The Pickens sentinel-journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1903-1906, 1904-08-17
MANY Souls HURLED I0 doom
Train Crashes Through Bridge Car
rying Scores Down to Death.

When Engineer Hindman felt the
tremor In the great machinery and
caught glimmer on the water. he
shouted his last words, Put out that
torch" evidently thinking that in tha
accident he felt certain was coming
tho flames would serve to spread fire.
But before Maytield could obey.
while the words were still on the lips
Of the doomed man, and his hand
seeking the mechanism controllinp
the air brakes, the bridge gave way
as thought it had been a stack OF
kindling wood and the locomotive
dropped with the kissing of steam 30
feet to the bottom Of the arroyo, cross.
wise to the track.
inc baggage car smoking car and
chair car followed the locomotive into
the stream ana were swept away. All
the occupants Of these cars except
three men persisted, and had not the
roof of the car burst asunder none
would have escaped. The fireman, as
the locomotive went over, was thrown
out and. managing to grasp a piece OF
wreckage from the bridge ioated with
that to curve made by the caying
bank and Crept out Of the water. He
ran toward Ellen, meeting on the way
Operator +. NJ. Jones and his wife.
who had heard the screams OF victims
ana had already started up the track.
Notify Pueblo" came the voice OF
N
and everybody is killed"
Relief trains with physicians and
wreck and pile driving outfits and
scores Of workmen were hurried from
Pueblo. The first train from tho
wreck came in shortly after midnight
with j. NJ. K!!len. of Pueblo; II. i
Gilbert, Tony Fisher and Fireman
Mayfeld, These were four men in
tho midst Of the wreck who escaped.
When dawn came the wonder grew
that four had been permitted to
emerge from the raging torrent with
breath Still! in their bodies
The end OF the Pullman car Wyuta
extended four feet over Che brink,
while broken t!m0ers and twisted rails
hunG still further over. The gorge had
been widened to more than hundred
feet at the point where the bridge had
been. The water tore a zigzag course
across the prairie TO n depth Of thirty
feet in several places. There was lit
tie left Of the baggage car, few Iron
rods. n truck or so, dimly seen in the
muddy water, and a half buried iron
safe. The great locomotive. the boiler
free Of the trucks. the cab and tank
gone, lies whore 1t fell.
a quarter Of a mile to the east,
where the gorge OF death debouched
into Fountain creek. lay the chair car.
windows gone threc-fourts filed with
"ud and sand. A hundred feet far.
thnr On was the smoker. bottom up,
aaainSt a sand bar. =. hundred and
flitY feet farther on. in the bed Of
tfc Fountain was the coal tender OF
the engine anil from that point on for
four or five miies,v stiges of the voach-
"s. tho engine and tender stuck uD
from the bed Of the stream or lay
H'ong the shore or en- the islands. Red
plush seats OF the smoker were strewn
all along the stream Brass rails from
tho coaches wer" found in the sand n
half mile from the bridge. and pieces
CT thN baggage car stuck out Of the
water in several places. Bits Of cloth.
ing. coats, skirts and wOmens hats
were found In the. brush along the
shore. and the sea-chers scanned tho
foliage for bodies Masses OF earth
had cavcd in from the high sides Of
the river at many places and search.
crs passed these with fear that bodies
were buried under them which they
We're helpless to reach.
Five hundred men scanned every
inch Of the river and it's surroundings
few hours after daylight They
wadcd in the stream and carried ont
mud-bogrimed bodies which were
found at widely separated points,
some Of them miles from the scene