Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1901-11-22
WRECK NEARORCHARD, IDAHO
TWO MEN KILLED OUTRIGHT
Several Were InjUred-Orders Were
Not Read Clearly EnOugh-one En-
gine Was Wrecked-The Other
Engine Ran Away Toward Noun
tain Home.

Boise. Idaho, Nov. IA bad wreck
! has occurred on the Short Line, one
and q half miles east of Orchard. Mar
tin Cosgrove, engineer, is dead. Chas
Wallace, brakeman, was killed instant
Nv. H. w. Knox, fireman, lost leg
and is lying in the hospital here in a
dangerous condition. Eph Mcdowell,
engineer, and Frank Oman, fireman,
were severely cut and bruised.
Engineer Cosgrove was brought to st.
Alphonsus' hospital here and died an
hour after his arrival. He was un
married. His mother lives in ALE.
gheny, Md Nothing is known of the
antecedents of Charles Wallace.
The wreck occurred in collision
between an eastbound freight train,
| Conductor Davis in charge, and a
helper engine, which helps certain
trains from Nampa to the top of what
is called the Hill, at Cliff, about 10
miles east of Orchard.
Engineer Cosgrove of the freight
lad orders to stop at Orchard, so the
helper, which was backing to Nampa
might pass. He misread his orders.
After leaving Orchard he examined his
orders again and discovered his mis-
take. He had just started to stop his
train and return to Orchard when the
collision occurred.
Engineer Eph Mcdowell and Fire
man Frank Oman of the helper stated
they had no warning of approaching
danger until they heard the roar of the
orcoming train. The track is straight
but Mcdowell declares the headlight OF
the freight engine was not burning
the lever of his engine. 1t was thrown
back violently by the force of the col
lision just as he jumped. The lever
struck him as he left the cab. Oman
also jumped and neither he or mellow
ell was injured beyond being bruised
and cut.
The engine of the freight was badly
wrecked and 10 of the freight cars
we're derailed, lying along the track
in an indescribable mass where the
members of the crew who were not
injured were doing all they could to
alleviate the suffering victims of the
disaster. Engineer Mcdowell and Fire
man Oman of the helper were bobbing
around. They had been severely
bruised and shaken up, but otherwise
were not injured.
Head Brakeman Wallace of the
freight was still under the wreckage
1t could be seen that both his legs had
been cut off near his hips and that he
was dead. 1t was impossible to re-
move his body till the wrecking crew
arrived. Wallaces body had been
burned frightfully, his arms lying at
a point near the boiler where the
scalding steam enveloped him.
On the road to Boise, Cosgrove and
Knox told their stories between gasps.
Cosgrove admitted he had misread his
orders, as stated in the foregoing, and
that he had discovered his error toe
late.
A remarkable feature of the wreck
was that the helper engine, after
smashing the engine of the freight
train and throwing it off the rails in
tangled heap, steadied itself on the
rails and then dashed away up the
hill towards Mountain Home. It's own
tender had been telescoped into the |
cab and the wreckage was dragging
behind as the engine ran wild up the |
track. 1t ran eight miles and then |
stopped, being found some time later. |
The engineer made an effort to re-
verse as he saw the danger and loos.
ened the lever. AS he was thrown out
OF the cab by the impact he felt the
lever strike him. This reversed the
motion of the wheels and as the en-.
CINE remained on the rails it was soon
speeding away from the scene.