The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1893-02-14
a TRAGEDY IN HIS LIFE.

A Engineer Who K.sew There Was some
thing Wrong with the Bridge.
This here Santa Fe wreck at Re-
vere puts me in mind Of one l was in
once" remarked an old engineer to q
Kansas City journal man. 1t faint
no use to tell me that that Teller
wasn't runnin' fast when he struck the
bridge cause he was. He was run
min so fast that his speed carried his
engine over fore the bridge could go
down. an II he been slOwin up with
that bridge out q line the engine
would o been the frst to 60 down
':As was saying. | mind a time
once when was in the same boat
almost only ] stopped all right
Twas on the w. Road long about
'88. and I was runnin' extra freight
Twas goin' down Wildcat Hill and at
foot Of the grade was an open bridge
about iorty feet higher than the water
TO ketch the grade. The hill was
about three miles long. and we used
TO run her pretty fast when there was
no slow order for the bridge That
night It rained pitchforka and was a.
dark a. could be. Twas 90 dark that
the headlight on my engine couldn't
cot past one telegraph pole
We had orders to slow up at every
place where there was any dagger O.
washouts or bad tracks 80 when
struck the top O the hill l shut OF
and called for brakea Twas pretty
hard to slow up then. but when We
got down to ten miles an hour.
somehow or other it struck mo Just
fore reachin' the bridge that there
vas somethin' wrong and the feelin'
was 50 strong that threw her over
and stopped with her nose just on the
trestleL Twas SO dark l couldn't
SEQ anything. SO told my
fireman to get down and walk out q
little ways on the bridge aud see if
twas all right He was an old fire.
man. but 'spose because the bridge
was SO high and there was no water
on it he took 1t for granted that there
was nothin' wrong and only went
little ways fore he came back and
said all right i started up. but
somehow the feelin' was still on me
that somethin' was wrong. and l went
mighty slow and cautious. We'd just
about got to the center when / pulled
her open in spite Of myself and started
lickety brindle to get of. run
about ten feet ! reckon whom felt
something give and then there was q
crash and a big noise. felt like /
was a fallin' thousand fee. and
everything got black and then l saw
stars by the million. There was a
bigger crash. and we struck the water
with fifteen box cars on top O. US.
don't thinl, a man ever thought so
quick in his life as | did when We
were fallin' down that forty feet
Il couldn't move fore We struck
the water. and then somehow ] reached
out and there wasn't anything in my
way. came up out o. the water and
struck against a box car that was
standin' ON end and I climbed round
sos to get out O. the water. When
l looked up on the bridge the red
light of the cabooso showed and the
conductor and hind brakeman were
out with their glims TO see what the
matter was. 'Eout ten cars and the
were left on the trestle and
didn 60 in but the rest o the train
and the engine was in the water
The bridge was broken between two
piers and We d pulled the rest Of the
cars over when started TO get on in
= hurry. WAS kind O. dared but I
had sense enough left to yell an let
en- know l was all right II took
'em hours 10 get help and all that
time l was hanein' on TO the car.
cause l vas afraid to move in the
dark. When they did come I was
much longer
Well they got me out and then
went to loOkin' for the fireman and
the head brakeman as soon as it was
Daylight They found the brake with
his head mashed In between two cars
and about four on top o him but they
never did find my fireman. He must
have fell out o the engine and been
driven down in the mud under her
side. When got out and the doctor
asked mo il I was hurt told HIM mo-
but in about five minutes / felt dizzy
and knOwed no more for three days.
I'd two ribs broken and was all
up but never felt it until
l got my senses
How did it come? Oh the bridge
had been knocked out Of line and was
weak from the poundin' it had gct
from trains comm down the hill and
strikin' it and when pulled her open
again it was like taking forty-ton
hammer and poundin' her in the weak
spot Twasn't my fault but some o
them newspapers made out that was
too fast and hit the bridge too
hard"
The Violet.