Morning journal and courier., 1891-08-05

 turned clear oyer, landing it's owner in the water. The canoe was without air cham bers and not buoyant enough to support the swimmers weight. He padded about for nearly half an hour, when he was res cued by boat that had hurriedly put out to meet him. A less experienced man must have gone under in such terrible crisis as MT. Hill. actually faced and passed through without serious mishap.
 A RAILROAD sMAsHUP
 At West Haven-An Express Train
 ColIides With Freight Cars on a.
 One Seriously Injured A Plucky
 Empleye-The Inyestigation-Two
 Employees Discharged.
 The local express train No. 12, in charge
 f Conductor Hanover, which leaves New York at 8 a. m. and is due in this city at 10:15 a. m., collided with three box cars loaded with cement and one supply flat car at West Haven yesterday morning. As the train approached the depot the engineer saw the track clear. The next instant he was mortified to see three cars moving from the side track to the main track on which was the express. st
 There was only one thing to do-put the brakes on and modify the speed of the train, which Engineer Ben Pollard of Lafayette street did, as far as possible. To come to full stop before hitting the freight cars was impossible. A shriek of the locomotive told the passengers that something startling had happened. Then there was the sudden check of the trains speed. The next instant came the crash and for five minutes after there was a scene of wild confusion.
 Passengers were thrown all over the interior of the cars; the smashing of the glass windows was heard; splinters began to fly in every direction, as did the broken glass; the screams of women were heard above the noise of the steam escaping from the crippled locomotives; and over and above this din and wreck was thick cloud of cement dust, as binding as it was choking. There were 160 passengers on the train. The express train consisted of baggage car, smoker and three coaches. None of the passengers, how ever, escaped out of the windows.
 There was, of course, consternation among the passengers at once. A few had a notion that the train might take fire or turn over, and this hastened their move ments in leaving the car.
 Engineer Pollard and Fireman Wurtz of this city were in the cab of the express. The moment they saw the freight cars
 moving down on the main track they real | ized the peril of the express. Naturally be uppermost in the minds of many men in their critical place. They heroically remained at the post of duty even if death l stared them in the face The engineer crc uched down in the cab, as did the fire man. A moment before the collision
 came the engineer tried to jump, but did not succeed, and he went through the l whole ordeal. The fireman managed to jump off, however, just before the crash. | They did not start to leave the cab until
 they had discharged every obligation to
 care for the train and it's load of human l life.
 l The express had slacked up a trife by | the time it had reached the box cars Pol l lard and Wurtz, neither of whom were
 hurt, but both looking rather pale, rushed ! to the locomotive and ara nged the steam safety valves so that there would be no ex- l plosion of the boiler. Then they turned | their attention to the train.
 The locomotive and all of the cars of
 the express remained on the track except | the forward trucks of the third car. The first of the freight cars was thrown l from the rails by the collision. The half | of the second freight car nearest to the main track was struck by the pilot of the locomotive and remained on top of it. The third freight car was also thrown from the rails.
 Lucius Futile, the general manager of the Consolidated road, on inspecting the wreck said: ''It looks like & clear case of ct aor fhn f,oi r | stand that the freight car that was struck was hanging over the main track few inches. They had no business to be switching at that point when the express l was due. That same switch gang has been l doing the switching every day and should | know better. I can't understand why they should have opened that switch. It is one of those incidents where accidents
 will occur while railroads are operated by human agency"
 Trains were delayed over two hours. A
 wrecking train was soon on the spot. The officials of the railroad were at the scene of the disaster in very short time. No one was found to be seriously injured. A thorough investigation was held by l the officers of the road late in the after | noon The five men, the three brakemen
 and the conductor engaged in the switch l ing were examined. From the examina- ton it appeared evident that Conductor Hawley and Switchman Patrick Clark of Frank street were blameable and they were discharged. From the evidence it was
 shown clearly that no attempt had beer
 made, as at first supposed, to cross the track in front of the overdue express, but that the switch engine had backed te couple with the freight cars and in so do ing had pushed them so that one of them l Tapped over little on the truck of the ex
 press train, the cross switch being open
 Here was the root of the trouble. The
 switch had been left open by Patrick Clark, who was not the regu
 lar switchman. The latter was
 busy at work in another place | The freight cars had almost come to
 stop when struck by the express. A brave
 and heroic feat was attempted, at the risk of his life, by Brakeman Si1as Baldwin ot Silver street, one of the oldest men in tha
 branch of the service. Seeing the switcl open and the imminent danger of collision he rushed to the switch to throw it before
 the moving cars should reach it. In this
 he was a second too late and he barely es 1 capped with his life by jumping just in time
 to save getting smashed up in the wreck Gut to Pieces by an Engine.
 NEW BRITAIN, Conn.,, Aug. 4.-Johr
 Costello, freight conductor in the New England yard, was run over by an engine
 this morning and cut in pieces.
 Howard Lodge.