Mexico weekly ledger., 1897-07-08
Three Heads on the Rail.
WABASH TRAIN STRIKES A TRIO
OF UNKNOWN MEN NEAR
wELLsvILLE, MO.
No Accident, bnt Apparently Cold
Blooded Attempt at Triple Sui
eide One Fellow Decapitated.
From the ST. Louis Post. Dispatch.

From the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
What appears to have been delib-
crate attempt at triple suicide was
made near WeIlsville, Mo-, at mid
night Tuesday.
Three men, lying side by side, with
their heads upon the rail, were struck
by Wabash train No. 6, due in st.
Louis at 2:30 O'Clock in the morning.
The first mans head was cut of, the
second one's head WAS mashed and
the third received serious internal in
juries. Physicians say there is NO hope
for the recovery of the two men who
were not killed outright.
The case is one of the most myster-
ious that ever occurred in the State,
as the circumstances tend to show
that there was no accident In connec-
tion with it.
Just west of Wellsville there Is q
coal chute belonging to the Wabash.
As No. was dashing past this chute
Tuesday night, Engineer Jack Robin
son saw three men lying with their
heads upon the rail. He tried to stop
his engine, but the distance was too
short, and in an instant the men were
ground beneath the wheels.
The train was stopped. Robinson,
Conductor VIM. 81. McLain and sew
eral passengers walked back to the
chute. One of the bodies was almost
in the position it had been when the
train struck it, but the head was lying
several feet away.
The next man was out of position
on account of the first having been
forced against him, and his skull was
horribly crushed. He was in a semi
conscious condition.
The third man was lying beside the
track. He did not have a wound on
his body, 30 far as could be seen, but
was unconscious. The physicians who
examined him say he received inter-
nal injuries, and will probably not re-
cover consciousness.
The position in which the bodies lay
led to the supposition that the men
had been drunk and had gone to sleep
on the track. They were lying in the
mud and coal dust from the chute,
The track was slightly "cut'' at the
point, and the mems feet were ele-
waited slightly above their heads, q
position which would scarcely be as
sumed by a man who was seeking
comfort.
About ten feet away was nict
grassy plot, which would have bee,
welcomed with joy by "hobo" seek
ing place to sleep, and it was though
that the men were too drunk to find it
Il A close examination of the bodies
was then made, and it revealed tht
startling fact that the men must have
been perfectly sober when they tool
their places beside the track. There
was no odor of liquor, either upon tn
breath of the two living men or tn
clothing of the dead man. 1t Is q wei
known fact that when man dies witt
. liquor in his system, the odor remain
longer than it does when the man !
alive, and his system gets a chance t.
cast off the fumes. Therefore, had tn
decapitated man been drunk, the fac
!, could easily have been detected.
Who the men were Is not known
There was nothing upon their person
by which they could be identified. Al
were dressed as laborers, and kit G
carpenters tools which was found be
. side the track is supposed to hav
, been the property of one of then
. Numerous citizens of Wellsville wer
!, aroused by the train crew, but all
!. them said that the men we're not resi-
:, dents of the town.
On account of the peculiar circun
stances surrounding the case, it
supposed that the men, who ha
: doubtless been comrades, became d.
IS spondent at repeated failures to 81
# cure work, and resolved to die Il
% gether.
}. The railroad was the cheapest wa
v as well as q certain one, and they toe
:. their places side by side as soon as Il
Z headlight of the approaching ira
p could be seen. This, at least, 10 Il
l. theory advanced by the physician
, who were summoned to attend Il
:. men, and no one has yet produced q
~ guments sufficient to shake this belle
The doctors claim that men in II
# possession of their faculties, as the
% three doubtless were, would not ha'
y taken their positions upon the ira,
Z. unless they were counting death.