The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-18
TRAIN OF FATALITIES.
Wealthy Mine Owner Tells How His
Family Has Been Pursued.
Denver Times.

Denver Times.
]. A. Fern, one of the wealthiest mine
owners in the vicinity of Joplin, Mo-, is at
the Albany on his way home after attend
ing the funeral of his brother at Reno.
New. Mr.. Fern says that with the excep-
ton of himself and parents his family
have been pursued by hard luck for nearIy
twenty years. THE brother who was
buried at Reno" he said. was the last of
from severe injuries. There were seven
brothers in the family. and all lived to be
over twenty years of age: The first of my
incomative 80 Saio MI II Eern. was a
way. He had a presentiment of his death.
The night before he took out his train he
told his wife that he thought something
was going to happen to him. He felt like
asking some one of the extra engineers to
go out, but he told his wife that Ii would
look as though he were wanting i'm nerve.
so he took the throttle, Notwithstanding the
preSentiment. After he had been on his
way about one hundred miles the train
passengers killed and about the same num-
Der injured. He and his fireman were prac-
tically cooked to death by steam. The
wreck was one of the worst that ever hap
pened in Illinois.
Not a great while after another brother,
who was a Chicago fireman, lost his life
when that storage house went up In flames
at the worlds fair.
About five years ago. after / made a
little money out of my mines, L staked two
OF my brothers to a big ranch in the
OdkOIdS- Last 1all, while they were taking
a big bunch of horses a rather long dis
lance to a shipping point, a terrible storm
came up. They punched the horses up in a
corral in a small town and made for a
barroom for shelter until the storm was
over. AS they were entering the saloon
they We're struck by lightning and imme-
diately killed. The bartender in the saloon
was also killed. They found his hand had
a death grasp on the beer faucet, which
he evidently held when the lightning struck
the place.
sAt tbat time +boso 49, -. ~ -.
felt that fate had a terrible ending for us.
This last brother certainly had a slow
death. About a year ago he went pros
pecting in that country and with a bunch
of men did considerable work on the Royal
Flush. a few months after he began to
operate the plant he had both ankles
time afterward he fell down a chute and
nearly broke his neck. He landed on his
head, but in such a way as to escape serious
injury. he was only In bed a few weeks.
The day after he left the hospital he
came back to the mine. He went to work
drilling with one of the men under a big
ledge. He was in a sitting posture, and
suddenly the ledge came down and prac-
tically crushed his body and legs together.
When he was found the legs had been
twisted out of their sockets and one of the
vertebrate in his spine had been broken.
When taken out his back was found To be
badly broken. The doctors who were i'm
attendance placed him i'm a plaster cast.
and he stayed this way for a number of
OIASAAo OAO VI NiO O5 z IOIh papers
had a story about it. 1t was a remarkable
case. He mended some, but had to take to
the bed permanently and died last week.
1T looks as though 1t was now up to
me. If l had been killed in a railroad
wreck on my way back 1 would nave been
prepared. If l am to meet my death as
did my brothers l will be resigned. as IL
strikes me that fate has marked us all.
The strange thing about it all is that my
father and mother are still living in Kan
sas City. However, when it comes my wife
and three LITTLE girls will no uyall prou;d1l
for. My wife does not believe in any such
thing as fate, and is forever trying to get
me away from the idea that 1 will come to
death by an accident"