Cañon City record., 1906-03-29

hC Soiitiuhiu5 SCSSlou vi Tie COIO-
ner's jury, organized here on the 10Th
inst, for the purpose of officially in
quiring into the causes of the recent
disastrous wreck on the Denver & Rio
Grande railroad near Adobe station,
in this county, was held last Monday
afternool. The only new witnesses
examined We're william Van Dusen,
employed in the capacity of night op-
orator at Swallows at the time of the
accident, and Walter Murphy of Flor
ence but rs the latter's testimony re-
lated chiefly to matters of detail con-
cerning the wreck. it cannot be con-
sidered as important. The evidence
of Van Dusen, however, was of a more
interesting character, for, next to S. F.
Lively, he probably knows more about
what happened at Swallows on that ill
fated night than anybody else. Van
Dusen stated in response to a ques-
ton from District Attorney Locke that
he was IL the service of the d. & r.
G. Railroad company as operator at
Swallows on the sixteenth of the cur
rent month, and that his hours were
from Z O'Clock p. M. to a. m. When
asked where he was the night of the
wreck Van Dusen replied that he was
in Pueblo, having gone there the pre-
vious afternoon TO get the pay checks
for himself and Lively cashed. He ex-
pected to return on No. 8, which ar
rives at Swallows at 6:07 p. M, but
having missed that train he had to
wait in Pueblo until the departure of
No. Is. which does not leave that city
until LBS and reaches Swallows at
2:15 a. m. Before leaving for Pueblo
the previous afternoon Lively had
agreed to take Van Dusen's shift at
the operators table if by any chance
the latter was unable to return on
expected schedule. Lively appeared to
be greatly distressed, according to
Van Dusen, when No. Is arrived at
Swallows. and he told the latter that
he had been asleep, but he said he did
not report that fact to Dispatcher
Woodward at Pueblo. Van Dusen tes-
titled that he had been employed in the
railroad business for about three years
and half and that he had worked
successfully for the New York Central,
the New Jersey Central, the Chicago
L. Alton, The Missouri Pacific and the
Denver & Rio Grande, but had only
been on the pay roll of the latter COM
papy eighteen days when the accident
at Adobe occurred. Van Dusen had a
copy of the dispatcher's order chang
ing the meeting place of trains No. 3
and No 16 from Adobe to Beaver,
which was introduced in evidence. 1t
was as follows:
Telegraph Train Order No. s..
Superintendent Office March 16, '06."
For Swallows: To Conductor and
Engineer No. 3:
NO. 16, engine $50, will take siding
and meet No. 3 engine at Beaver in
stead of Adobe"
The pad from which the above copy
of the order was taken shows it to
have been received at 2:0i a. m, and
TO have been 20. KID" at 2:05 a. m.
The CLOCK may not have been correct.
Van Dusen said. as it did not keep very
good time, and | had occasion more
than once during my stay at Swallows
to ask the dispatcher at Pueblo for
the correct time
While there We're no startling reve-
lations in Van Dusen's testimony it
was important and without it the jury
would have had great difficulty in
reaching Il verdict.
In response to message addressed
to Lively ay Sheriff Esser, asking him
If he would return to Colorado and
testify before the coroner's jury, the
followins reply was received Monday
morning
MunfordN :lle, KY, March %, 1906,
Joseph Esser, Sheriff. Canon City,
Colorado
"will make statement here under
oath and send at once If desired. Heavy
expense TO return. VIII be here If
you desire me further. Letter follows.
IS. f. LIVELY"