Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-05-27
COAST DISPATCHES.
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD UNION
THE SANTA CRUZ CALAMITY.
Continuation of the Testimony at the
Coroner's Inquest
PASSENGERS COMING WEST BY RAIL.
Further Movements of the Railroad Com
mission.
TROUBLE BETWEEN B0DiE MINING COMPANIES.
Profitable Nights Work for San Joaquin
Constable.
TROUBLE BETWEEN BuDIE MINING COMPANIES
Profitable Nights Work for San Joaquin
Constable.
CALIFORNIA.
The Santa Cruz Catastrophe Condition
of the Wounded - Further Testimony
lsaE 4

The Santa Cruz Catastrophe Condition
of the Wounded - Further Testimony
Before the COrOner's Jury.
SANTA Cruz, May 26th.-There is no
change in the condition of the wounded.
Rohde will probably live, but George Post is
in critical condition.
A map and diagram of the road at the scene
Of the accident has been filed with the Coro.
ner, signed by l.. B. Healey. 1t shows that
the curve from which the cars were thrown
was originally 13' s curvature. For about
100 feet the whole track, ties and rails were
shifted so that in distance of about 90 feet
the curvature was 23'
The testimony of the conductor and brake
man was taken this morning at their bedsides
in the Pacific Ocean House.
EVIDENCE OF THE BRAKEMAN.
NJ. D. McLeon, the brakeman, testified
that he had the brake on the first car set
tight when the accident took place when
the whistle blew for down brakes he had the
brake on the first car tight he attempted to
give it another turn, but it was tight down :;
the wheels on the side toward the river raised
from the track, and when they came down
struck on the ties outside of the rail the
train was running about fifteen or twenty
miles an hour; | have never been over the
road as brakeman before; when the cars
jumped from the track the passengers were
thrown against me; [ had still hold of the
brake wheel, and was thrown against the
bank with q number of passengers on top of
me.
THE CONDUCTORS STORY.
w. d. Bones, the conductor, testified that
the trip of Sunday was the first time he had
been over this part of the road. Witness
thought it was two or three minutes after the
whistle blew that the accident happened
He had started for the brake on the forward
end of the third car from where he was col
lecting fares in the second car, before the
whistle blew. His reason for this was that
he had large number of fares to collect, and
wanted to slow down so that he could finish
before the arrival at the terminus. He
should Judge that the speed was II to 20
miles an hour. He did not know that the
train was approaching a curve.
Both Bones and Mclean testified that they
had not been drinking at all.
OTHER TESTIMONY.
Michael Leonard, who went up and ex-
amined the track after the accident, testified
that there were no marks of the wheels for
some distance on the outer or river side of
the track after the train left the rail, 80 that
the cars must have run on the right-hand set
of wheels with the others raised in the air.
He also said that the space between the rails
was only about half filled with earth, instead
of flush with the ties, as customary.
Alfred Withers, fireman on the South
Pacific Coast Railroad, and who was on the
engine on Sunday, testified that he felt the en-
CINE give lurch Immediately before the cars
left the rail, and it felt as though it had
struck joint which was out of order A
fiat car is usually weighted with about ten
tons of freight Fifteen miles an hour is the
average speed for freight trains
The fireman, Frank R. Thompson, testified
to the circumstances of the disaster. He did
not hear the engineer put on steam on the re-
verse after the lurch of the engine. When
the locomotive had left for Santa Cruz, leav-
ing him behind, several who were not injured
attempted personal violence on him. They
seemed insane for vengeance on somebody.
He started down the track and met section
foreman, who he thought was named
Sweeney, with a gang of men. He reported
the accident to him. The foreman said he
knew where it was that the iron was too
light there, and he would have cut it if he
had had the tools with which to do it. The
foreman also said he had expected an acci-
dent at that place.
The inquest was then adjourned till this
afternoon.