The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-03-17

Taylor Hewitt; my mother. Lillian Hew-
fit; my sister, Pearl, aged 10 years; my
brother, w. L. Hewitt; my sister-in-law,
Wino1a. aged 81; my wife. Catherine,
aged II; our 4-montns-old baby, Claude;
Mr.. and Mrs Edward Conley and Fred
erick Jones. We were going to Joseph,
Ore. to work in a sawmill for my grand
father, II, NJ. Kicker. A dream that
had several months ago in which our
family was all killed, kept coming into
my mind I saw just as plainly as
later saw the real wreck everything that
took place after the collision. saw peo-
pie trying to drag themselves out Of the
cars, saw strong men plead to be killed,
1 saw my own wife and baby consumed
by IRE before my eyes and as strug
gled Vainly to rescue them I awakened
In terror and with cold perspiratton roll
ing slowly down my face
Before I went to sleep on the train,
I went forward to my party My wife
was sleeping soundly Our little baby
was just half asleep. Catherine wax
ened and said, Goodnight sweet
heart I leaned over and kissed her
and she smiled.
Il sat down again and closed my
eyes, but in a few minutes was aroused
by q crash. When tried to move /
found my leg was broken heard
my wife calling me, but could not go
to her. Someone dragged me out. I
screamed for someone to rescue my
wife and baby, but nobody paid any
attention. Men were running madly
about calling for their wives moth
ers were wildly screaming for their
children, some were throwing them
selves in the snow. I saw Frederick
Jones hanging out of the window Of
the burning car pleading for someone
to kill him. The flames shot up about
hirn and he fell forward dead"
Hewitt and his brother viii return
to their home in Kansas and bury
their dead
In the front end of the ruins of the
smoker OF No. were found the
charred hands of a man, crossed and
held together by pair of handouts
It is all that Is left to show that the
convict who was being taken to prison
was burned In the wreck. Near the
CHASTITY hands were found two re-
Yolvers the property of Deputy Sheriff
=. E. Baird. OF Denver. who was also
killed His prisoner was an actor
known as Archibald Whitney, VINO had
been sentenced to the penitentiary on
conviction of forgery. In the bones
of his fingers was held with the grasp
Of death the metal piece from the
window casing. The prisoner had at
tempted to climb out Of the burning
car and might have escaped a hor-
rtble death except for the handcuffs
All the injured it is said, viii proba-
bly, recover and no further additions
dead.
Missing after the Adobe wreck will
be the only epitaph Of remaining victims
8. 4. Lively, the operator whose fail
ure to deliver a train order to the west
bound train resulted in the disastrous
collision, had been acting as station
agent at Swallows about ten days. He
is said to have been an experienced
man and to have seen considerable ser
vice al other points on the Rio Crande
iB Is years Of age, worked excessive
hours for several days past and had
been deprived of great deal of his
natural sleep. Sitting at his key, in
the hours following midnight, listening
to the roar of a fierce storm, it is
thought that for a moment he dozed
and that while he slept the train passed
his station. unchecked.
Whether this be true or not the fact
remains that the train did not receive
the orders which would have averted the
catastrophe, and the management or
the road, and the coroner as we'll viii
make a searching inquiry in order that
the responsibility for the disaster may
be accurately fixed.
Operator Lively has not yet been ar
rested and probably no action against
him viii be begun until after the in
quest on the wreck victims has been
] concluded. His explanation Of his fall
IRE to deliver the order which would
have averted the collision is comprised
In the few words:
II was asleep. that's ALL
Further than this he declined to be
] interviewed
Put All Blame on Operator.
Denver. Colo, March 1T.-At the
/ office OF the general manager of the
I d. & r. G. railway today the an-
4 nouncement was officially made that
/ s. r. Lively. night operator at Swal-
! lows. was wholly responsible for the
I collision at Adobe yesterday morning.
He was asleep at his post it was said,
when train No. 3, to which he was to
/ have delivered an order, went by, and
later he reported to the train dis