Omaha daily bee., 1907-01-24
JOHN PEARSON, HERO, DEAD
Nan Who Saved Trainload Of People
PssIes Away.
THIRTY YEARS he WATCHES THE BRIDGE
In the Notable storm that Destroyed
spans He Risks His own Life
in order 20 Save Many
Others.

John Pearson. his South Ninth street.
died Tuesday at his home Of tuberculosis.
But that does not tell the story Of John
Pearson
He was born in Sweden 90 years ago and
had lived in Omaha thirty-five years. But
that is not the story Of John Pearson.
He leaves a wife and four children. two
sons and two daughters, one son being
employed by the government at Washing
ton. He will be buried Thursday after
noon at Forest Lawn Rev. ]. e. Hummon
OF Kountze Memorial church conducting
the funeral services He was civil engineer,
o deep student. a careful man, an inven-
| tor. But all that does not tell the story
| OF John Pearson.
The story of John Pearson is craven with
indelible etching upon the escutcheon of
time and 1t is the story Of hero, a man
who was willing to and did risk his life to
save the lives of other people-many other
people And in the ordeal OF this crucial
moment Of possible sacrifice, fate, too often
harsh with such as John Pearson's courage
was, bowed to recognize his herolsm and
bade triumph welcome.
In 1878 when the great winter storm
swept away most of the Union Pacific
bridge which spans the Missouri river be-
| NWetu OIildnd anu SOuiClA AoiuhSt 1OAAh
Pearson was bridge inspector, with his lit
tie cabin at the Omaha end of the bridge.
The night was fearful in its blackness and
cold. and John Pearson remained constant
TO his watch, lest some peril might come.
And the Peril Came.
The peril came when the eastern spans
of the great bridge were torn by the
tempestuous elements from their moorings
Ion flra nutln n
was not merely that a bridge which had
cost hundreds of thousands of dollars was
being destroyed, but human life was
doomed unless by what seemed a miracu.
lous effort some aid was rendered.
Like a mailman, John Pearson, with one
leg broken, threw himself into the raginl
river and, with superhuman strength an(
daring beat his way against the rushing
waters until he reached the opposite sid'
of the river. A passenger train wa
fastening in from the east and 1t wa.
laden with humanity. Only the sigma
which John Pearson gave kept that trail
and its precious traffic from plunglng int
the Missouri river which could have mean
nothing but death, death of a horrible kind
Passengers on that train made up a purs
for the man who had saved their lives.
This is the story of John Pearson.
He Waits for His Signal.
And John Pearson, when he had wave'
the simple signal that told the enginee
of that train not to cross the river, swan
back to his little cabin on the Omaha sid
of the Big Muddy. covered with icicles an,
all but frozen. And for nearly thirty year
until that other Waterman wave,
the signal for him TO cross that other river
John Pearson occupied that little cabii
fro inc haf nd
over that bridge in almost countless mum
bers, watched them and the old bridg
which he loved a child, lest some othe
peril might come. Every day. no matte
how cold. no matter how hot; the win
:, might blow and bite, the sun might pou
9 down with unmerciful heat-no matter
John Pearson would walk from one end o
: the bridge to the other. inspecting ever
foot of space every rail of track ever
spike, everything about the big structur
; and John Pearsons employers knew hir
as a Waterman of prodigous caution.
!, Man of Learning.
John Pearson did not look 1t, for he wa
= a brawny. weatherbeaten man, but job
> Pearson was a man of learning. He &c
% his learning by hard digging. He was
=, great reader. He read and studied. He be
lieved I'm the philosophy that when "a pei
: son is taught to observe and think he
n educated. He was a conversationalist G
q rare gift and men of much higher static
than that of bridge Waterman loved to 81
e down and talk with him. John Pearson wa
l. civil engineer. He had invented a pei
e petuai calendar and a nut with groov
e which would not unscrew. He managed I
I gather about him a comfortable lot Of thi
worlds goods and reared his family we'll
his family which was his all. Few If an
r men, had clearer, more definite and az
s curate knowledge Of the history of III
s Union Pacific than John Pearson.
i The funeral services are arranged fc