Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-11-23
KILLED ON THE TRACK.
Little Johnny Harrington Run
over by an Engine and In
stantly Killed.
A Corpse Five Minutes After
Leaving His Mothers
Sight.
From Tuesdays Daily.

From Tuesdays Daily.
Residing near the edge OF the Montans
Union track, within a block Of the Clear
Grit mine, and within a stones throw o
the Anaconda mine. lives Jerry Harring
ton, an humble miner, who now mourni
the loss Of o beautiful little boy, aged
years. The Harrington residence il located
within ten feet of the Montana Unior
track leading TO the Anaconda mine
Owing to the proximity OF the railroad
track, MrB. Harrington, the bereaved
mother has exercised uausual care in look
ing after her children. and kept q maternal
eye upon them during the busy hours o.
the day. Sunday afternoon Mrs. Harring
ton left her infant son., Johnny, looking
out the front window, and retired to the
kitchen to perform her usual household
duties. A lew minutes later she was star.
tied by the cries OF q number OF children
who rushed into the house exclaiming.
Johnny has been killed." Aroused
by the intuition OF q mothers heart
she ran into the front room and thence to
the railway track in search Of her child.
The rumble and o q OF a passing train
aroused her worst suspicious. and looking
out from the front door, she was horrihed
to see the loved form OF her child lying on
the ties just outside OF the track. From
the door to the track is about ton feet,
q distance the distracted mother cleared at
a bound, only to find the ~lifeless body of
her babe stretched along the ties. Frantic
with grief she clasped the lifeless body OF
the child in her arms and bore it into the
house. The poor little tot had, with child.
ish confidence, stepped upon the fatal track
directly in front OF q movi,g engine and
several ears, and been hurled into eternity
without q moments notice. The train
moved on to the smelter, but q few no.
ments afterwafd Conductor Whitney, who
was in charge, returned 10 the house and
pleaded that the accident was no fault Of
the train men, as the child stepped upon the
track Immediately in front OF the engine
as the train WAS passing. III conductor
appeared deeply affected and expressed the
most profound regret for the accident
which he assured Mrs. Harrington was rend-
cred unavoidable by the child stepping
upon the track directly in front OF the en-
CINE. The engineer, he claimed, saw the
danger too late to avoid the fatal conse-
but as it was, reversed, and did
all in his power to save the child. The
train, according TO all accounts, was NOV
ing slowly at the time, and could have been
easily stopped had not the abrupt appear
ance Of the child on the track prevented.
The forward trucks OF the engine struck
the little fodder on the head and knocked
him to the ties, when his head was struck
and fearfully bruised and lacerated BY the
trucks and truck boxes. When removed
from the ties he was dead. u.gf |
Coroner Beal was summoned and held an
The Jurors selected were, T.
B. Harper. MichalO 'Bfien, Dennis Holland,
Patrick Holland and James O'Neil, who,
after hearing the evidence, rendered a yer.
dict absolving the the railway company
from responsibility, there being no evi.
dence OF carelessness adduced to substan-
this theory. Singular as it may ap-
pear, none Of the train ey ployes concerned
ia the accident, were summoned to testify, !
and as late az yesterday morning the rail.
way company possessed no knowledge oil
the inquest having been held.
A reporter for The MINER called at the
residence yesterday after
noon and ~eDdeavo:ed to ascer-
tain the facts connected with the
accidents. The corpse OF the child was
seen stretched upon b bhUles Will WV
sperm candles burning at it's feet. Sitting
around the room, their faces indicative oil
the deepest grief, were hall q dozen friends
OF the family. In answer to inquiries, Mrs.
Harrington, whose swollen eyes bore the
evidence Of recent weeping, Stated that i've
minutes prior to the accident she had left
little Johnny seated On q chair looking out
the front window. "Ithen returned to the
kitchen to prepare supper. In flew minutes
heard the train passing. Almost instantly
I heard the excited voices OF children in the
room. / ran in, when one ot the
children rushed up to me and exclaimed,
Mr.. Harrington, Johnny has been run
over and killed. ] hurried out the front
door and saw his whitsfapron futtering be-
side the tracks. The next Object. that met
nv startled gaze wassthe body OF my baby
living near the rail on the ties. 1 grasped
the body and bore ft into the house. He
wss dead. HIS face and head were horri.
bly mangled and blood flowed from several
Qhastly wounds on his forehead and cheeks.
The train was moving slow at the time,
and it1does seem to me the trainmen could
have stopped had they have been Wig.
alaut and on the alert. The funeral will
occur tomorrow at 2 o'clock p. M"