Atlanta Daily World

Sis Tryce's 'Spell' Is On Crack Trains
Four-Year-Old Curse Blamed For Disasters on Coast Line
By RIENZI B. LEMUS

WASHINGTON. D. C.-(ANP)-If the Atlantic Coast Line railroad wants to stop the alarming frequent wrecks of its crack trains, maybe its officials ought to investigate the "spell" cast by Sis Tryce four years ago.

On January 12 Atlantic Coast Line's banner season train, Florida Special, moved cautiously past the wreckage of another season flyer just south of Jacksonville, its crew taking in the scene casually-only to find themselves piling into one another a few miles onward, as Florida Special suddenly left the rails, took to the ties.

Two leading trains of the same line more or less wrecked a few miles apart, few hours between- and nobody seriously injured in either case.

Around Christmas two other Coast Line crack trains figured in wrecks on the same morning 300 miles apart-a streamliner in Southern Georgia, and the Havana special over on Florida's west coast, and none seriously injured in either instance

Last summer a streamliner took an open switch at Hadeshurst, its fifth mishap since its establishment in December, 1935, with only equipment and right of way seriously damaged. Two winters ago its companion train, Vacationer, took to the swamps; but its injured car chef soon returned to

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Sis Tryce's 'Spell'
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work. Last Washington's Birthday or the day before West Coast Florida Special, just attaining top speed out of Tampa, was abruptly stopped to avoid smashing an automobile parked athwart the track with five occupants. Most seriously injured-the dining car chef-turned to dust on St Patrick's day.
And sandwiched in among those wrecks since 1939 there have been others, not recorded here. So that frequency of the occurrences take on somewhat the uncanny in respect of cause, as there has never been any apparent defect in equipment or right of way and there is, consequently much speculation regarding, perhaps, some primary
And now comes a fellow who says it is all effect of 'the spell' which Sister Tryce Dooins 'put upon' the Coast Line just before she passed on late in 1938. The coincidences are striking. 'believe it or not' For, as the story goes, Sis Tryce 'laid the finger' on the property, accounting for the most phenomenal aspects of no deaths and a minimum of injuries accruing with this aggregated train and right of way wreckage since 1939.
Sis Tryce led and died over the Spade Springs, and was sprung directly of an African tribe whose name must have been spelled 'Yappigomba' Its legend Is Evil to him who does a Yappigomba a hurt is sure' Legend has it every overseer in slavery days dropped dead at the instance he lifted the lash to a Yappigomba and up to 1937 Sis Tryce is said to have pointed out to strangers ruins of the brand-new crossroads' store near Sodomo, that collapsed two hours after the white tradesman had cheated a Yappigomba in an accounting Then, there is the tale of the neighboring colored man who took to fits and yelped like a hurt puppy-until he returned the blooded puppy which he had stol-
WAS DENIED PASS
In 1938 Sis Tryce's great-grand-son was an employe of the Coast Line. His much ailing wife had returned to her parents' town to get full benefit of "the pines," and he requested a pass to visit her.
Denied: it is the long established pass policy of the Coast Line to not give passes to any colored rail employe (in which respect the Coast Line remains conspicuously the exception. Apprised of this exceptional discrimination against colored rail workers by the Coast Line management, Aunt Tryce, it is said, at once invoked the Yappigomba legend against that rail-road property
"Till they give colored people passes they trains will bust open, they tracks twist round, and nobody gets hurt or, and offen the road." she is said to have chanted.
"Believe it or not,""throwaway":false,