The Dickinson press., 1902-06-28
Details of Accident on n. p.

Further details of the collision on the
Northern Pacific at Bear Lake Friday
morning are given as follows:
According to the rules the headlight of
the engine standing on the side track
which was No. 7, was covered and the
train, No. 8, from the west was given the
right of way as it was supposed. The
switch at the west end of the siding had
been opened for the purpose of letting
freight out some time before and appar-
emily had not been closed with the result
that No. flew onto the sidetrack, going
at the rate of 40 miles per hour. The en-
gine on No. 8 was much smaller than the
one attached to No. 7 and this fact is re-
sponsible for the comparatively small list
of fatalities. The small engine fairly
telescoped the large engine, showing the
boilers through each other in manner
that makes it impossible to tell the parts
of the different engines. By the circum-
stance the passenger coaches of the train
were saved from absolute destruction as
would have been the case had the engines
been of the same size, which would have
thrown them into the air. Fireman Mont
gomery, who was on No. 7, was remov.
ing the blind from his headlight, to be in
readiness to start when the collision oc-
cured and he was thrown free of the
wreckage and only sustained badly
crushedleg. Hisescape was almost mir
aculous. The mail cars, which were the
first behind the engines, suffered the
worst of any coaches. On No. 8 the bag
age and mail cars were telescoped and
shattered so that after the collision
the trucks of the cars were both together.
Engineer Scott on No. cannot be found
and it is supposed he is in the engine
wreckage, which can only be separated
with difficulty. Conductor John Noble
was in charge of No. and had stepped
from his Office in the baggage car to the
platform between that place and smoker
coach, when he was crushed between
them by the collision, and death was in
stantaneous. The baggage and mail cars
caught fire and burned some time after
the wreck but the mail was rescued. The
corpse was discovered of l7-year old
boy, name unknown, who was on the
blind baggage. The remains were bur-
ned beyond recognition before he was
discovered. He is supposed to have
left Fargo on the blind baggage. The
dead are: Fireman H. Montgomery and
George Rasmussen, Engineer Walter
Scott, Express Messenger F. Moeller,
Conductor John Noble, Dan Kenealy
section laborer from Gladstone, Harvey
Zimmer of Indiana and baggage man,
name unknown. About thirty people
we're injured most of them sustaining
only slight injuries. Therewere num-
Der of North Dakotans on the train but
all escaped serious injury.-Later,ltis is not
improbable that the causes of the North
ern Pacific disastrous wreck at Aldrich,
meeting point three miles west of Stap-
les, Mimi, early Friday morning will
never be known.
A searching investigation has develop
ed nothing which tends to fasten the re-
sponsbility on any employe, and those
who would have been in the best posi-
ton to explain the disaster are dead.
1t would seem that train No. 8 had
passed over the switch onto the side track
where No. was standing, but the fact
that the switch was found closed and
locked beneath the mass of wreckage,
puzzles the officials as to where to lay
the blame