Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1886-05-15
wreck ON UTAH NORTHERN.
, Curious Accident Causes a Collision
Between Freights Near Dry
Creek, Idaho.
Tho Result, One Man Killed, and Two
Others are Not Expected to
Live.
manage to the Company Property Not
Known, But it Is Surely
Very Extensive.

kuONus Dut :" ~
Very Extensive.
sncc;sl to the MINER.
my CREEK. Idaho, May 13.-Last night
near this point there occurred one OF the
,,ost disastrous accidents that has ever
occurred ON the Utah & Northern road, in
.,,;,a !, addition to a loss OF life a very
I..vv loss of property. 1t appears that
a,+ 8 o'clock Conductor Quinn, in charge
rt,o;cht train No. 61S from Spring Hill
,o;no soutb was intercepted by orders to
s;da rack at Dry Creek in order to allow a
very heavy thrible header from Eagle Rock
r. mass. When the point was reached he
,roceeded to obey orders, and at once dis
covered that the side track was occupied
with a lot OF empty box Ears and eleven
ears laden with steel rails. He sent
brakeman Taylor ahead to release the
standing stock, and pulled in, as is usual,
when the engine OF 61s struck the box cars
and started them, Taylor discovered that
the eleven steel cars were not coupled, and
being so heavily laden they moved off with
a fair start at a pretty good speed. In
stead OF adjusting the air brakes with
which the cars were equipped, Taylor seems
TO have lost his head, and the presumption
il that fearing they would be wrecked, he
ran down, opened the switch and thus
turn them into the main track, which, at
this point, has a very heavy down grade.
In the meantime the heavy train with it's
three sections in charge OF Conductor Col
Inns, which mad started from Eagle Rock at
2.55 y. m, was moving along at the rate OF
twelve or fifteen miles per hour. At start
,ug it was drawn by engine "a, Butt Chap
man. engineer, and engine II, George Orem,
.n,ineer, but on account OF its weight
engine so, George Flood, engineer, was
ordered to hitch on mt the mouth Of Beaver
CANYON and help to pull it through the
heavy grade OF the canyon, which was done,
No 20 being in the lead. The train was
proceeding in g Cd shape and Dry Greek
had been nearly reached, when the
eleven runaway ears were suddenly
discovered turning a curve and coming at
the rate of forty or fifty miles an hour.
The sight was so sudden and the distance
50 short that it was impossible to do any
thing, and in a second or two the collision
occurred, the shock being terrible, the steel
rails on the runaway MASKING through the
boiler OF No. so. The cOncussion was so
great that the three engines and nearly all
the cars OF both trains were derailed and
they and their cOntt nts scattered in all
directions. AS soon as they recovered from
the shock the railroad men began to look
around to discover the extent OF the &C
cident. That the train was a complete
wreck was apparent at a glance, and then
came the search for the human victims, the
casualties being finally summed up as fol-
lows:
JAMES CLARK, fireman No, so, killed
instantly, skull fra
GEORGE FLOOD. engineer No. so. very
badly scalded. Recovery doubtful.
ANDY KEAcH, fireman No. "a, one leg
mashed and amputated. the other broken
in two places. Not expected to live.
BURT CHAPMAN, an engineer, No. "a, head
badly cut, and otherwise bruised. Not
serious.
GEORGE OREM, engineer No. II, badly
bruised.
BILL PURDY, fireman No. II, several
slight wounds.
HENRY HEWITT, head brakesman, who
was riding on No. II, was somewhat
bruised, but nothing serious.
All the other train hands were more or
less shook up. but beyond a few bruises
sustained no injuries.
As soon as the accident occurred Con-
ductor Quinn t~elegraphed to Eagle Rock
for assistance, and General Foreman G. S.
Smith Immediately ordered ont a special
relief train in charge of Conductor Cath
cart, and having on board DR.. Bean, the
Company Surgeon, at Eagle Rock, and other
assistance. it at once proceeded to the
scene. The wounded were Immediately
cared for and after being made as COM
Portable as possible were taken to Eagle
Rock for treatment. Subsequently a
wrecking train was sent to the point and
the men are busily engaged in clearing the
track.
Since he W as sent forward by the conductor
to attend to the car. on the side track the
brakeman Taylor has not been seen and it
is supposed that he became frightened at
the result ofhis ignorance or carelessness and
ran away. He is one OF the new brakes
men having entered upon his duties about
the seventh Of the month. He comes from
Payette, Idaho, on the Short Line, and
claims to lave been an old brakeman.
JAMES CLARK who was instantly killed
has been in the employ OF the company
about one year. He came here from Cali
fornia where he "A in the employ OF the
Central Pacific. He is a young man, un-
married. and a member of the Brotherhood
OF Firemen.
ANDY KEAcH, who was so badly injured
has been for son time in the employ OF
the company. He lives at Eagle Rock and
has a wife and one child.
GEORGE FLoDD, who was seriously scalded
was formerly an employe of the Rock
Island and resided at Davenport, Iowa.
He has been on the Utah Northern about
one year. He is unmarried.
CONDITION OF THE
EAGLE Rock, May 13-1O:3O p. MAS
lar as | can learn the wounded are the same
as when they left the place OF the accident.
One with his leg cut off, another badly
scalded and bruised. Engineer Dram COM
plains OF having pains all over him. The
brakeman, Taylor, that turned the cars on
the main line, is nearly crazy, and it is ex-
pected he will be a raving maniac by
morning.
Telegraph RumOrs
MONTREAL, May 13.-The stock OF the
Montreal Telegraph Company bounded up
aoovt seven points to-day on the strength
OF certain rumors. The report was that
tne Canadian Pacific had assumed the
Western Unions leases of the Montreal 4