
by an Eye Witness
SIXTY-THREE PERSONS KILLED

i
Cured last Saturday at New Market is
taken from the Rogersville Star, and
was written by Editor John W. Brown,
who was passenger on the train going
west, and is one Of the most fascinating
newspaper writer's in the state
The most fatal and appalling railroad
disaster that ever occurred on Southern
soil, and among the worst in the his
tory of railroading in any sectiod of
the country, was the head-end coils
ion at Lost Greek curve, three and a
half miles west of New Market, Tenn.
on the Southern railway last Saturday
morning, when train No 10, conducted
by Capt. Will Caldwell, and train No.
l2, coming east, and conducted by
Capt. Murphy, running at the usual
speed collided. Seated in the two
trains, with no thought of death or
danger in their minds, were more than
two hundred and fifty passengers,
when with the seeming swiftness of
the lightning's flash, terrible, and
almost deafening crash was heard, sue
ceeded by jolt that hurled passen
gers, seats, baggage and everything
loose, or that could be detached, to the
front Of the car. An instant of omin-
ious and death-like silence ensued.
These Immediately preceded the dis
covery, by those aboard the Inflated
trains referred to, and were not in
stantly killed, that they were in the
presence of scene of disaster and
death that no human language could
adequately describe. Then the screams
and pleadings for mercy of the injured
and dying, as well as by those Mortified
persons who had escaped serious physi-
cal injury, began, and their combined
voices to fill heaven and earth with one
prolonged, pathetic, heart-rending
wall, and appeals for mercy. A glance
at the wceck disclosed the fact that it
could not be otherwise than one of the
sadest and most fatal disasters that
had ever happened in the south, and
ore of the worst in the annals of rail-
reading. Amid the jargon of voices
Of those who were not seriously injur-
ed, and the incessant groans and pray
ers of the badly wounded aud dying,
all who were able at once began the
the work of attending to the wants of
those who could not help themselves,
and OF removing the dead from the
vast pile of ruins that lay before them.
One 10y ono the dead were removed, as
rapidly as it was possible to do under
the circumstances.
The first intimation had of wreck
was q terrific crash we heard, accom-
panied by fearful jolt. A. the same
time all of the seats in the car were
torn loose by the momentum, and peo-
pie and seats were hurled to the front
OF the car. Nobody was killed in this
car, but nearly all were considerably
injured. When l recovered my
equilibrium sufficiently to realize what
had happened, / heard the screams and
groans of the dying and injured, com
ing mostly from the front. I left the
car as soon as | could through the rear
door, after i had looked after Miss Jar
nagin and her baggage. went back
to get my own grip and hat. After 1
saw the crippled and manned walked
to the main part of the wreck where |
saw the most horrible sight ever wit
messed in my life. / saw woman
pinioned by piece of timber which
had gone completely through her body.
A little child, quivering in death agon-
les, was beneath the woman. / saw
the child die. / saw another woman's
head lying some distance from where
the body was located.
One of the most pathetic things
which 1 saw was little girl whose
head was cut straight across above the
brows. She was piteously calling for
her mamma. We tried to console het
by telling her that her mamma would
come after her in little while. / have
since feared that her name was Lucille
Conner, from Knoxville, and that both
her parents were killed in the wreck.
I heard one woman, who was terribly
mangled, praying very earnestly to be
spared for her children. have under
stood that death relieved her sufferingE
, shortly afterwards.
Taking it altogether, it was the most
horrible, tragic scene [ have ever wit
messed. The four sleepers on the OPP
posite train, No. 10, remained on tht
track uninjured, but both engines ant
all of the coaches of No. 10 were liter
ally demolished. The smoker and bag
gage car of No. IS were comletely de
molished
Our train was coming at the usua
speed, perhaps forty miles an hour.
: learn that the eastbound train was go
ing at the rate of thirty-five miles al
{ hour. The meeting was on curve
Q and am satisfied that the engineer
Il could not have seen each other unit
too late to act. stood on the tende
g above the coal, SO that I could get
). good view of the lay of the road an
= saw that the engineers we're in sight {
each other but short distance befol
the collision.
SCENE BEGGARs DESCRIPTION,