The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-05-20
ENGINEER DIED
DOING HIS DUTY
Rio efande Hero Who Saved
Lives of Passengers.
he TOLD FIREMAN TO JUMP
THEN THREW THE LEVER AND.
STUCK TO BIS POST.
he TOLD FIREMAN TO JUMP

Rio Grande passengers Of the i'll
fated train which was wrecked against
rock near Palisades arrived in the
city shortly after , O'Clock yesterday
morning. stin nervous. but singing the
praises of the engineer whose mag
nlncent heroism saved nearly 200 lives
Several travelling men ana number of
tourists were among the passengers,
and their baggage is in the car at the
bottom of the river. soon after they
reached the city they put in a claim
Tor their possessions, but the offers o.
the claim agent were so unsatisfactory
that they held meeting at the Knuts-
ford hotel last evening
Among the passengers were Harry
NJ Wolff of Rochester. y. Y: A NJ v
SchermerhOrn. manufacturer agent OF
Chicago, and :. V. Bogart. who repre-
SCENTS an eastern house. These men
lost all their samples. and, besides the
loss, VIII be put TO considerable incon-
Venience. There were several families
from abroad who have lost their lug
gage. besides tourists from all parts OF
America Mr.. Wolf was seen at the
Knutsford and save a graphic descrip-
ton of the wreck He said.
Engineer Was a Hero
THE bravery. of George Stewart the
engineer, was marvellous. He knew
death was waiting for him. The only
hope was to jump. Behind him was a
lCng string of coaches, crowded with
human beings. In front of him was a
solid wall of rock There was time to
save himself Life to a man i'm the full
possession of his health and faculties
is sweet. What thoughts passed
} through his mind in that brief period
no one knows His levers prove what
he did. He calmly set these. told his
fireman to jump. and then bvaced him
self for the shock which he knew was
the end.
Three distinct quivers passed
through the train. The first two
aroused the passengers. and were
caused by the brakes and the levers,
which slackened the speed Of the train.
The third shock was caused by the col
lision with the rock. Panic followed.
Frightened women ran maGly through
the coaches, shriekinS for help Men
were pale with apprehension. but the
danger was over. and the efforts Of the
people were directed towards prevent
ing the more timid ones from throw
ing themselves from the coaches
Locomotive Was Battered.
I'm front was the battered lOcomo-
tive The rock looked as big as a house,
and If il had been a little further out
it would have turned the engine so
that il would nave plunged into the,
water. In that event il is doubtful if
many would have been saved from in
jury and death. one % the cars was
across the track. It had apparently
acted as cushion and accounts for
the fact that the jar 10 the sleeperS
amounted to little more than a heavy
ITemOr-
The bed of the track at this point
is about foot above the water. On
the other side are walls which are al
most perpendicular and very high
They are-Ofs eaTth. and rock, and one
OF these colossal boulders had become
unfastened. a train had passed over
the road about half an hour before
hut the track walkers. I understand,
have Il rather long stretch to cover. and
i'm this case could not cover the distance
in time to prevent an accident.
The fireman was caught between the
tender and the engine just as he started
TO jump. tt shows how quick they had
10 think and act The engineer had
been tossed TO one side of the rails
The fingers OF his right hand were cut
completely off by the levers. He was
also injured internally There was a
doctor on board from Boston and he
gave the engineer what assistance he
could He died in about two hours
before his death he gave instructions
for his family His last words were.
Tell them / did my duty and died at
my post II was me or the train He
wanted to say more, but death sealed
his brave lips.