The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-08-28
HE LOST HIS HEAD.
T. ]. DREW IN A FIT OF TEMPORARY
INSANITY COMMITS SUICIDE.
He Places His Neck on Rail Thirty Feet
in Front of Moving Train Which
Severed it From the Body.

| When the mixed train on the Misrouri
Pacific road came putting in towards Vine
street yesterday at Ills o'clock, the fire.
man and engineer noticed somebody
crouching in bunch of Sunfowers on the
SIDE OF the track, but they had not time to
| thluk much of it when a bare-headed
young man came running out and deliber-
ately laid his neck on the north rail of the
track about thirty feet in front of the
ponderous rolling engine. The engineer
surmissed at once that suicide was contem-
plated aud as quick as thought he reversed
his engine and whistled down brakes
1t was too late, the train could not pos
sibly be stopped till the engine, twenty
cars and passenger coach had passed
over the body of Thomas James Drew.
When the train came to standstiu tie
entire force rushed to where the body was
| lying and found the victims head severed
from the body as neatly as if it had been
cut off with sharp butcher knife The
! body was lying with the breast against
the cold ground and showed no evidence
whatever of any twitching of the muscles
Death was instantaneous. The head was
laying inside the rail with the face down.
ward between two ties. Conductor Stearns
TOOK hold OF the hair, turned the face up
wards, looked into the gaping eyes and
without moving muscle calmly re-
marked "he is about 10 years old" Al
most any average man could not do such
| thing and not faint at the horrible sight.
but it was Conductor Stearn's duty
for be had to makea report to his general
uperintendent; besides, be stated that he
haH
more or less used to such horrible sights
Who IS he? That was the question to
be solved, and one of the train crew
rushed into the house near by and called
the little woman of the house to the scene
TO see whether she could identify the
body Imagine her horror when she
found that it was that of her husbands
only child and the boy she raised from the
time he was years old till he was %,
which WAS his age at the time of his
death. She was his stepmother; but no
mother ever loved her offspring more
dearly than she loved her dear Thomas"
as she called him. The poor woman was
fairly beside herself, for Thomas was ex-
ceedingly fond of her and was her pet
during all these nineteen years past
a messenger was at once dispatched
for the father of the boy, James Drew, who
keeps n shoemaker's shop on the West
side. The elder Drew is man whose
hairs have grown whiteswith age and it
was sad to see the poor old gentleman as
he gazed on the remains of that only link
which he hoped would connect him with
future generations. The tears gathered in
his eyes and as they would run down his
check he would brush them away with
that honest hand that has hammered pegs
into leather souls for nearly half cen
fury. The father and step-mother are
both typical English people and are hon
est, happy and good-natured people who
have the good opinion of everyone who
knows them. When the father arrived on
the scene, the coroner was notified, Jury
was empanelled and after they reviewed
the body and the surroundings Dunbar,
the undertaken, took charge OF the remains.
The evidence OF the train crew was, in
substance, as follows: The train NO
45S was twenty minutes behind
time at Oatville and when it
arrived at West. Wichita it was twenty
in at the rate of ten miles an hour only.
ed rushed out of bunch of sunfiowers
ard calmy laid his neck on the track
Engineer Hodgson Immediately reversed
the engine and whistled down brakes, but
it was too late. He stated that it was i'm
possible for him to avert the accident.
The father testified that the boy was %
years old, that he has been periodically
sick for the past two or three years, and
that at times he showed signs of temper
airy insanity. The stepmother testified that
Thomas was one of the best young men in
the world, that he never drank any intox-
icants and that he was very dutiful boy.
She stated that he finished reading the |
Bible from cover to cover few days ago, |
that he has been sickly for two or three |
years but never desired to be |
attended by doctor. She al |
legged that he expressed a wish !
a couple of times during the week that he |
would kill himself if he could, but she |
thought nothing of that. He was doing
some chores about the house yesterday in
inc forenoon and at about ll:l0 he asked
ler whether he should scrub off the porch
She answered yes, and that was the last
line she saw him alive; five minutes after
'he saw him dead. The place where the
accident occurred WAS horrible to look at
All the blood in his body rushed OUT where
he head was cut off and formed pools in
he bed of the track
The coroners jury after examining seven
witnesses submitted the following verdict:
STATE or KANSAS.
SEDGWICR COUNTY.
An inquisition holden at the court
louse in the city of Wichita, Sedgwick
county. Kansas, on the 9th day of August,
S92 before me NJ. NJ NcCollister, coroner
If Sedgwick county, on the dead body of
Thomas James Drew there lying dead, by
he jurors whose names are hereunto sub
cribed. The said jurors, upon their oaths,
10 say that from the testimony given, the
deceased came to his death from his own
ct by placing his neck across the rail OF
he Missouri Pacific railroad in front OF
rain No. ass which was approaching
Wichita and that no blame attaches 10 the
Missouri Pacific railway company or its
Employees.
:. Z ENOCH, JAMES K. FRANCIS.
/. l.. DAVIS. b. Z. CARLTON,
. NJ. Houston, W. II. SMITH
In testimony whereof, The said Jurors
lave nereunto set their hands the dav and
ear above written.
[ATTESTl ". u. MCCoLLISTER,
Coroner.