The Newport plain talk. (Newport, Tenn.) 1909-1939, 1911-06-22

ed up with the men, felt something
give away under the building. He re-
/ ported the matter Immediately to the
outer guard. but Capt. Hoskins who
was in the kitchen stated that he
thought it was a rock which had rolled
against one of the supports. Nichols
had just time to walk to the opposite
side of the building when the crash
came. The thought which came to
the two guards was that there was
an avalanche and that great rocks were
coming down the mountain sweeping
them before it. When the progress
of the building had been arrested by
the trees below, Nichols crawled the
entire eighty feet on his stomach,
finally becoming wedged in between
two of the logs, from which it required
considerable work to extricate him.
Jim Steele, one of the negroes not
seriously hurt was started for Water
Vile as soon as Capt. Hoskins could
get his bearings. Twenty six men
were imprisoned at the time and it
was feared that all were dead or dy-
ing and the negro made fast run
over the mountains and brought assist
ance to the scene and the prisoners all
of whom were wearing the ball and
chain were extricated with much Diff
Guilty. Four had met instant death,
three looked as though they were near
to death and practically every man
had sustained more or less serious
injury.
AS soon as the matter was reported
to him, Superintendent A. J. McMa-
han of the Tennessee and North Caro-
lima railroad offered every assistance to
1. L. Councill the general manager of
the Transcontinentaira railroad. An en-
gine was sent from Crestmont carry
ing DR.. J. Walter McMahan to the
scene. Doctors Holland and Bingham
of Newport and J. r. Gates, T. & N.
G.. surgeon OF Hartford were taken to
the scene by the Tennessee and North
Carolina railroad at 8 a. m. Mr.. J. E.
Craddock, the general manager of the
Champion Lumber Company sent
food to to the camp at noon for the
| physicians, injured and workers, and
| at B y. IN. the L. & N. c.. ran a
special train to Newport for the pur-
pose of carrying back to the scene
collins for the dead, and all in all, the
Tennessee and North Carolina railroad
officials did everything in their power
to help their arrival company in its
| hour Of need.
After communicating with the
! prison authorities at Raleigh, Capt.
Hoskins had grave, seven by ten dug
OH the side of the mountain, just above
the scene of the accident, and after a
suit of clothes had been purchased for
the victims, and coffins delivered from
Newport, the remains were inferred,
white men doing the work Having
no place to stay, Capt. Hoskins
marched his injured prisoners over the
mountain to Waterville, where they
were quarted in box Car for the night,
pending the construction of another
camp for them, The three negroes
most seriously injured, two OF whom
it is stated will most likely die, were
carried over pass on stretcher and
the usual spectacle of white men of
that section carrying negroes was
! witnessed. At Wateryile, the three
more seriously injured were taken
from their improvised slretchers and
placed in the cough box which had
!, brought the collins, and with the three
injured in two boxes, they were brough
tc Newport and were taken TO Raleigh
, early Monday morning. One of the
injured had broken leg, broken ribs
!, and a scalp wound and while the ply.
sicians were working ON him it was
, necessary to take an axe and prize
! open the shackle which bound his leo