The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1906-07-26

Seaboard Trains Crash Together With
FrightfuI Loss of Human Life

WING meMOSrS OIL Inc Train Crew W
pull the dead and dying from the
tangled heap of wood and iron. Peo-
pie came from Hamlet and Rocking
ham to assist, and all night the work
was kept up. When the first grey
morning light came 80 dead bodies, in
Guiding those of two babies, had been
found. Some of the injured managed
to get themselves free, others were
found pinned down. Several were un-
conscious. AS soon as 1t vas posi-
BILE a train was brought from Mon
roe; the injured were placed on this,
with the bodies of most of the dead
negroes. The dead were taken off
at Rockingham and Monroe, the in
.iured at Charlotte. Two of the in
jured died en- route.
The wreck is supposed to have been
caused by the failure of the telegraph
operator at Rockingham to deliver
orders to the passenger train to meet
the freight train. The passenger, it
is said, had no orders to meet the
freight and it is the presumption that
the freight overlooked it's orders. 1t
is also stated that a lap order caused
the catastrophe. The passenger
train, this report states, had orders
to meet the freight at Hamlet, while
the freight's orders "a to meet the
passenger at Rockingham.
The freight was an extra fruit train
westward bound. The two trains col
lided with an awful roar and crash
In a deep cut one mile from Hamlet.
Engineer Lewis and his fireman was
instantly killed and death came in the
twinkling of an eye to the passengers
in the colored coach.
The scene is indescribable. The
w~reckage is piled high on the tracks
and traffic is completely blocked.
Both the second and first class coach
es were overturned and the colored
passengers were simply ground to
death. Many of the dead bodies are
horribly mangled and some of those
who escaped with their lives are bruis-
ed almost bewond recognition.
AS quickly as possible after the dis
aster, railroad men, citizens and pas
sengers who we're uninjured, began
! to work heroically to recover the dead
and injured, who were imprisoned I'M
der the cars. If the lamps in the
coaches had not been extinguished
| the accident would have been made
more horrible by fire.
The engineer and fireman of the
freight train jumped and escaped
with few bruises. The coach for col
ored people was torn all to pieces and
everyone in it who did not meet death
was more or less seriously injured
Both engines were demolished and the
baggage ears and coaches were jun.
bled together in an unsightly mass.
The colored passengers, most oil
whom were from Laurinburg, ha6
been to attend a big church gathering
Every seat In the car was taken, many
of the crowd being women and chill
dren. The cries of the children pin.
toned underneath the ears, added t.
! the horrors of the catastrophe.
AS soon as possible after thu
wreck the injured were sent to Char
lotte on a special train, in order t.
give them hospital accommodations
There were % colored people and fv'
whites in the number. The chief dis
patcher of the Seaboard at Raleigl
has given instructions to the under
taker at Rockingham to furnish cof
fins for all of the dead. All of tn,
doctors from Rockingham and Ham
let were dispatched to the scene AM
did valiant service to the injured. [
took about five hours to get the dea'
and injured from the wreck.