The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-08-19

locked wheels shrieked and spanked
on slippery tracks, and the heavy
train rushed with but slightl,- dmin-
ished speed over the trestle and into
the yawnink gap.
Fireman Alert Cooper had jumped
land rolled down an embankment pe-
fore the bridge was reached; the ell
gineer stuck to his post as long aS
possible and made wild leap OH the
bridge onto the raft OF logs. botn men
were bruised and cut.
With a crash audible for a long
distance engine and tender dashed
into the draw and vanished in eighteen
feet of water. The leading passenger
car followed and this, under the
waters of Western Branch, bears
grewsome burden. one which the
workers will hardly bring to light un-
til today. Passenger car No. 61 broke
in half and a screaming panic stricken
throng of negroes scrambled through
windows and made their way up the
sloping roof to safety. Strange to say,
most of them escaped with bruises,
but the death list given already in
cluded only those taken from the
broken car In the car below water
lie the unknown many.
Several of the negro passengers
maintain that this lost car was crowd
ed. If so, it must have contained
seventy-five or eighty passengers. but
the railway people yesterday after
noon denied that there was a COM
pletely submerged car, despite the fact
that all the witnesses to the acci-
dent say most positively that this is
true.
Engine Jumped Draw.
So great was the speed of the en-
gine that notwithstanding the use of
the emergency brakes, it leaped the
chasm and knocked the drawbridge
away as if it had been firewood, land
ing on the trestle on the farther side.
To this alone is due the fact that the
whole train was not submerged and
the life of every passenger lost. Had
the engine not struck the farther tres
tie, the train would have undoubtedly
plunged head on into the water. AS it
was, the engine held for moment on
the north trestle and thus checked
the impetus of the oncoming coaches.
This caused the train to buckle and
the engine slid under the descending
passenger coaches The drawbridge
already at the bottom, the engine and
tender propped up the falling coach.
and before the entire mass had gone
down, the three rear cars had been
brought to standstill.
Farmers to Rescue.
Several farmers were working IL,
their fields in sight of the bridge when
the wreck occurred When they saw
what had happened they rushed to the
scene of the accident: some in boats,
some on foot and others on the horses
they had hastily unhitchcd from their
agricultural imprements. No time was
lost in securing axes with which the
top to one car vas hurriediy cut away.
When an opening had been made
l.; tt nj
standing on the backs of the seats, all
making desperate efforts to keep their
heads above water, which had partial
ly filed the car simultaneously with
it's sinking. These passengers, who
had managed to escape the awful ca
tastrophe. were taken out, more dead
than alive. by the sturdy, weather.
Drowned rescuers.
Ernest Wolston. of Greenville, n. g.
who was one of the survivors, was IL;
one of the cars that went overheard
He stated to a reporter for the Virgin
ian-Pilot last night that he felt
great shock and the next moment the
car was full OF water. According to
Wolston a wild, mad scramble follow
cd. Shrieking women and praying
men fought like demons to get to the
door at the end of the car still out of
the water They blocked the aisles,
climbed over the seats and smashed
windows and ventilators in their ef-
forts to escape. Wolston and his
brother managed to get through one
of the windows in spite of the attempts
of the crowd to get ahead of them, anu
then were instrumental in resculng
many women and little children.
CHASTITY Spectacle.
Those on hand Immediately after
the accident occurred say that it was
q scene that can never be forgotten
Those of the injured whose heads were
still above water moaned and groaned
long and piteOusly. Some OF them had
pieces of timber sticking IN tnelr
bodies pinning them to the cars III
such manner that 1T would nave
been impossible to get them away
even had the wreck occurred on dry
land. The coaches had been cfushed
and the piling of the draw spllntered,
and in one case a SLAYER OF wood nad
gone all the way through strong
hearty negro in such manner that ne
had died almost instantly.
The third car was broken exactly
in half and the most of the injured
were in that coach. Probably the
greater part of the real suffering was
in that vehicle. This was because so
much of the wood work of the car was
broken, and the passengers were
thrown upon the shattered timbers,
and in many Instances crushed in the
ruins Hardly a negro could be seen
but bore upon his face and body grue-
some evidences of the awful smash-up.
REJTNJON IN BLADEN.