The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-06-23
KNEW TOO LATE.
The Fatal Blunder of a
MotOrman.
CAUSE OF WILSON'S DEATH.
His Body Was Mistaken for an
Effigy.
1T LAY ON THE ELECTRIC ROAD.
Dragged a Long Distance Mischief
Makers Indirectly Responsible for
the Accident.
1T LAY ON THE ELECTRIC R0AE

The boys who live hear Barney Farley's
resort on The line of the San Francisco and
San Mateo Electric Railway are In q
measure responsible for the death Of
Henry Wilson last Friday night. They
have amused themselves and annoyed the
motormen and conductors of the road for
several years by placing effigies on the
track in front of the ears.
The mOtormen. seeing before them what
looked like the body of man. usually
stopped their cars to remove the mani
mate object, and usually heard the de-
risive laughter of hidden mischief-nakers
as they cleared the track. But the motor
man who thought he saw q lsy-igure In
front of his car last Friday night did not
stop until he had crushed the life out of a
human being. He had made up his mind
that the boys should not fool MIN again.
Why old Henry Wilson lay down on the
| track will never be known. 1t was sup
posed on the night of his death that he
was intoxicated and fell fast asleep on the
rails, but Albert Cavagnaro. VINO Keeps a
saloon near the place, testified before the
| CorOner's jury yesterday that Wilson left
| his place about ten minutes before the ac-
! cident and that he was not drunk.
| DIR. Emerson, who made an autopsy OF
! the body, stated that it had evidently been
/ dragged several feet by the car, as the
! clothes were full of sand and he found
! sand and pebbles in the mouth and nos
trils. E ght ribs and the right shoulder
! blade were broken. A splinter of the
! breastbOne had penetrated the neart and
caused instant death. This testimony
| caused the jurors to look wonderingly at
! two boys who had been examined before
the doctor was called and had swown that
| Wilson lived half an hour after his body
was taken from beneath the cars.
| Policeman Michael Shanahan, who ar
| rested johnson, the mOtormaD, told q
| story about the accident that deeply in-
terested the jurors. He said that upon
! hearing of Wilson's death he went to the
| place where the body was lying and made
! inquiries as to the cause OF the accident.
| He was told that the body had been taken
/ from under an electric car and saw evil
dence that il had been dragged along the
! track. He waited for the motorman and
! asked him how it happened.
''He told me-" said Shanahan, "that he
| saw body on the track and thought it
was dummy, as the boys out there are in
the habit of placing dummies on the track
to brighten the motormen.
Thinking it was a dummy he per-
mitted the car to run against it. 1t was a
moonlight night aud / could see along the
track about 300 feet. The motorman did
not complain TO me OF having any trouble
about his eyes. He said there was
sudden jar wher the car struck the body
! and he Then stopped it pushed back anC
| recovered the body"
The mOtorman aud gripman had been
subpenaed, but failed to attend the in
quest, which was adjourned until mex
| Friday at the request OF a juror who i
| obliged TO leave tue city.