Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-10-24
DIED AT HIS POST.
VIM. DOwntain Meets Terrible
Fate.
Killed Ina q Merciiess Manner while
In the Discharge OF His Duty-The
Particulars.

VIM. Downtain, a brake man on the G.
b. d Q. road. was run over and killed a,
Moline at 4;40 this morning while st>
tempting to break coupling between two
cars that were being swi iched. his foot
becoming fast in frog 10 such a manner
that be was thrown upon he rail and the
wheels OF car passed over him. His
oody was terribly msngled and he also
sustained terrible injuries about the
head. any OF which we're 81 fficient TO pro.
duce fatal results.
Coroner Halves, on learning of the cir.
cumstances. went to Moline, and sum.
moniug as jury. ]. B. Oaklesf. (fore-
man) L. j. Baldwin, John Ges be rger,
Ed. Kittleson, J. G. Miller and Frank
Anderson. proceeded to hold an inquest
at the police station, and from the testi.
mony the facts of the case may best be
elected.
The train was an extra running between
Barstow and Rock Island and was hauled
by engine $50. II. B. Mitchell, driver, the
conductor being W. NJ. Crel. The train
was due at Rock Island at $50.
ii. b. Mitchell, engineer, stated that
the train reached Moline At 4:3O and had
quite a number of cars TO set out there.
and two were attached to the engine at
the time of the accident, " hicb happened
at the west end of the yard between
Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets and
was backing east to switch out one more
car when he received sharp signal from
Conductor Creel to stop He reversed
the engine but it ran two or three car
lengths before stopping. when the con-
ductor came running up and said man
had been killed. Witness got of and
went back TO where Dov-ntain Law be
tween the two cars, the car next to the
engine having run over him. The un>
fortunate man was lying on his back, his
head bent over the north rail, his body
being between the rails. His shoe was
10 the frog five or six feet away. Cues
toned about himself. Mitcl ell said he was
twenty seven years of age. had been an
engineer on the c., B. Il Q. only for
shout year and previously had run a
motor on the old Union line.
W. N. Creel, conductor. gave his states
ment. The train arrived at 4 80; there
were three cars to set out, and while in
the act of dropping two cars on the sid>
Ing. Downtain stepped between the first
and second car from the engine to pull
the pin and cut of one of tie cars. Wit,
ness was walking by the brlkeman's side,
and noticed a frog ahead and told him to
look ont for it. but had sc arcely spoken
when his foot was caught and the car
pushed him down. WITH ess gave the
signal to the engineer to stop, but be-
fore he could do so he saw one pair of
trucks pass over the unfortunate brake
man. Witness IN COMPANY with the en-
gineer, went to the police station and
gave notice of the killing Of the brake
man, and the train came on to Rock l..
land.
W. II. Gibbs. brakeman, corrobOrated
the above statements, and the Jury re-
turned verdict that William Downtsin
came to his death by having his foot
caught in frog and being accidentally
run over by u car attached to an extra
engine on the C., b. & Q. railroad at
4:S5 a. m. on the Gath day of October,
1889, in the city of Moline. while in the
act of coupling a car"
VIM. Downtain was a single man, an
only son, his parents living at Arcade,
Ill. He had been of duty for ten days.
returning last night. He will be remem-
bered as one of the men who witnessed
similar fate to Gus Johnson, of New
Windsor, on the r. /. X p. tracks q
week ago