Daily inter mountain., 1899-01-16
Conductor Grant Lost His Life
Yesterday.
A TERRIFIC TRAIN COLLISION
Oregon Short Line Freight and North
ern Pacific Switch Engines
Come Together.

A frightful head-on collision occurred
at about 1880 O'Clock yesterday morning
in the yards Of the Butte Reduction
works, between an Oregon Short Line
freight and a Northern Pacific engine
engaged in the work of switching. AS
result Joseph Grant, conductor on the
freight, lost his life, and an immense
amount Of damage was done to the rail-
road property. Both engines and tenders
We're badly wrecked, and seven cars were
splintered and smashed into kindllng
wood. The impact was terrific, and the
wonder is that any of the train crews
succeeded in escaping injury.
The first intmation of the impending
catastrophe was when the headlight of
the Oregon Short Line freight was seen
approaching around curve. at what ap-
peared to be terrific rate of speed. The
Northern Pacific engine, in cutting out
car of lime, had left a box car and a
platform car on the main track and was
engaged in pushing several cars back
into the switch when the headlight was
seen. Fireman Boland of the switch en-
gine was the first to discover the ap-
preaching freight, and this was imme-
diately after his engine had passed the
frog at the switch. The switch had been
left open, and although but the length
of the rail distant there was not sufficient
time to race forward and close it. Bo-
land realized what the situation meant,
and, after a second of terrific silence,
cried out to Engineer Charles Frederick
son:
my God! Whistle down brakes!"
| Knowing intuitively what made the
Era OH 11n1 ha
whistle violently and then followed Bo-
land in his break for safety. Both
! jumped to the right and had just got
clear of the engine when the crash came.
The huge freight engine glided like
| flash over the switch, and almost before
one could realize it there was dead stop.
| The two engines had met fairly and
squarely and the noise of the impact, the
splintering and breaking of timbers and
the roar of escaping steam was appall-
| ing. A moment afterwards nothing
could be heard save the sound of escap-
ing steam, and Engineer Frederickson
and Fireman Boland ran back to the
wreck. They found the tank of the ten
der lying about Is feet from the track,
and in the dim light they saw the form
of a man beside it. Bending over the
form, the engineer saw that it was Con-
ductor Grant, and one of his legs ap-
peared to be pinned under the tank. In
| a feeble voice Grant asked:
Can you do anything for me?"
| FrederickSOn at once ran for assist
ance, and when he returned a moment
later several persons had arrived at the
place. AS it was supposed that Grants
left lower limb was pinned under the
tank, willing hands assisted in prying it
up. In a few minutes the injured man
was released, and then the horrifying dis
covery was made that the leg had been
completely severed so close to the body
as to take away the whole hip and expose
the intestines of the abdominal cavity.
The injured man was tenderly conveyed
to the assay office upon an improvised
stretcher, and DR.. Campbell, the COM
pany physician, was sent for. He re-
sponded promptly, but it was evident
that nothing could be done to save
Grants life. Everything was done for
the comfort of the injured man, and the
physician remained with him until he
passed away.
While Grant was being cared for Fire
man Bowling Of the freight train was
found under his engine, the floor of the
cab having been carried away in the COL
lision and allowing him to fall under the
engine. A broken water cock poured
scalding steam into his face, but he was
rescued before he had been seriously in
jured. He was taken to the Sisters hos
pital for treatment.
When it became light the full extent
Of the wreck was shown. The collision
had forced the switch engine and cars
attached to it back for a distance of 175
feet, where they had been stopped by
half a dozen loaded coal cars on the sid
ing. The engines remained on the track,
but the owcatchers, headlights and
smokestacks has disappeared. The cabs
had been jammed up over the boilers and
the tenders were crowded up against the
boilers. The escape of Engineer w. A.
10 nd A nn1r1irfr re
the freight engine was rather short Of
miraculous. Next to the freight engine
there were ten cars on the track, a.
then came three or four that were
smashed and twisted up in a tangled
mass. Still further down there were
| some wheels and splintered wood that
had been a platform car before the
wreck occurred. In all seven cars were
wrecked.
The freight train was scheduled to
| leave the Montana Union yards at 6:35
| a. m, but did not get out on time yester
day morning. The train was in charge
of Joseph Grant, conductor; H. A. Pierce,
head brakeman; J. R. Nichols, rear
brakeman; w. A. White, engineer, and
| Henry A. Bowling, fireman. AS far as
known, Grant and Pierce We're on the
engine and intended to jump off at the
| first favorable place and go to the ca
| boose at the rear of the train. Pierce
| CoHHoI tell HOW IIt eSCdpeu, Jul
bers that he and Grant had hold of the
| handrail of the gang-way and thinks
that he landed on his feet. He was
slightly bruised, but it did not amount to
much.
! Fireman Bowling saw Grant jump,
and noticed him limping away at the in
stant of the collision. The heavy tank
| Of the tender flew through the air, and,
striking Grant, injured him as stated.
Nichols, the rear brakeman, was in
the caboose at the time Of the collision
and the first he knew of it was the shock