horses accidentally kicked over a tank of gasoline near a cooking stove. The injured were taken to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Charlotte. One of the most severely injured was George Connelly, who had tried to save horses trapped in fire in a car stall; two of the horses died, but George saved one of them, and was mentioned as a hero by the media. Others who had escaped from the car unharmed still had to handle the loss of their clothes and other belongings, as well as the tragedy of the accident and those injured. Pat Chappelle was unharmed and quickly ordered a new carriage and eighty-foot round tent so the show could go on the following week. Financially, the tragedy cost him $10,000. He mentioned to The Freeman newspaper that the incident could have been prevented if there had been a fire department in the area, or at least water for a "bucket brigade." In 1909, Chappelle sued the Mobile and Ohio Railroad which overcharged for the transportation of his Pullman sleeper and baggage cars. He also tried to gather support to help lower the transportation rates of the Southern Railroad Association, as the high rates targeted the tour shows. Other activities In the late 1890s and early 1900s, Chappelle successfully communicated with the mainstream African-American newspapers of his day, and articles about him and his family were published in a variety of black newspapers and magazines. The Freeman newspaper published his opinion pieces, covered the "Rabbit's Foot Comedy Company" on many occasions, and mentioned some of his family members in the society pages and obituary pages. Chappelle wrote, questioning why there were not more African-American owners of companies. Chappelle invested much of his profits in real estate. In 1909 it was said that his investments in "twenty-five modern structures in the various sections, both business and residential, of the city of Jacksonville, and the $7,000 apartment building now in course of erection, as well as a large volume of business through the Afro-American bank of his native city, are encouraging signs of race progress". Retirement and death By 1910, Chappelle was suffering from an unspecified illness and his doctor told him to rest. He went with his wife Rosa to the countryside in Georgia, and then to Atlanta. Pat returned to the tour but then left again in the winter of 1910; his brother Lewis took over