The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1914-03-26

L
moving at a high rate of speed and
excited some comment from bystand-
ers. But it did not stop at the stock
lswitch. On, and on Il went with
lever increasing speed and dashed
lheadon into the double.header.
i Circumstances connected with the
accident are inexpiicable and the con.
duct Of the engineer is not readily
understood He might have mistaken
one Of the trains In the yard for the
delayed No. % and supposed he had
La clear rightOf-way out ahead of the
Iother trains but this h hardly prob
able as he discussed the missing No.
1877 with a fellow trainman while wait
ing on the siding for the passenger.
No. 81 was due IN Odds before the
passenger hut had to stop for tile
lrepacking and cooling of hot box
land the passenger took the lead.
This may have fooled engineer Spare.
Another possibility OF the situation
lis that extra No. $50 when leaving
Odds had dead engineer at the
Throttle. When the body was found
there was a big wound on the neck
Ian abrasion of skin on tile face and
the mouth and lips mashed In. None
of these wound had bled with the ex-
lCeptfon of very few drops that had
run from the cut on the neck. Spare
had not left his seat In the cab but
his position was perfectly natural.
THESE facts, taken together with the
circumstances of the reckless rate OF
speed at which the light engine was
travelling, some have estimated that
} he was moving at rate of speed
around nifty miles an hour, the fact
that he sounded no alarm or whistle
after leaving Odds are points of cyl
IdencC In support of this theory.
Fireman Peterson was too bauly
hurt to talk much and was not inter
rogated on the point, SO far as known.
, The distance out of Olds was not lar
enough to have caused the fireman,
busy with the work of his fire, In
. starting to make an investigation and
! the man at the throttle might easily
have succumbed to heart trouble or
apoplexy without the knowledge Of
> the fireman. Spare may have been
all right when he started his engine,
!, gave II steam and may have intend
J ed stopping at the stock yards switch.
} the thing everyone supposed he would
] do. He may have been stricken soon
I after starting his engine and this
: would account Tor his high rate OF
l speed through the Olds yards and
past the station house, and he was
! not man given to reckless work
, spare Is an old engineer Of tho
D Iowa Central and the M. IL st l..
K Companies. He has been in the ser.
!. vice eighteen years or more the
t greater part of which time he has
resided in OskalOosa, He was a
+ careful, competent man, dependable
under all circumstances and the last
Q man in the service one would pick for
c an accident of this character. He was
;. ,Opp OF the best known and most
A trustworthy engineers in the service.
e He was about forty.five or forty-sey.
n en- years Of age unmarried He has
Y sister, Mrs. ed Putnam, residing at
}. Manchester, Iowa, father residing
Il in Cantonmcnt, Florida and broth
IS er, J. u. Spare, d resident OF Hunter,
[. North Dakota The bodies Of the
y. dead men we're taken to Winfield
@ where the coroner took GhHfge aud
,. where they we're prepared for burial
If The body of engineer Spare was tax
h Ell to Manchester Delaware county,
@ to the home OF the sister, Mrs. Put.
# NAM where funeral and interment
will occur.
|. Leo Peterson was comparatively a
I new man on the road coming to the
4 VI. & ST. L. a few months ago from
l. Milwaukee. His parents reside at
4 Sexton, Kossuth county, where fun.
@ eral and interment win take place.
d He had been an able and, willing fire.
!. man and was liked by the engineers
l. for whom he bad worked, But he
was much younger than any ono IN
3, the service had guessed. lie passed
for young man OF twenty-five or
Ispssibly more, lie had given his
: age to the railway Office as twenty
q three. When he knew that the end
Y was near he told those about him
> where his parents resided and that
y Inc was but nineteen years OF age.
Peterson was badly mangled and his
. legs broken and mashed to pieces.
! While he suffered great pain he was
brave and hopeful and expressed con-
. fdence that he would recover. a
u change came. about half past one o.
! clock Sunday morning and he sank
rapidly and passed away in few
; minutes but was conscious and RAJ
! tionaI almost to tue last.
The force of the collision was ter.
= rife, the two engines meeting were
; badly used mp. but the second en-
! CINE of the double-header suffered but
: little, the pilot and the work ahead
= of the boiler being mashed of.
: Strange as it may seem, only a few
Z of the wheels left the rails and the
I wreck was easily cleared. A special
: train pulled the disabled motive pow
: er and the wreckage into Oskaloosa
: last evening.
Valentine Lodge No. 500, p. of L.,
d F.. & r. took charge of the remains Of
the dead engineer and fireman, at
o Wayland. w. e. MaIkins and E. p
!; Martin. acting as COMMITTEES OF the
! Organization, accompanied the bodies
y Ito OskaIoosa The father and broth
: er.in.law OF Fireman Peterson met
! THE remains at OskaIoosa and proceed
: ed with them to sexton Iowa Engin-
: eer Chas NJ Sleeth accompanied the
= remains of Engineer George Spare
! from 0skaloosa to Manchester.
Wreaths of flowers from the organ.
! ization awaited the remains of both
I at Oskaloosa.