The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1901-11-22
wreck NEARORCHARD,|DAHO
TWO MEN KILLED OUTRIGHT
Several Were Injured-Orders Were
Not Read Clearly EnOugh-One En-
Eine 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 half miles east of Orchard. Mar.
tin Cosgrove, engineer, is dead. Chas.
Wallace, brakeman, was killed instant
ly. H. W. Knox, fireman, lost leg
and is lying in the hospital here in q
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 Allie
gheny, Md. Nothing is known of the
antecedents of Charles Wallace.
The wreck occurred in a collision
between an eastbound freight train,
Conductor Davis in charge, and
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
grooming train. The track is straight.
but Mcdowell declares the headlight OF
the freight engine was not burning.
Mcdowell made an attempt to reverse
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 tc
alleviate the suffering victims of the
disaster. Engineer Mcdowell and Fire
man Oman of the helper were bobbins
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 haC
been cut off near his hips and that hi
was dead. 1t was impossible to re
move his body till the wrecking crew
arrived. Wallace's body had beer
burned frightfully, his arms lying a
point near the boiler where thu
scalding steam enveloped him.
On the road to Boise, Cosgrove ant
Knox told their stories between gasps
Cosgrove admitted he had misread hi
orders, as stated in the foregoing, ant
that he had discovered his error to-
late.
A remarkable feature of the wrec
was that the helper engine, afte
smashing the engine of the freigh
train and throwing it off the rails in
tangled heap, steadied itself on tn
rails and then dashed away up tn
hill towards Mountain Home. It's ow
tender had been telescoped into tn
cab and the wreckage was draggin
behind as the engine ran wild up tn
track. 1t ran eight miles and the
stopped. being found some time late
The engineer made an effort to r.
verse as he saw the danger and loo
, ened the lever. AS he was thrown OF
, of the cab by the impact he felt tn
: lever strike him. This reversed tn
) motion of the wheels and as the Ell
CINE remained on the rails it was 500
speeding away from the scene.
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