N&W in 1911--Accident

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
June 8, 1911

TRAIN STRIKES PARTY OF FIVE, KILLING FOUR
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Constable and Deputy, Prisoner and Traveling Man Dead at Iaeger
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INJURIES OF ANOTHER PRISONER PROBABLY FATAL
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Martha Noel and Charles Oedes, Colored, Were Being Taken to Constable's Home After Trail Before Magistrate, When Run Down
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SCHOOL TEACHER KILLED HAS TWO SISTERS HERE
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DEAD
JAMES PAYNE, Iaeger
JOHN DYKE ASHWORTH, Iaeger
ED JONES, Jackson, Ohio
MARTHA NOEL, Lex
INJURED
Charles Oedes, colored, Coalwood, will probably die.
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    The grim reaper in the form of a railroad engine ploughed its way through five human bodies Tuesday night on the curve east of Iaeger station, and the toil demanded was four lives, while it is believed that a colored man, who was struck will also die from injuries received.  Two of those hit were prisoners in charge of Constable James Payne and John Ashworth, a school teacher, who was acting as a deputy constable, both of whom were killed, while another was Ed Jones, of Jackson, Ohio, who is supposed to have been a traveling man, but this fact could not be verified here last night.
    From the reports which have reached Bluefield Officer Payne, accompanied by John Ashworth and Ed Jones, was taking Martha Noel, a white woman and Charles Oedes, colored, to Payne's house where they were to be kept over night, they having been given a hearing in a magistrate's court a short time before.  Oedes was charged with shooting a man at Coalwood a short time ago and Martha Noel was charged with a misdemeanor.  After leaving the court the party struck out down the track, about 10 o'clock, for Payne's house and stepped off the westbound track to escape an oncoming train which evidently made so much noise that it drowned the roar of another train approaching on the eastbound track.  It is supposed that this train crashed into the unsuspecting party, killing three of them outright, while another, Ed Jones, was so badly injured that he died before he could be rushed to the Miner's Hospital after the bodies were found early yesterday morning three of four hours after the accident is supposed to have occurred.  Charles Oedes, the negro [sic], wanted for shooting a man at Coalwood, was so badly injured that he would not get up to make his escape and he was taken in charge by the authorities.  There is some doubt as to whether Oedes will recover.
    The bodies were taken to Luther's undertaking parlor at Welch where they were prepared for burial.
[A portion of the article giving details about the victims is omitted here.]
    As far as can be learned the bodies were not badly mutilated, the injuries which caused death appearing to have been all inflicted about the head, making it appear that the train which struck them was going at a rapid rate of speed.  The railroad authorities have said last night that they could not make a positive statement regarding the accident but it was supposed that it occurred as outlined above.  It was learned on the street that the crew of second 84 reported in this city that they had seen what appeared to be dead bodies lying along the track near Iaeger and they seemed to be of the opinion that the party was struck by train No. 84 which engine crew was unaware of the accident at the time, and has not been able to recall any likelihood of it having occurred.
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[Walking the tracks with prisoners?  Keeping the prisoners over night in the Constable's home?]

Gordon Hamilton
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