Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-10-31
4 Remarkable Accident.

The following novel and remark
able funny accident on the Missouri
Pacific is related by the St. Louis
Globe Democrat of Friday.
One of the funniest railroad
accidents that has ever happened
occurred to a special on the
Missouri Pacific last night. The
special train runs only every Fri
day night, and is operated to give
the residents of Krkwood and
near stations an opportunity to visit
the theaters and other night attrac
tions in the city. Last evening this
special left the union depot at IL 20
with very good load of passengers.
The train moved along through the
yards carefully, and was just begin
ming to strike its regular gait when
the passengers were startled by sud
den halt which threw everybody for
ward with great force. and created
great CONSERVATION. Visions of dis
astrous collision flashed before the
eyes of the passengers, who waited for
death to come for the first few seconds
and then concluded to run out and as
certain the cause of the shCck. The
most active men got out First, and
when they cast their eyes around they
thought they had encountered cy
clone. The remains of two story
frame house was strewn about the
track and over the forward cars. A
number of people in very abbreviated
garments and with scared to death ex-
presSiOEs of cOuntenance stood around
shiverIng in the cold, while a fagman
called out Justify for a red light. At
ter a great deal of excitement and con-
lecture as to how, in the name of all
that wonderful, frame house could
have competed for right of way with
a locomotive, it was learned that an
enterprising house mover had under
taken to change the location of the
house during the hours of the night
in which he calculated there would be
no travel. He had taken of carefully
studying the time card, and ascertain
ed that no regular train would be
along at that hour. But to make sure
that no accident would occur, he
bribed the hagman with a bottle of
Robinson county to go down the track
about 100 yards and flag any train
that might appear. The house-mover
then began his deadly work, and so
sure was he of It's successful accom-
pliskment that he perm itted the fam
lily that occupied the house to go to
bed unwarned. In addition to the
family, which consisted of William
Nixon, his wife, two children and a
servant. there were six borders in the
house. Before getting the mansion on
the track where an engine could strike
it amidships, the mover, whose name
is Joseph Lloyd, found difficulty in
the matter of telegraph wires. This
problem was solved by cutting the
wires. Then he got the house on the
track. His friend with the red lantern
had in the meantime gone down the
track and become SO intimate with tRe
contents of the bottle that he couldn't
tell locomotive from st. Louis
alderman, and then the kirkwood
train came along. OF course, the en-
gineer didn't see the house in time,
and unfortunately the rays Of the
headlight did not fash upon the form
of the house-mover, who danced a
dSlirous jig in the middle of Choteau
avenue, wildly crying out to the engi
neer. The result was that the engine
lifted the house in the air, jugsled it
Tor awhile, and then threw it back
ward like handful of leaves. the
occupants, strange to say, scrambled
out of the ruins uahurt and undress-
ed. The flagman had lost his lantern,
and the headlight of the locomotive
having been destroyed, the place was
in entire darkness for awhile. The
mo~er was clamorous for the safety
of his '.roliers." 1t was o'clock in
the morning before everything had
been cleared away, and nearly day
light when the Kirkwood people got
| home.