Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-07-14
Clark II Damage Case, InV0IV
ing $4,000, Decided In
Favor of Railroad
j. Eddingfield, Convicted Of
Shooting NeighbOf, Gets
Six Months in Jail

Steele, June 13-For four days the
case of William F. Clark, adminfstra
tor of the estate of Amos b. Clark
deceased, against the Northern Pa
cific Railway Company and Charles
Jennings, engineer, has occupied the
attention of the court and jury here
The accident happened a year ago
the Dist of this month in the city of
Steele, at the Mitchell Avenue cross
ing, which is about the only crossing
to get into town for people who live
north of Steele. Northern Pacific
train No. very rarely stops at
Steele and usually thunders through
the little hamlet at the rate of 40
miles an hour.
| There was to be a baseball game at
Steele July q, 1906 and Amos Clark
was coming to the town to play i'm
the Steele ball nine. He was driv
ing a pair of spirited horses andWhem
last seen alive was jogging along
at aaslow rate and with tight rein
j A block above the crossing ne passed
a livery barn and passed the time OF.
day with 10. March, the proprietor
1 Beyond that there was no evidences
as to just what Clark did until MiSz
horses were seen ascending the little
rise on the railroad crossing Whe-
ther he stopped, looked and listened,
or whether he did not look, befnre,
| he advanced upon the rails, win per-
I haps never be known. In that one
important point in this case-was the
deceased using reasonable caution
before he was struck by the train,
or did he not ? ~.
Where one is killed through the
negligent acts of another he cannot
recover where he, by his own negli-
gence, contributes to the disaster.
Train number 8 was late that day
and was perhaps moving faster than
usual. At distance of 90 feet the
| engineer saw the horses on the right
4 "a AlC VIE JUST bIoW Lit
crossing whistle for Mitchell avenue
and changed to the alarm whistle al
most Immediately, one signal blend
ing int the other. The iron mon
| ster advanced upon it's victim with
| lightning speed, emitting blood curd-
ling screams. With the uncanny ia
tally that surrounds humankind,
horses and driver lunged to their
| doom. The engine struck the wagon
killing one horse and injuring the
Other. Amos Clark was found lying
on the pilo. Of the engine when the
train was stopped, just breathing his
last The. wagon was demolished,
pieces of it lying on both sides OF
the track for F"rtv Il fifty fa...
There are no gates nc. crossing
siga at the crossing. 1t IS known as
a dang ,rous crossing in the town Of
Sts.ale, and the plaintiff introduced
witnesses to show that nc whistles
vera sounded by the engineer OF
this train unit; about TIE time OF
the alarm signal. The engineer, con-
ductor and other employees on the
fatal train testified that whistles
were properly blown, and these facts
were oorrohorated by some OF the
citizens Of the town.
A plan of the crossing and photo
graphs of the surroundings were in
troduced in evidence by the railroad
company. Dangerous as the cross
ing is, with the train coming from
the east as this enc did, ard with the
ran coming from the no Ii, as he
did, this was the safest situation that
colld Eassibls happel. at that place
There is a grove on both sides Of Mil
s1cH avenue and Lol.ih cf the track,
some 80 feet north, and as the pas
sanger came to the point Of these
ties he should have fean able to
see down The rack fc . eonsidera-
BILE distance
There q number ~ other points
{SaFftan7Issa Nm YSmge 81