Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1902-10-10
MET DEATH IN WRECK
L. J. Davenport, Northern Pacific
Brakeman, Instantly Killed in
Rocky Fork Yards.
CRUSHED UNDER A CAR
Was Riding on Top and a Collision
Hurled Him Underneath-Cor-
oner Investigates.

The second fatality to occur in Red
Lodge in less than a week took place
in the upper end of the Rocky Fork
coal yards Tuesday night about 8
o'clock, and through the agency of a
which piled three cars in a
heap of splintered wood and warped
iron. L. J. Davenport, a Northern Pa
cifc brakeman hailing from Rock ISL
and. ILL.,. and with papers upon him
a recent temporary residence
at Glendive, was instantly killed.
The accident, from all appearances.
was inexcusable and the result OF an
egregious blunder, Engine No. 1907,
John Murray, engineer. and John God
dard, conductor, brought up an extra
train Of box and coal cars, arriving
early in the evening. The switching
into the upper end Of the yards to a
position beyond the wagon road, near
Alderman Frank Sells residence, had
been left by Conductor Goddard to
Brakemen Davenport and Dwyer. Ten
of the cars had been switched to the
east track and the train crew were re-
turning up the middle track with
twenty-three more cars. Conductor
Goddard stated at the inquest that
Davenport had been making the trip
with the crew for week and that it
was naturally supposed the unfortu
nate man knew the yards. He had
taken the ten cars up the east track
and when the return was made to the
lower end of the yard Davenport told
the engineer he would have to make
pretty good time in order to lift the
tWenty-three cars up the grade. For
that reason the cars were moving at a
on the end car as they went around
the Y and began the fatal plunge in
the darkness. Several boxcars were
on the middle track at the upper end
of the yard and it seems peculiar that
when Davenport came up on the east
track, few minutes before, he had
not noticed them. However, the mov-
| ing cars, with scarcely unslackened
speed, crashed into the cars on the
middle track, when Davenport either
| jumped or was thrown into pile OF
coal slack at the west side of the right
of way, and the falling cars covered
him. The unfortunate fellows skull
was fractured at the right temple Ga
wound which the physicians said
would be fatal in itself) and he was
thrown face downward in the slack.
The position in which he was found
would have caused his death by
smothering if there had been no in
jury to the skull.
4 Some gypsies encamped on the bank
of the river, just across the hrjdgc
from the wreck, were the first to thu
scene. A little boy in the outfit said
he saw the brakeman's lantern circle
three times in the air just before tho
Il
A young man living in the gypsy caml
4 hurried to the train crew, and Brake
man DWyer and the fireman assisted
in digging for the body, which was
speedily recovered.
Coroner Kelley empanelled a jury
consisting of NJ. Minars, Herman
Thomas, John Weaver, Jr., Sam Has
terlik, Joseph Matzger, James Owens
j. A. Spry and Charles Akin. Th'
iourned to meet next morning at DR.
Kelley's Office.
The inquest took all day Wednes
day and the verdict was not reached
until after midnight. Ed Hall,
young man who makes his residence
with the gypsy camp, testified tha
he heard the crash of the collision ant
notified the trainmen of the accident
James Moran, one of the boys VIII
was riding on the train, testified tha
he was in the engine and felt tn
bump of the collision. 1t was no
heavy and did not throw him off hi
feet. He said that the first time W
the train had gone pretty slow, bn
the second time it was going taste
than he had ever known it to run bt
fore and about four times as fast a
| it went the first time. In the aftel
noon DR.. Souders gave ihs testimon
as to the character of the injury in tn
dead mans temple, which he said wa
: sufficient to cause death.
Wednesday evening upon the arriys
of the train crew subpoenas wer
served upon the engineer, conductc
and fireman. Brakeman Dwyer wa
not with the crew and Conductor Coz
dard stated that the accident had $