The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-07-13
BRAVE BOYS IN BLUE.
How They Helped Each Other in
Time of Trouble.

SACRAMENTO, July Fin regard to the
trestle disaster, Fireman j. S. Dennekamp
states that he was putting coal on the fire
at the time of the wreck. To use his own
words:
II told Sam just as we were starting to
look ont for the track. He said he would.
We were going along about fifteen miles
an hour. Sam had been trying to work
the left-band injector, but couldn't make
it work. At last he got it all right and
went back to his side of The cao. Ileit
the engine going off the track, dropped
my shovel, and. jumping over to the lett
hand side between the tank ana The
engine, looked back and saw when cars
were running. | got down on the S'ep OF
the engine and tank and held on to the
rail of the engine. AS she was turning
over jumped on the trestle. Nothing or
nobody could have saved Sam, it all hap
pened so suddenly"
Superintendent Fillmore has been.made
the subject of bitter condemnation in some
quarters for sending out the Inflated
train yesterday. Such denunciation is IN
just, as will be seen from Conductor Rey-
nolds' statement regarding the precautions
taken. Everything was done that could
possibly be done to avoid disaster The
track-walker who made a careful exami-
nation of the two -tles of tTestle at II
o'clock in the morning came into the depot
q few minutes before No. pulled out and
reported everything all right, so that it
must have been between II o'clock and
noon that the daStardly work was done.
Spikes were pulled from the joints Of the
rails twenty feet this side of the trestle,
and the work was carried out as far as the
middle of the trest!e. lOosening fshplates
at each joint. Nobody on the train could
see but that everything was all right.
At the scene of the train-ditching yester-
day there occurred several acts of special
bravery which proved that the soldiers of
Battery L. Fifth Artillery, were ready and
willing to risk their own lives in behalf of
their comrades who were in danger. Pri-
vate Julius Pickel, who had just sue
ceeded in extricating himself from between
two of the front cars, although he wore a
heavy belt full of cartridges, swan out
into the stream to try to save Private
Clark, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
Private Fifer, after being thrown from
the trestle. jumped into the water and
dived several times also, in the effort to
save Clark, but the latter was beyond
human aid. He sank quickly. owing to
the weight of his accouterments and to
the probable fact that he was severely in
jured, and was drowned in spite OF his
comrades eff RS.
Prlva'e Wilson. although he had re-
ceived severe injury. yet, after freeing
himself from the wreck, succeeded in saw.
ing the life of Private Baird, who had
been on the engine ard had fallen under
the mailcar. Baird managed at one time
To get nearly out of his perilous position,
but was so stunned and exhausted that he
fell back again. He says he would have
been drowned beyond doubt had not Will
son come to his rescue.
A well-known citizen of Sacramento.
who has been an &C quaintance OF 5. d.
Worden. the train-wrecker. since boyhOod,
told Il reporter this afternoon that the
prisoner had always been Do-ac cunt
fellow. W0rden is a native OF Syracuse,
n. Y, where his relatives stand high in
the social. commercial and professional
world. His father was for years one OF
the leading physicians of that city and &C
eumulated quite a large fortune. His
brother-in-law is a leading attorney of
Syracuse, and he has a brother in the mis-
slonary service in China. WOrden has
lived here eighteen or twenty years. 1t is
stated that he deserted his wife and chill
dren at Syracuse and has not since con-
tributed anything to their support. Sew
eral years ago he was employed as a mes
senger in the service of the WelIs-FargO
Express Company, but threw up his situa-
ton to take similar one with a rival
com pany, but did not 60 to work. He has
been considered a worthless man, and
rarely held situation for any great length
of time.
Recently ne has been employed in the
railroad wrecking crew of Phil Douglas.
The informant said that Worden's mother
and sister came 10 Sacramento to live with
him several months ago. but he made their
lives so miserable that as soon as they
could make arrangements they returned to
Syracuse. Worden has. 1t is said, by
trlckery and false preteDses, secured large
sums of money from his mother. Several
months ago he wrote home that he was in
destitute circumstances. almost upon the
verge of starvation and appealed to them
for financial aid His brother-in-law wrote
out 70 a Sacramento acquaintance saying
that WOrden had lied to them so often that
they would not trust him again. II it was
found, however that he was in destitute
circumstances the Sacramentan was au-
thoriZed TO assist him. but not to give HIM
any money. The investigation showed
that Worden was not destitute and that he
was earning a good living working with
the wrecking crew.