The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-12-27
Freight Engineer Mcguire aud His Firt-
mar. Callahan, Morally Injured.
Nick Weeks Suffers a Broken Ankle
Bad Wreck and The Gauss of II.

precious human lives, pulls out from a
five minutes blind time, with
the absolute right to the road. Its cOn-
and engineer, two of the most
trustworthy men in the employ Of a
company which carries thousands on its
pay rolls, have, previous to starting,
called at the dispatcher's office and
asked for orders, receiving the reply
that there are nc orders for them. AS
the conductors CHEEKY ''all aboard"
and the last bell sound, the engineer
pulls open the throttle, little dreaming
that less than two miles away a long
freight train is moving toward him
rapidly on the same track, and with
orders which give it the absolute right
to the road-''run TO Cheyenne regard
less of train Four Here is sufficient
cause for an accident and n terrible
one, but when you add to ills the fact
that both trains are moving on q crook
ed track, one down grade and through
a deep cut, the other ascending, and
both enveloped in a dense, cold fog, You
have the story Of yesterdays horror in
Il nutshell. Now for the details.
The west bound overland emigrant,
due here at 3 p. m, yesterday, was de-
layed, owing to n heavy train and the
intense cold. \ few stations east of
Cheyenne the conductor, Curtiss, and
engineer, Maguire, received orders to
run to Cheyenne regardless of train
Four. Train -Four is the east bound
express, which arrives here mt 800 p.
M, and leaves at $40. When the order
was given the dispatcher, judging from
the time the emigrant train was max
ing, thought she would easily reach
Cheyenne before the express left, and,
it would seem gave the matter no fur
ther thought.
Therefore, when, ut $40, Conductor
NJ. NJ. Patterson and engineer Nick
Weeks, Of the express train, called ut
the dispatcher's office for orders, they
were told that there were no orders for
them, and they returned to their train
and started out. AS the train was
leaving the yard the train dispatcher,
Mr.. W. G. Langdon, (who has been in
the employ of the company for years,
and is u favorite with the officers and
employees from Omaha to OGDEN real
lied his fatal mistake. He ran toward
the train at first, thinking he could stop
it, but seeing this course futile, rushed
into the office of Supt. Davis and in
hurried language told him al. Davis
flew out and ran down the track in the
hope of overlooking the train, but alas!
only the speed of lightning would have
ayailed then, and unfortunately human
skill has us yet failed to utilize it for
this particular purpose. A moment
later there was a terrific crash, the loud
hiss of escaping steam, and the dread
full work was done.
Five minutes later and it seemed as
if all Cheyenne knew of the disaster.
A LEADER reporter hurried to the
scene, and found the engineer of the
freight train, Mcguire, with his fire.
man, Callahan, horribly mangled and
bleeding, with but little life in them,
lying on rude stretchers, with a bevy Of
surgeons about them administering
stimulants and easing their last mo-
ments by every possible means. The
passenger engineer, Nick Weeks, was
in u Pullman, one ankle broken and
being bandaged. He said that he and
his wife had both dreamed the night
before that lie was to have a collision,
and that just before starting out Mrs.
j.. N. Carey, (who, with her husband,
occupied q stateroom, and were start
ing for the east had said to him that
their train was about to meet with an
accident, but he had laughed and done
his best to shake off the feeling. He
was very well satisfied to get off as well
rs he did, he said.
Passing on the reporter next found
the wreck, and a force OF men at work
upon it. The front of the passenger
engine had jumped upon the cow
catcher of the other, its forward truck
and drive wheels We're consequently
lifted from the track. The smoke
stack of the freight engine was on the
ground, the truck wheels of its tender,
also of a box car next to it were under
its cab, its tender was on the ground,
and altogether it was a ~sick-looking
locomotive. But the most completely
demolished specimen we have ever seen
was the box car which had been at
tached to the engine. 1t was splin-
tered into very fine kindling wood, and
its contents, consisting of canned
goods, collins, bottled condiments,
herring, bedding, etc, scattered on all
sides. The express train consisted of
ten cars, and but one was seriously
damaged, although glass was broken
out of nearly all of them.
BRAKEMAN PANGBoRN's STORY.
]. II. Pangborn, one of the brakemen
of the emigrant train, with his con-
ductor, Curtiss, was on the engine