The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-11-02
Regards Escape of Himself
and Wife Miraculous.
Will Be Out of Bed i'm Few Days,
He Says.
TELEGRAMS-FLOWERS
They Are Pouring in Upon the
Injured Couple.
Mr.. Black Places Blame Wholly
Upon Engineer.

pear 10 De greatly improved. MIS-.
Black spent a very comfortable night.
She slept well and was not in the least
restless and today is feeling very
cheerful. She will have to exercise
great patience, however, as it will take
weeks to entirely overcome the nerv-
GUS shock and for the injuries to
mend. The question as to whether
her foot may yet have to be ampu-
tated has not been decided. Everyone
feels encouraged today, however, and
1t begins to appear that amputation
will not be necessary.
A reporter for the State Journal saw
Mr.. w. j. Black this morning and
found him in a very comfortable
frame of mind under the circum-
stances. He had passed a good night
and was feeling first rate today. He
has been more concerned in Mrs.
Blacks welfare than in his own in
juries.
Il am going to get out of bed in two
me L won't. but we will see. 1 am
going to get out and 1 will be walking
around in week or ten days.
Except for an injured back. Mr..
Black could be out at once. His right
arm is bandaged to his body in order
that the shoulder and collar bone may
mend without trouble. His left arm
is not Injured and with the exception
of the cuts and scratches on the left
leg he is otherwise all right. The in
juries to the left leg are not serious
enough to inconvenience him in walk
ing as soon as his back is strong
enough to permit of it.
All morning a continual stream of
drove up to the Santa F'e hospital with
flowers and messages of sympathy.
Many flowers and letters were also
sent to the hospital by messenger
Mrs. Black were filled with the per-
fume from hundreds of cut roses,
chrysanthemums, carnations and 9TH
er flowers.
A few of the closest friends of the
patients were permitted to see them.
Today bunch of kilograms, about a
hundred in number, from all parts of
the country from New York to San
Francisco, We're handed to Mr.. Black.
All congratulated him and his wife
upon their narrow escape. In addition
to the hundred kilograms, a bunch of
letters numbering altogether about
fifty have been received in Topeka and
these were also turned over to Mr..
Black. en1 &c. ts.,D
Mr.. Black was. not inclined to talk
much in regard to the wreck. Il have
never been very tinid about riding on
trains he said. And 1 don't believe
that 1 will be any more afraid now
than before. 1 always thought that it
was pretty safe to ride in the rear
cannot be absolutely safe even there.
1t certainly is marvellous that we
came through the accident with our
lives. We were less than eight feet
from the rear wall of the car, the end
into which the engine of the second sec
ton crashed. The only way that I ac-
count for the fact that we were not
killed outright is that the force of the
engine striking the car must have split
the car in two and thrown the sides of
the end of the car out to either side of
the track, carrying us along and out of
danger from the engine. Then as the
engine pushed on through the car 1t
very probably caught those who were
killed before the force of the impact
threw them to one side.
when came to l was at one side
of the track. / attempted to rise on
my right side. but my arm would not
bear the weight SO 1 tried to rise on
my left side. Just as 1 succeeded in
raising myself a man passed and 1
called to him to tell me what had hap
pened- He stopped and said, Are you
alive?' 1 guess he must have passed
me several times and had assumed that
l was dead. 1 at once asked about
Mrs. Black and I learned that she was
alive and that she had been carried to
the baggage car They then helped me
scious for quite while after the shock
of the collision.
Mr.. Troutman went in to Sedalia
from the scene of the accident with US.
At Sedalia. they made us very comfort
able at the hospital DR.. Yancey, the
chief surgeon there, is very fine gem
tleman and he did everything in his
power for u.s.
Mr.. Black is inclined to the belief
that the entire blame for the collision
rests with the engineer of the second
section ut is a rule on all railroads"
he said, "for the engineer to have his
engine and train under control inside
the yard limits of every town. Upton
was a regular stop, and no matter how
many sections followed the first section
of the train. they would all be governed
by the same rule which applied to the
regular train. The fact that the head
light of the train headed in the opposite
direction, and which was standing on a
Sidetrack, was not covered should not
alter the fact that the engineer of the
second section of our train overlooked
his duty. 1t would seem to me to be
criminal negligence
Kansas City Doctor Secured.
DR.. J. w. Perkins, an expert Kan
sas City surgeon and the family sur
geon and doctor of the Atchisons of
Leavenworth, came to Topeka today
gard to Mrs. w. ]. Blacks ankle, |
which was broken in two places in the
Missouri Pacific wreck Sunday morn |
ing at Upton, Mo.
Mrs. Blacks foot and ankle have
been kept in a cast and this afternoon
the cast will be taken off. 1t will
then be possible to determine whether
the operation to amputate the foot Will
be necessary.
This afternoon it is reported that
Mrs. Black has been a trifie nervous
since noon.
DR.. c. A Mcclure, the family doctor |
of the Blacks in Topeka, is also in at |
tendance in addition to the regular
corps of Santa Fe hospital doctors.