The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1906-09-07
IUP As FROM THE GRAVE
b. & n. ENGINEER THOUGHT TO
BE DEAD, is ALIVE.
Wandered to GoOdIand and Didn't
Know Himself-Became Ra-
tiOnaI Wednesday.

]
His eyes shown with the CLEAN OF q
I discOrded mind He was out Of tune
| with everything around him. like 8
/ wanderer, without name, without
I home and kindred, for the mind had
/ gone out with the crash Of the coils
gone, until by accident, while employ
/ ed on cement work at the railroad
i yards, he came nearly falling into a
! trench; saving himself By a vigorous
| jerk Of his head and shoulders back
/ ward, when 10, the man became cloth
/ ed in his right mind and told the
Il story Of the Saturday calamity.
Inc life OF Engineer Frey from ear
\ " saturday morning until he discOv-
cred himself in this CITY Wednesday
/ evening, will always remain the deem
/ est mystery in that book that makes
/ up the conscious actions Of every man.
The short inanity in his existence was
/ caused BY a head-On collision of a
passenger train and a freight train.
l which occurred on the Burlington rail-
way early Saturday morning between
4 a point at Yuma and Schramm re-
Sult1ng IN severe injuries to several
passengers and the demolition Of two
locomotives and eight freight cars
/ Engineer c. r. Frey, OF the freight
train, was supposed to have been
killed, as ne could not be found in
the outside wreckage and il was be-
ueEeQ that his lifeleSs body lie crush
| ed under the mass of iron and steel
The story Of the wreck sent to the
Denver Post from Akron, said that
reports received there were conflict
ing concerning the accident, but that
IL was believed that the crew in charge
OF the freight train was asIeep The
track at the section where the wreck
occurred is straight for several miles
and according to railroad men, the en-
gglneers could not have failed to see
the headlights Engineer Monks. of
the passenger train stopped his loco
motive and jumped for life.
But the wife at the Frey home in
McCOOk will be touched with the very
gladneSs Of heaven TO know that her
husband is not dead but Ifyeth. for
ne IS now on his way back home to
prove II by his bodily presence. al
though IL seems that the telegrams
sent from here last night have been
ignored by Mrs. Frey as prepOsterous
and beyond belief Engineer Frey left
on No. Thursday morning for Den
yer, where he will take a Burlington
train for McCoOk.
The first thing known of the man
Frey after he landed in GOOdIand was
that ne went 10 the .OakfOrd & Adams
restaurant Wednesday morning and
asked to know where the cement
works near GOOdland were located. He
was told that there were no such
works, but that some cement work
was being done by Rock Island men
near the round house. He applied to
Chief Clerk ROLAND of the material
department for a Job.
l am in a strange condition" the
unknown man began to say IT want
work, but 7 don't know my name: I
can't tell where my home is; I don'ti
know who I am
ROLAND thought that was mighty
queer, and noticed that the fellows
eyes looked queer, but nevertheless nut
MIN TO work with the gang. He
worked all the forenoon and until
ABOUT o'clock in the afternoon, when
ne got quite a jolt by throwing him
selI back from the trench into which
ne came nearly falling. With a trOwel
OF cement mortar in his hand. the
fellow stood dazed, as though he had
come from the grave after a long
sleep
He looked at the mortar, at his own
body, peered at the men around him,
and broke out with establishment:
this placer"
"GOOdland,' the men said.
I don't belong here he continued,
I. throwing down his trOwel; I'm an en-
g1neer on the Burlington
He went to ROLAND and drew his
time But on the way to Mr.. ROlland's
OH1ce, whom should he meet but W
J Purvis, a machinist- that had
known him eight years or more ago
There's man know" he shouted
when he saw him at a distance Hell
10, Purvisl"
Hello, Frey" returned his old
fT1endi what in the world are YOU do
ing here2" And then the converse
ton began.
Purvis was seen by a reporter and
ne talked about his friend, Frey.
whom he was well acquainted with in
1888 Wnen ne was employed as a ma
chinist on the Burlington at McCOol<.
and at which time Frey was q young
man OF about 19 or 20, holding some
beginners job with the road.
MI PuTv1S noticed after q little that
Frey didn't seem to have full posses
sion Of his mind. He was all right
with the exception OF the time from
the wreck until he recovered his rea-
son Wednesday evening. And con-
corning that he couldn't remember
anything Before he became rational,
he said something about going over
the country, and spoke Of a straw
stack, where he changed clothes with
somebody, giving a good suit under
meath his Ovaralls for a shattered and
poor one, but had reason enough 20
retain his watch. He pulled OF his
hat at one time, and said, That's not
mine, and these clothes amt either;
don't know where they come from -
But in all his talk with Purvis he was
perfectly rational about present ev-
ents, and talked about old times in
McCoOk-
Frey is an intelligent looking fellow,
black hair and short mustache; and
can't be more than 30 years Of age
be was young man when the Span
iSh-American war broke out, and he
served in the volunteers in the Phil
ippine islands, participating in the
hardest fought battles OF that cam
paign- He married a daughter Of Mas
ter Mechanic Archibald at McCOOk af-
ter his return from the war; was given
a job as fireman Of locomotive and
at the time OF the wreck had been
an engineer for some time
Concerning the wreck, he disclaim-
ed any blame on himself, saying that
when the collision came, he had yet
ten miles TO 90 to the meeting place in
his orders. He said he saw the cleo
trio headlight OF the passenger en-
CINE plainly, but as he was running
on a straight piece Of track he could
not tell that IL was running against
him but thought il shOne from the
meeting point When IL was too late,
he tried the air on his engine, which
gave poor service, then he reversed
the engine, applied the sand, and that
is the last thing in the collision OF
which ne has any remembrance what
ever
AIr. Frey left on No. for Denver
wednesday morning en- route home
He sent kilograms last night to his
wife at McCook, but at the time OF
leaving had heard rnfnfnr Il a