Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1907-08-13
WOMAN'S NERVE SAVED
CALIFORNIA
LIMITED
Awakened by Sound of Fall
ing Bridge She Rushed
to Stop the
Train.
ENGINE ALMOST
REACHED WASH0UT
Her Bonfire Beside Track Resulted
In Hundred Passengers EsCap-
Ing Injury and Deathi In
Swollen Stream Beneath
a TreStle.

Kansas City, Mo-, August 13.-Mrs.
Minnie Houdeshell and her husband.
an Atchison, Topeka and Santa re
section workman, live in tent be-
side the railroad tracks three miles
west of Ethel, Mo-, a small town
on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa
Fe near Marceline and about 124
miles east OF Kansas City. They were
asleep in their canvas home when
about $3.50 the woman was awaken
ed by a crash. 1t flashed through
her mind in an instant what the
crash meant.
THE bridge" she thought.
Not far from the tent a bridge
spans a ravine. Mrs. Houdeshell
ran to it and saw that the west stone
abuttment had crumbled and fallen
into the ravine. The steel girders
and the frame work supporting the
tracks were gene, 600. The ravine
is seventy-five feet deep and about
sixty feet across. With the ties
clinging to them the tracks still
the engineer on an approaching train
could not have seen that the support
srs of the structure were gone.
The Limited Was Due.
1t was almost time for the Califor-
MIA limited, one of the fastest trains
on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa
FNe system, to pass over the trestle
and thinking of the accident that
would result, Mrs. HoudesheiB hur-
riedly gathered some dry sticks and
built fire on the tracks near the
west end of the trestle. Then she
awakened here husband and sent
him with a lantern in the direction
from which the train would ap-
proach. Houdeshell had just started
when the train rounded a curve 400
yards from the structure. The engi-
neer saw the fire, but was unable to
stop the train until 1t was within fifty
feet Of the ravine.
DR.. w. II. Haviland, who lives at
1882 Central avenue, West Side, was
a passenger on a west bound train
that arrived at the scene several
hours after the bridge had fallen.
She Only Had Five Minutes.
"The California limited had $50
passengers aboard and it was scarce
ly five minutes after the woman
found the cavein when the train
was stopped by the bonfire. When
the passengers awoke and saw the
tracks across the ravine, without any
supports beneath, they acted as IL
they were crazy. The headlight on
true condition of the bridge; 1t
would have appeared to be perfect-
ly safe.
Men gave Mrs. Houdeshell mon-
ey until she had more gold and sill
yer than she could carry in her
hands. She wrapped it up in a cloth
and when she counted 1t at O'clock
in the morning she had more than
$500"
Edward H. Lewis. travelling
salesman from Plymouth, Mich,
who was on the train, started a pc
tition that will be presented to the
company asking that Mrs. Houde-
shell be suitably rewarded.
Heavy Rains Caused Ii.
The collapse of the bridge was
due TO the heavy rains OF the last
few days in that vicinity. The sup
ports had apparently become weak
ened under the masonry. causing 1t
to sink. The Atchison. Topeka and
Santa Fe used the tracks of the Chi
cago, Burlington and Quincy yester-
day and last night TO Galesburg. ILL.,.
but 1t was thought that their own
service would be restored by this
morning.