Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1907-01-09
|AA Engineers TRAGIC DEATRl

1 FOR FIVE HOURS ENGINEER MAXWELL LAY
PINNED BETWEEN ENGlNEAND TENDER
l(Raleigh IN. G., Evening Times, Dec. ST.
4 Passengers who were on train No. 80,
] on the Seaboard Air Line, and bound
from Atlanta to Portsmouth, and which
collided with freight train two miles
north OF Peachland, station Al miles
south Of Hamlet on Saturday night at
9.a0, tell of q most heartrend,ng scene.
Only one met death In the accident,
the engineer Of the passenger train. and
for Eve hours he lay caught between the
engineiand tender as his life blood slowly
ebbed away. Engineer Earle Maxwell
lived In this city, and his many friends,
learned Of the news OF his untimely death
with the most sincere regret.
Tho train which met with the accident
south Of Hamlet was known as NO. SO,
but from Hamlet to Norlina It became
No, "a. and passes here at l.40 in the
morning. On the night of the accident
J it was running about thirty-fiye minutes
latesY Second No. 81, southbound
freight7 Engineer George Steele and Con-
ductori Atkinson, got stuck on q steep
'fg,ade two miles this side of Peachland,
and to get the train over the hill cut it In
two and carried one section to the siding
land then returned after the remaining
cara. When they went to couple tho en-
gine iS was found that one Of the COUP
lers had gotten out of Ak and IL took
some minutes to fix it. A negro flagman
was sent down the track with lantern
and also fuses to flag any train that
might approach. The lantern, 1t is un-
derstood, went out and the fiagman WAS
unable to light it and for some reason he
did not light the fusee. This left the
freight standing on the main line with
nothing to warn an approaching train.
The place where the freight train was
standing was in a cut and around sharp
turn, 1t being impossible to see more
than several lengths. The engineer of
the freight made the statement after the
accident that he heard the passenger
train blow at crossing two or three
minutes before the accident occurred,
but knowing that flagmau had been
sent out he. of course, thought the train
would be stopped.
No. so came down the steep grade run
ming at about forty miles an hour, and
dashed around the curve and into the
freight at full speed. Neither engine
turned over, but both were looked in a
mighty embrace. The engineer of the
freight, it is said, was not on the engine,
but was standing by the side of the
train. For few minutes all was confu-
sion and then the trainmen and passen.
gers began to see who had been killed OF
injured. They found Engineer Earle
Maxwell pinned between the tender and
, boiler, his left leg being caught at the
calf and his right foot was also by the
boiler, but it was not caught.
! At first coal was piled around the form
! of Engineer Maxwell and it could not be
told how badl he was caught in the
engine. Severa, men went to work and
removed the coal and found his left leg
only was caught. 1t had been almost out
} off. Every effort was made to get the
injured man out, but It was hours before
the enormous engines could be torn from
their mighty embrace and In the mean.
time the engineer lay there as his life
blood dyed theNmonster which only a
short time before he had under his con.
troll. The sight was indeed heartrend.
n ing one.
~ HERO TO THE LAST.
AS the dying engineer lay there be
thought Of father and mother in their
South Carolina homo, brothers and sis
, ters, and his wife and babe. Now and
. then he would speak of them, and whom
he saw that the end was near he begged
that physician, who had reached the
scene of the accident, cut off his leg
above the knee and tie the arteries &c
that he could live long enough to see his
wife and little boy, but the manner In
/. which he was lying made the physician
hesitate about attempting the operation
Although suffering the most horrible
pain, he bore 1t with, Spartan courage
, and seemed only to think of his loved
: ones. Soon after he found how seri
onsly he was injured and that he could
. not be gotten from between the engine
and tender while alive, he asked that hit
+, wife and baby ba sent for 80 that he
could see them before he died, and the,
were wired for, hut ere they could leav.
! the grim messenger had arrived, and the
soul of the brave engineer had taken it,
flight. The accident occurred, at o 40 D
m. and it was 2.30 in the morning wher