Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1913-10-04
VICTIMS OF Wreck
ARE BROUGHT HERE
Continued from page one.)

walls. Inc wreck occurred at q point
where the fireman on the northbound
train, which was known az "first To-"
and the engineer on the work train.
northbound, could not see what was
coming. The engines met head-on at
speed Of approximately thirty-five
miles an hour on sharp curve. The
! engineer on No. Is and the fireman
on the work train, riding on what in
railroad parlance would be termed
the Glow side," were able to see the
impending wreck. 1t is said that Fire
man c. G. Bennett, of the work train,
called to his companions in the cab to
jump, leaving his engine an instant
before the crash, landing in deep
ditch at the side of the track. 1t was
this ditch that saved his life, as the
|, wrecked cars piled high over him.
Brakeman Reed, of the work train,
jumped at the Cry of Bennett, landing
also in the ditch. 1t is believed from
the position in which Engineer Davis
body was found, that the. engineer, be-
| ing unable to sec, what had caused
Bennett to cry out the warning, step
ped from the right side of the cab to
the left, as he was suspended head
downward in the twisted and splinter
Fed cab. Engineer McCabe jumped
w Io6 NE hi l..A
l Young and Fields remained in the cab.
Their bodies were torn and scalded
in a horrible manner, and it is be-
!lieved that death resulted instantly.
/ All four of the dead men were rid
ling in the cabs of two engines. 1t is
due to the fact that Conductor
Barnes and other members of the two
rews escaped death because of the
fact that they were riding in the ca
bosses of the trains.
Many rumors| are in circulation as
to what caused the wreck, and the Of
ficials OF the Cotton Belt are investi-
eating, but have given out no state
ment as yet. One of theirumors is to
the effect that Engineer McCabe, of
No. 10, and his conductor, received or
ders from the dispatcher at Camden
instructing them to wait at Stephens
for twenty minutes for the work train
but that lMcCabe overlooked the orders,
and it is said that the first remark
made by McCabe when reseuers reach
ed him was, "My God, how come me
to overlook this?" 1t is also said
that the conductor on No. Is, realiz-
ing that something was wrong at the
head OF his train and that they were
going to run by" Stephens, pulled the
air valve on the caboose, thus setting
the brakes on the forty-eight cars in
the train, but that at almost that min
| ute the engine of the work train en-
tered the cut.
Passengers on the north and south
bound passenger trains were compell-
ed to walk distance of nearly
mile while transferring around the
wreck. Owing to the recent heavy
rains the ground was wet and muddy
and the passengers presented be-
draggled appearance upon their arriv-
al in this city. The wreck had not
been cleared sufficiently at IL o'clock
last night to permit of the passage of
| trains.
The financial loss to the Cotton Belt
Will be enormous, the engine pulling
No. 10 being one of the new "super-
heater" types, costing 21,OOO each, of
which the company recently purchas-
| ed eleven. A carload OF whiskey, next
70 the engine on the southbound
train, scattered the contents over the
wrecked cars and engines and ignit-
ed the wreckage, but quick action on
the part of the train crews and vol
unteers extinguished the blaze.
| The citizens Of Stephens, who plain
ly heard the crash of the locomotives
as they hit 'head-on." rushed to the
scene. Physicians of the town hur-
ried there with their emergency cases
and rendered every assistance to the
| injured. The hotels of the city we're
thrown open to the injured and the
dead men were carried there, where
many remained with the bodies until
the departure Of the train for this
| city.
Many railroad and shop employees
friends of the dead men, called at the
undertaking establishments yesterday
and viewed the vemains of their COM
rades.