The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-28
HIS OWN CARELESSNESS.
The Coroner's investigation Into the
Death of John Bowen.

Coroner Tremblay held an inquest at
the court house last evening to investi-
gate the accident on the b., A. & p.
railroad Wednesday evening. in which
John Bowen lost his life by being ground
to death beneath the wheels of a freight
train. From the evidence. II appears
the deceased lost his life through his
carelessness. and the jury rendered
a verdict absolving the railroad COM
pany from blame. 1t developed from
the testimony hat the accident was not
the result of the train breaking i'm two,
as was supposed at the time. but, in
stead. IL appears Bowen got on the train
when IL was made up in the Great
Northern yards. The train, with the
exception of a box car and a caboose,
was run out to Montana street and there
stopped. The caboose and box car stood
on a siding I'm the b.. A. K +. yards
which inclines to the west, and IL is the
custom in making up such trains to run
the train out to the trestle and let the
caboose drop down to be coupled on.
This was done. as usual. The automatic
couplers failed to work and the engi-
neer was ordered To pull ahead to allow
another try at the coupling. Bowen was
sitting between the cars without holding
on, and when the engine took up the
slack the jar threw him from his seat
and he fell under the wheels.
Roy Thompson, a 10-year-old boy, was
the first witness. He said he and some
other boys were playing on Colorado
street, where the street is crossed by
the H., "A. Il Il. trestle. when the train
was made up. They saw the deceased
sitting between two cars. He was sit
ting on the end of the deck of a fiat car
with his feet resting on the other. When
the train started to pull out the man
fell under the wheels.
1gEfap Esfahntt a,A.l,A. -. 80 -
story n little more clearly. He said the
deceased was sitting between the cars
When the train was standing on the
tfestle waiting for the caboose to be
coupled on. Being down grade from the
H., "A. Il r. depot. the caboose was al
lowed to drop down to the train from
the station. When the caboose ran up
to the train it struck with considerable
force. One of the boys said: II bet that
man fell OFF," and. running to see, found
the man had been run over.
II. Ilpton, the engineer who was rum
nlhg the train, explained that the train
was an extra running west. They
pulled out of the yards and stopped at
Montana street to allow the caboose and
a poN car To be coupled on. These
were allowed to drop down from the
station as usual to be coupled. and
when this was done he waited for a
signal to pull out. but getting hone for
some time, the head brakeman went
back to see what was the trouble. and
found a nan had fallen off and peer
run over.
John ;. Wetherill, conductor on the
H., n. a r., who was in charge of the
train. said he had orders to pick up As
loads in Butte and the rest of his train
at Rocker. He made up his A. cars and
pulled out to the ~trestle. intending to
let the caboose. which stood on a side
track. with a grade pitching west. drop
down to be coupled on. The coupling
did not make the first time. and he sig
nailed the engineer 10 slack ahead a
little. which he did. and the box car
and caboose then ran up to the train
again and the coupling was made. The
witness was on the car handling the
brake. and his brakeman just then saw
something on the track, and calling the
witness attention to 1t, asked what il
was. Witness looked down and said
he thought il was a man. He got down
and found 1t was, and that he had been
run over. The man only gasped a
of times after the witness reach
ed him. The witness stated that no
passengers were carried on the train.
and he did not know the man was on.
j. h. Mullin. rear brakeman on the
train. related the circumstance i'm prac-
tically the same language as the pre-
vious witness. He could not tell how
the man came to fall under the wheels.
as he did not know he was on till he
the body lying on the rails.
Thomas Phalan. head brakeman on
train, was called. but had seen
Of the accident, and could not
how it happened.
August Riddles. Waterman at the b,
\. x r., was on the platform of the
and saw Bowen sitting between
cars, and yelled at him to get off
rs the train pulled out. but he paid no
The man was sitting in
iuch a position that he would be likely
% fall of from a slight jar. The train
was running about two miles an hour.
md the witness had no opportunity to
the man get off.
h jury returned a verdict merely
the facts as far as known. and
hiding that the railroad company was
N no wise responsible for the death OF
he deceased.