Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-02-12
The CRUEL CARS,
Another Faithful Railroad Man
Meets Death.
LIN the Performance or HIS nv,r ~
s'ruek Down Without Warn
ing-Geerge Carter,s Fate.

george Carter, night switchman in the
upper Rock Island Yards. was killed
"nile IN the performance of his duty be-
tween $50 and o'clock last night.
Exactly how the terrible accident han.
Pened will never be known. Switchman
carter had been engaged with Switchman
nenry hoioe and the last duty assigned
70 MIN was 10 ride" fret CHIT cars 8. 400
o4s and lS1 which had been switched
from the lower into the upper Rock
Island ysrds and sent up onto track 5.
Afterward car 1886 was switched up
separately and showed up against the
otner three. Carter was not missed until
sometime after the described switching
mad been done and then Henry Kobe
started to make inquiry and had not pur-
sued his investigation far when he was
told By Conductor Tom Donahue, who had
just come in from the Iowa division with
freight train, that mans body had
oeen found between two freight cars on
track nearly opposite the Moline
avenue barns Of the syndicate street
railway company. Conductor Dons-
hue had accidently made Discovers
les which disclosed the fact that the acci
dent had occurred. In checking up his
Train ne csme upon s hat and lantern,
and in summening some of his fellow
trainmen made search which revealed
the body of Garter between the trucks of
car 8, 460. TIE feet were 70 the north
east and the back Of the neck was on the
south rail Of track 3, and the neck was
almost under the wheel, so that the cars
must hsYe stopped just as the accident
occurred, or after the front wheel had
PASSED across the body. The neck
however was broken as were both arms.
one near the elbow and one near the
wrist, while there was q terrible cash
across the body and q number of ribs
were crushed. There were a number of
gashes on the face, and deep cut on the
left side, running from the nose through
the lip and laying it open Near by Law
the dead mans watch, which was stop
ped ct O'Clock exactly, which must have
been about the time the fatality occur
red.
The body was taken to the baggage
room at the c., r. l. & P. depot. where
Coroner Halves viewed it, and after turn
ing 1t over to Undertaken Knox,
adjourned the inquest until this morn
ing at o'clock. A Jury was summoned,
composed OF Charles E. Hodgson, fore
man; B. F. Knox, S. W. Searle, George
Foster. Edward Ward and William
Thompson, when the evidence was taken.
The facts IS above given were substan-
tisted. the theory of General Yard Master
Z. NJ. Arnold being that vi tchmen Car
ter lost his hold while rlGing the cars. or
was thrown IS he attempted to jump off
in such manner that he fell under the
wheels of the car as they were slackening
speed and was dragged under the wheels
which partially passed over his body. and
that the other injuries were sustained by
the manner in which he was dragged.
The verdict of the coroner's jury was
that Carter came to his death sccidently
by car .460, in the c., r. & P yard while
in the discharge of his duty"
Mr.. Carter was 80 years OF age, and
leaves wife, who is daughter of john
Koch. OF this city. The couple had a
comfortable home in Edgevood park.
which the switchmen had provided
through industry and frugslisy. The
funeral will be held Sunday.