Evening star., 1895-10-25
RAILROAD ACCIDENT
An Engine Dashes Into a Cattle
Train at Bowie.
One KILLED AND FOUR INJURED
How the Collision Happened to
Occur.
ONE OF THE VICTIMS STORY

| Special Dispatch to The Evening Star
BOWIE. Nd, October 25-The rumors in
Washington shortly before noon today to
| the erect that passenger train had
plunged from the Long bridge into the Po-
tomac river, and that frightful loss of life
had resulted emanated from a collision at
| BOWIE between cattle train and the en-
glne or a repair train. In consequence, one
man lost his life and four others were more
or less seriously injured. The usually peace
full little village surrounding the station
was also wrought up TO state of almost
| unprecedented excitement, and the scene
| was one Of demoralizaeio eion.
How the Collision Occurred.
The collision occurred at II 90 o'clock. A
cattle train of ten cars from Greenbriar
| county, w. Va, which passed through
Washington this morning, was backing
| onto the tracks of the Popes Creek branch,
| which has its beginning at Bowie, in order
| to permit the passage of a fast passenger
train over the main line to Philadelphia.
At the same time the engine of a repair
| train, at work on the Pope's Creek line
near Bowie, was running toward the sta
| tion to obtain a supply of water from the
| pipe located there.
One Killed and Four Wounded.
| For some reason, as yet unexplained,
| neither the train nor the engine were flag
ged, and the caboose or cabin car, of the
cattle train met the engine with a fearful
crash. There was sound of crushing tim
bers and escaping steam as the cars rose
in the air to height Of forty feet or more,
breaking line of telegraph wires stretched
above the track, and then toppling over.
Spectators were Mortified, as it was known
that number of cattlemen, some sleeping
were in the caboose at the time. Without
delay search was made among the debris
and one dead body found. Four other men
were assisted to the railroad station pain-
fully wounded
The announcement of the collision was
telegraphed to Washington, and Train Dis
patcher McKeever, with the surgeon for tho
railroad, DIR. G. V. Boarman, and DrS. Ed
ward D. Perkins, Walter Briscoe and G. N
Carlisle, hastened here by special train
The dead man was Frank Ellis, cattleman
the injured are w. W. McClung of Hughart,
Greenbrier county, w. Va; J. NJ Skeggs
OF Hughart, and A. z. johnson of Fort
Spring, all cattlenlen, and Isaac N Hearn
known as Kit Hearn, a railroad Signalman,
Physicians on the Ground,
Several physicians from Baltimore also ar
rived and the injuries of the four wounded
men were promptly attended to. Hearn
was the more badly injured of the quartet,
having sustained several fractures of the
right arm. as well as internal injuries. He
on the first train which passed. which made
the stop for that purpose. The injuries of
the other men were principally scalds, and
they remained here.
Travel was not interfered with for the
reason that the wreck happened on the
tracks of the Pope's creek line, over which
the next train is not scheduled to pass till
after o'clock this afternoon. Three cars
including the caboose, were completely
wrecked, and the engine of the repair train
was shattered in a manner that will neces-
state extensive repairs.
The engineer and fireman of the repair
engine escaped injury by jumping from the
cab when they saw that a collision was
inevitable. gang Of men was soon put
to work to clear the tracks, and the force
was augmented shortly after l o'clock by
two large gangs of men, who reached tho
scene on wreckng trains A large bon fire
was made of the debris, and the flames, in
connection with the other features of the
wreck, made the sceEe decidedly gruesome.
Mr. Meetings. Story.
W. W. McClung, one of the wounded
men, in describing the collision to The
Star correspondent, stated that he had
been asleep in the caboose, and was awak-
ened by Frank Ellis who shook him and
exclaimed, Get up. We're in Baltimore"
Il looked at my watch" continued Nc
Chung, land it was twenty minutes past
II, and saw that Ellis was fooling me SO
far as being in Baltimore was concerned.
he started TO leave the car, ana mad JUST
passed through the doorway when the
crash came
THE next 1 saw of Ellis he was dead.
The caboose rose in the air, l don't know
how high, and then toppled over. The
steam from the engine enveloped me. and
then was picked up and brought here"
The body of Ellis will be taken to Wash
ington this afternoon and removed to Lees
undertaking establishment. The injured
men will also go there.
The last wreck in this vicinity occurred
July 4, 1894, ard was of a similar nature
as the one this morning. c. F. c.