The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-04-10
CRUSHED By THE CARS.
A Mill Hand While Intoxicated, Goes
to Sleep on the Railroad Trsek
and is Cut 10 Pieces.

Robert Bruner, a mill hand in the lower
saw mill, met frightful death on the
Rock Island & Peoria road in the lower
end of the city at o'clock this morning
just how the fatal accident happened
is not, and probably neverwill be known.
The supposition is, however, that Bru>
ner, who was seen drunk few hours be-
fore, and whose home was in the out>
skirts OF town, started home and fell
down near the track and went to sleep,
and the incoming train-No. ram
over aud killed him. At few
minutes before midnight he was
observed staggering up the track
by William Heitahrends, Waterman
at Weyerheuser & Denkman's saw mill
and that was the last seen of him alive.
This morning about 6 O'Clock John
Shank and Joseph Meyer, laborers at the
mill. while going to work discovered
Burners
MUTILATED BODY
upon the track. The right LEG and arm
were completely severed from the body,
while bits OF flesh and bone were scattered
along by the side of the track. The
features, which were very little
disfgured, were distinctly recognizable
as those OF Robert Bruner, but the body
was literally cut to pieces Coroner
Halves was notified, and the remains
were gathered up, and given in
charge of Undertaken Knox. Bruner
had evidently picked the place of his
FATAL SLEEP,
as the spot where the accident occu rred
was the only dry one along that stretch
of the track. The train which did the
deadly work was No. Z, freight, coming in
from Peoria and due at Rock Island
at 2:10 .. m. The enginewas No.
4, William Terry, engineer. Engi.
neer Terry states that he did not see
any object on the track on coming in,
and was not aware that his train had run
over anybody until he was starting back
to Peoria at 6 o'clock this morning, when
the body was seen where it had
been discovered BY the two young
men. An examination of the engine
then revealed blood upon the under
part of the tender, but nowhere else, and
Terry swears that the body was not on
the track when he came in, or he would
have seen it. He thinks it lay close tc
the rail on the outside and that bolt il
the engine caught the clothing anC
dragged the body across the rail. He
says he whistled as he approached the
new road to the abattoir where the body
was found, as usual. From appearances
the unfortunate fellow was
DRAGGED THIRTY FEET
beneath the wheels.
Bruner was in the neighboihood Of
thirty years of age, had been in Roch
Island two years, and had been engaged
at the lower saw mill all that time. Hi
was married a year and half ago t
Mrs. Mary Erhart, widow, who had fou
children by her first husband. Brunei
left one child a.few months, old with hi,
wife. A year ago this same man wa
found in drunken stupor upon the Chi
cago, Burlington & Quincy track at War
ner's crossing, and taken down to tn,
county Jail as fit subject for the insane
asylum. but was subsequently released
He seemedto possess peculiar fascina
ton for seeking couch upon the eve
dangerous iron highway. Coroner Have
is holding
THE INQUEST
this afternoon before a jury composed o
Alexander Steel, (forcmanl; J E. Larkin
l.. V. Eckhart, Charles Hodgson JOSEPH
Fitzpatrick and Timothy Bresnahan