The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1910-12-08
AN INTERESTING LETTER FROM IDAHO

train stopped about a half mile
from the wreck. A lot of us got
off, me taking my parasol, for l
never seen the sun shine as warm
as it did that day. At Mullen, and
when we got to the scene of the
wreck my, my! such sight, l
never saw before, and 1 hope l may
never see again. A great lot If it
! on one side of the track had been
set afire when the crash came from
the engine and there was piles of
the irons of the cars and wheels.
Some of the poles were burning yet
but most all was out. We all could
see only too plainly where we would
have been had we come into Mullen
on time. One old man had been
grumbling all the evening before be-
cause we were not going faster. He
| had declared that next time he went
| west he would go horse back but he
| was one that never had any more
grumbling to do, as l heard. There
| were eight car loads of sheep All in
a pile; all dead in long, high pile
just as the cars had crashed and
crumbled together. l think they
must have been on the end near the
caboose, for they vase piled all on
one side and quite bit down from
where the engine and tender were.
While on the other side by the en-
CINE so many cars had burned. A
caboose, for they was piled all on
strewn on both sides of the track.
A good many of them had been
burned and the ends of some of
them were burning that hadn't been
cut off.
,, Some of the sheep were laying
around, not dead yet, but mangled
terribly. A good many were killed
by stepping on their Threats and
shutting their wind off. Some few
had escaped and could be seen In
punches not far away on the hills.
Although I think quite few OF
them had been injured. Some of
them had been hurled all of 200
yards from the track, where they
fell and was fairly crushed. l was
amused at one of the sheep, it
think, being hurt badly, was standing
about IS or 100 rods away from
the scene of the wreck, his head
turned from the scene it looked like
he was disgusted and had turned his
back to the scene. There was not
any signs of caboose, only the
cushions of either one of the ca
booses. 1 with some others were
favored with a cushion being placed
on one end of big pole, making
a good seat where we could watch
the work of the clearing away of
the terrible wreck, taking hours to
undo what what was done in one
minute. No. AZ was down at the
other end waiting while our train,
No. Al, was at the other. So when
we had walked around till we were
tired we sat on the seat prepared
for us and watched the getting of
the great and powerful, but now
helpless Mogul engine, on track to
get out of way. Some of it's wheels
were gone. The smoke stack and
front was all destroyed and the cab
all battered to pieces, and its great
tender laying at one side of the
track on its side, not wheel on it
and not a piece of board of any
kind of the cars three feet long.
Nothing remained but kindling
4 wood. Some of the men were re-
building the track while others were
getting the engine on so when the
engine was on the track we was all
ready to go. The passengers from
the two trains that were waiting
made quite q crowd in the little
town of Mullen, but some never left
the car in all that time, being afraid
they would, be left. 1t was 1850
l think, when we was ready to
start.
Then We got to Alliance, Neb.,