The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-26

Missoula. Dec. 25.-A cloud of gloom
was cast over Missouia's Christmas
| this morning, and two homes were
made desolate by one of the most Sc
rious railway accidents that ever took
| place on the Rocky mountain divis-
| ion of the Northern Pacific. A head
| ena collision occurred at 2:20 this
morning at point six miles east of
Bearmouth between two extra freights,
| and four men are now dead and as
many more injured, one at least Sc
riously.
The dead are:
X. B. RHEIM, engineer of the west
| bound train
W. A. DIXON, fireman of the east
bound train.
TWO TRAMPs, names unknown.
| The injured are:
Wallace Mix. brakeman; scalded and
bruised; condition serious.
| Bert Yake. conductor
Engineer Beebe of the eastbound
| train.
Fireman Coombs of the westbound
train.
! Brakeman Charles French of the
] westbound train.
The other train crew escaped with
| only slight bruises. Dixon and the
! two tramps were instantly killed
| Rheim was not thought at first to be
seriously injured, and was brought to
| the hospital here. Before Missoula was
| reached, however it became evident
that his injuries were dangerous, and
| he died between 2 and 8 o'clock this
afternoon at the hospital Rhelm
| leaves a widow and children, who re-
| side here. Dixon was a new man and
| not much is known regarding his fam
| iIv.
All this suffering and loss of life
| seems to be the result of the careless
ness of the night telegraph operator at
Bonita. ]. S. Laird who was asleep
when the eastbound train passed his
station. He has fled and his story
cannot be learned.
Terrible Blow to Missoula.
1t is a terrible blow to Missoula, and
the Christmas holiday has not been
pleasant one. All of the killed and in;
jured men. with the exception Of the
| unknown men, had many friends in
this city, and the sad occurrence has
made the day one of mourning.
Train 1852, extra east, left Missoula
last night with a miscellaneous load,
consisting principally of coal and ties,
shortly before 12 o'clock midnight.
This train was in charge of Conductor
McEachern, with Engineer Reebe in
the cab. The train had running orders.
At the time it left here the west
bound train was not on the line. This
westeound train, an extra west, was
made up at Garrison, and consisted Of
one csr of horses, bound for Spokane,
| consigned to Winters, Parsons &
BTomer. contractors, and the caboosa
Conductor Yake was in charge, with
Engineer Rheim ahead.
Frishtful B,under.
When this train left Garrison it was
n;,,f yfr,t1
east Being a light train, it made a
quick run to Drummond. where q stop
was made for further orders. Conduc-
tor Yake inquired of the operator there
if there We're any orders for him. The
operator called upon the dispatchers S
office in Missoula for orders for Yake.
The dispatcher at once called up Bonita
and asked if 1862 had shown up there
The reply was prompt that it was not
in sight. Orders were then given to
Yake for a meeting point with 1852 at
Bonita, and the operator at Bonita was
given the same orders for 1862, to be de-
livered when that train reached his
station. AS matter of fact, 1852 had
at that time passed Bonita and was
speeding along eastward, its crew ig-
norant of the fact that 159, extra west,
was on the line.
The west-bound train crew received
the orders for meeting point at Bon
ita, and at once pulled out for that
point. 1t was Christmas morning, and
the crew was anxious to get home The
train was a light one and ran swift
ly from Drummond to Bonita, which is
27.6 miles. There is no night operator
between these stations, and the two
trains sped toward each other without
any possibility of being headed off
Where the Crash Came.
For the first few miles west from
Drummond the track is comparatively
straight, and had the trains met there
the accident would not have occurred,
as the engineers would have seen each
others headlights, but from He'll Gate
station west to Bonita the track winds
in and out along the bluffs of the river
and it is not possible to see any dis
tance ahead. 1t was here that the
trains met. Rushing around curve
this side of Hell Gate, running at the
rate of about 30 miles an hour, l59,
westbound. crashed into 1862, eastbound,
without moments warning.
The two engines are of the heavy con-
struction used on the east end, and
their wreck was a severe one. They
came together like couple of giants
and were locked in a death grip in an
instant No. 159 did not leave the rails,
but 1852 was thrown off the track, the
two being driven together and fastened
so that they were drawn apart with
great difficulty.
The car of stock was smashed and
nine of the horses killed instantly. On
the other train, three cars of coal We're
transformed into a mass of wreckage,
and two others broken somewhat
Without Warning
The collision came so suddenly that
none of the trainmen had any oppor-
tunity to save themselves.
Fireman Dixon of the 1872 had just
finished firing and had closed his door
and turned toward the gangway for
breath of air. He was buried beneath
the mass of coal from the tender and
held aeainst the hOilar head H must