The Washington herald., 1906-11-30

T--T---
that could be done was to haul away part
Of the .wreckage 50 as to rob the flames
of fuel. 1t was not until the hre dleo
down and the engine cooled of thaT the
bodies of the victims could be removed
The wreck came at the time of morning
when people sleep sOundest and are OIL
their guard. Those not killed or seriously
injured awOke with a scream. and ming
Sled with the frightened cries OF the
women were the oaths Of the men. Bro
ken glass was flying in all the wrecked
cars and added to the horror of the SIT
uation. Panic seized the passengers and
they scrambled for way out Win
shrieks fer help.
Nobody to Fight Fire.
There was no one 70 help. 1t was every
one for himself. Those who. half-clad.
scrambled from the cars were confronted
with the spectacle Of two trains jammed
tight together. while in the center, where
the impact had been, the morning breeze
famed the flames so high that IL vas
dangerous to go near. The passengers
were unnerved by the shock. The train
mems Arst duty was 10 flag the road so
that no other trains should come 10 add
to the horror, and they were poWerless 10
do more than help the injured passengers
10 q place Of safety
Attention was first directed TO the
burning coach, in the midst OF which
stiH stood the engine that had brought
disaster Nothing could be done mere
but drag away such parts Of the wood
work as were not on fire. but the naTnes
burned themselves out unhindered
Then to the coaches, The Pullman
nearest 10 the private car had its rear
Of INN
the car itself was split for nearly half its
length. In the rear end Of this Pullman
en- Irish woman, whose name could not
be learned. together with her siX-year-
old daughter. We're sleeping. The crash
threw them out Of their berths and COW
cred them with debris and broken glass.
Their cries for help were heard, and they
were quickly rescued. Their injuries We're
slight. and. as they made their way
across the rails to the embankment the
little girl clung with frantic tenderness 70
the rag doll she had taken 20 bed with
her.
Injured Bear Up Bravely.
When all the passengers were out Of the
PuIImans attention was directed 20 the
forward coach. from which the injured
negroes were taken. Everybody assisted
In bearing the wounded 90 the bank,
unt8 help should arrive. The colofed peo-
pie bore their injuries stoicslly; there was
no moaning. pain brought no complaints
from them; wonderingly, but bravely. they
bore the brunt Of the disaster. and were
patient until help came.
The passengers soon recovered from the
shock of the disaster. and. rallyiug, they
did what they could 10 help the less for
tunate Finding it of no avail 10 work
on the flames without means 10 fight
them. they turned their attention to the
wrecked coaches, and by pulling away
the wreckage and working hard, they
saved many people who must otherwise
have been crushed TO death
kilograms were sent to this city
asking for help to subdue the flames.
but unfortunately an early fire on
Main street here delayed the appa-
ratus. As soon as possible. however.
an engine of the Lynchburg depart
ment was loaded on a fat car and
hurried to the wreck. 1t arrived too
| late to be of material assistance. On
| the same train went Drs. Terrell and
| Carroll. and on a later special train
| Drs. Taliaferro, Sparrow, and Raw
lings. accompanied by nurses, were
! sent. They dressed the wounds Of the
/ injured at once. and brought them all
/ back TO the City Hospital here.
story of Eye-wItnesSes.
| Only one passenger on the train has
been able. so far, to give a coherent
! account Of what happened. This is F.
! NJ. Curtis, Of jamestown. KY. who was
on his way 10 High Point, y c He
/ reported acts Of vandalism, and de-
/ Clares that he saw one negro porter
| from the Atlanta train going through
la woman's valise, picking out what he
wanted and throwing the rest away
| 4 would have killed him if had had
q weapon" he says.
| When Mr.. Curtis got to Lynchburg he
/ bore striking evidence Of the horror he
had been through. His shirt was torn in
| shreds by the sharp splinters Of the
wTeckage; his hands were torn and swol-
/ len with the frantic work he did in help
/ ing to get the injured out and blis-
tered from the hard work with ar
AK in cnOpping a way to freedom for
/ people pinned down and in danger OF
/ burning, and he said-though he was la
/ boring under excitement at the time
| that the blood which plentifully besmear-
ed his hands was from the bodies of al
! least four or five persons in the wreck.
/ He says: when the crash came 1 was
| sleeping sOundly in a lower berth. 1 was
| in the car Just ahead of the private
| coach I was thrown out of the berth or
to my feet and found myself in the cOrri-
/ dor next to my friend, James Baum, OF
| Chicago. He was all right, and 1 assured
/ him was, also. l threw on some clothes
around me were women and children
! screaming, frantic with fright
Private Car a Wreck.
"T did not realize what had happened
and I rushed out of the car, only to see
/ that the private car was an utter wreck
and was burning fieTcely. It seemed Il
| threaten the rest of the train. 1 wen
back TO the Pullman and tried to assure
/ the women that all danger was past.
/ helped many OF them and the children L
/ clothe themselves, and assisted them out
! Then I saw that many passengers wer'
| climbing out Of the wTeckage ahead
/ Those who were out just stood aTOunS
and seemed daZed by the horror and th'
| sUddenness Of it all. I urged the men t
work and help the injured, and, stimulat
ed by my urging, they went 10 work likt
beavers and helped out many a passen
ger who would have died otherwise"
Mr.. Curtis also spoke of the brave con
duct of the colored people who were in
jured. They lay in a field hard by tn,
! track, and were patient and heroic il
their suffering.
Crushed Under Debris.
One of the greatest tragedies Of tn,
wreck was the death Of D. w. Davis, the
telegraph operator of the Southern Rail
way who was in the private car. WheI