The record-union., 1892-07-30
UNDER A LOCOMOTIVE.
A Half Crazed Mans Awful Attempt
at Suicide.
He Throws Himself and Child in Front
of Railroad Train-The En-
gineer Saved Their Lives.

| The R-street railroad track, in the vi
cinity of Sixth street, was the scene of 6
frightful attempt at suicide and child
murder yesterday afternoon.
! The Placerville train was just coming
into the city, being due at the depot al
| 3:4O, and just as it neared Sixth street
| Engineer Hanford saw a man and little
/ child standing by the track in dangerous
proximity to the rails. He blew the
| whistle, rang the bell, and slowed down
his train quickly, but to his horror the
man, instead of getting out of the way,
/ grasped the child in his arms just as the
| locomotive approached, and threw him
self and the struggling little one right
/ between the rails and in front of the
engine.
Engineer Hanford is the oldest railroad
engineer III the State, ana a man who is
always clear-minded and cool-headed in
the most trying emergencies. The in
slant the man and child disappeared I'M
| der the iron monster Hanford reversed
his engine and clapped on the automatic
brakes so suddenly that the train was
! stopped within distance Of six feet.
The shock was almost as sudden as il
the train had collided with an insur-
mountable obstacle on the track, and
threw the passengers out Of their seats
with considerable force, but no one was
| injured thereby.
| Chief of Police Rodgers was on the
train, returning from a visit to the Fol-
som Prison, and he with the trainmen at
once ran to the locomotive, on learning
what had happened, and there a sicken-
ing sight met their eyes. The man and
child were still beneath the pilot, but so
Wedged III between the ground and a
wooden crossDar that they could not be
| moved nor got at in any way.
| Fortunately there were pair of jack
| screws aboard the train and they were
promptly got out and the pilot raised
| several inches from the ground. The
| child, although nearly smothered by the
! body OF the man was crying Justify with
! pain, and as soon as its arms We're re-
| leased began tearing at its head, where
| the scalp was seen TO be torn and bleed
ing.
The little fellow was first taken out.
| yelling with pain and calling for MS
| mamma" the man being apparently
dead. He was, however, soon seen to
move his arms, but when taken out no
| one thought. he could live, so terribly
! bruised and cut was he about the head.
The man and child were placed aboard
the train and taken to the Receiving
| Hospital, and City Physician G.. Il
~
crowd OF people living in the vicinity OF
| where the affair occurred were soon at
! the Receiving Hospital, among them be-
! ing an aged Mexican woman, the mother
of the injured man.
While DR.. Nichols was dressing the
wounds of the man and child it was
| learned from the old woman referred 10
that the victims were her son, Jacob Al
caraz, and his three-year-old son,
Stephen. She stated, through an inter-
| prefer, that a week ago her sons wife
died in childbirth, and that he had been
gloomy and respondent ever since, and
on Thursday attempted to poison him
self, but was prevented from so doing.
Yesterday afternoon he told her he was
going to take his child out for walk,
and left the house, near where the shock
ing attempt at suicide was made. She
felt little nervous over his actions, and
had just made up her mind to follow him
when she heard of what he had done.
The old woman further stated that in
1872 her husband-the father of the in
jured man-had committed suicide at
Empire Station, near Carson, by throw
himself in front of a railroad locomotive.
While the woman was relating her
story most pitiful scene was being en-
acted in the hospital ROOM Alcaraz Law
silent and Sullen on his cot, bleeding
from numerous cuts and bruises about
whose life he had sought to blot out in
such terrible manner was writhing in
pain and calling pitifully upon its
mother, whose sad death it seemed to not
yet fully realize.
The injuries to both father and child
were found to be confined chiefly to flesh
and scalp wounds about the face and
| head. The scalp of the child was torn
loose from the scull for the space of sew
eral inches, and its left ear was pract-
cally torn loose. The suffering of the lit
tie fellow and his frantic and piteous calls
for his dead mother, moved the stoutest
hearts.
The escape of both father and child from
frightful deaths seemed almost miracu-
lous. There is, however, little doubt
that both will recover. They certainly
would have been killed but for the pres
ence of mind and skill of Engineer Ham
ford, by which he brought the train to a
standstill so suddenly and before the
victims had been dragged and crushed by
the brake-beams or ground beneath the
wheels of the cars.
Alcaraz's mother brought her sons
youngest child, only week old, to the
Receiving Hospital last evening and re-
NAMED with the sufferers during the
night. AT last accounts both father and
son were doing nicely.
1t was learned last evening from Rich
ara Dale, secretary OF the Howard Assoc
citation, that Alcaraz, his wife and little
boy, came to this city last February from
San Jose. They were penniless and at
once became charges upon the Howard
Association, which assisted them regu-
larly. Mr.. Dale and President Coleman
of the association secured employment
for Alcaraz first under Street Commits
sioner Green, and then with the Electric
Railway Company, but he was a very
poor workman.
Mrs. AlcaraZ was a woman of consid-
cradle refinement, despite her poverty.
and never called at the Howard depot for
supplies that she did not evince great
sensitiVeness at being considered a de-
pendent on charity. MIR. Dale says he
has no doubt the woman's death was
partly the result of want and privation,
but if SO the Howards had no informa-
ton of it, and would have continued to
help the family had they applied for aid
So far as can be learned the poor
woman had no physician at her confine-
ment, had no clothing prepared for her
infant when it was born. Evidently the
suffering woman was too proud to make
known her real condition and her hus-
band had not energy enough to apply for
what was needed.