The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1915-12-31
An Important
Witness
By JOHN Y. LARNED

Jimmie Connolly while fishing in a
small lake by the railroad. hearing a
train coming, looked up as it passed
and saw the engineer. instead of hav-
ing his hand on the throttle and his
eyes on. the track ahead, dancing a
hornpipe on the floor Of the cab. Jim
ME was only thirteen years old. He
was wise enough to understand that
such conduct was irregular. but 1t did
not freeze him with horror as It would
an older person. At the moment there
was a tug on his line, and he pulled out
a fat pickerel. For the time being he
forgot the dancing engineer.
Mrs. Mccoy, the wife of the engineer
Of the train on which this scene &C.
CURED. lived near a station at which
her husband was accustomed to stop
for water. The train time ut the sta
ton was 1923. and she was accus-
toned to take her husbands dinner to
him at that hour. On the day Jimmie
Connolly saw him dancing a hornpipe
Mrs. Mccoy started earlier than usual
from her house on a hill sloping down
to the track with the dinner.
Before she had made half the dis.
lance she was astonished to hear the
train coming. A few seconds later, 60
ing ut a speed far greater than usual.
It passed her, ignoring the station COM
pletely. As it went by she saw a sight
that first caused her to drop the dinner
pail, then topple over in n dead faint.
Her husband was struggling with the
st0ker. who hit him on the top of the
head with some iron instrument and
dropped him on the cab floor.
Jake Rogers. the stoker, stopped the
train at the next station. five miles dis
tant from the water tank. Mccoy was
found in the cab dying with a frac-
tured skull. Rogers reported that Nc.
Coy. in whom he had recently noticed
signs of insanity, had suddenly gone
crazy and had dashed onward at a ter
rife gait. Rogers. whose back was to-
ward the engineer. turning suddenly.
saw him dancing on the cab floor while
the train was tearing along under no
guiding hand. Rogers attempted to get
by Mccoy. who tackled him and, being
the stronger man, was about to throw
him from the cab. The fireman's life
as well as the lives of hundreds of
passengers was at stake. Rogers had
a wrench in his hand and struck his
adversary on the head with it. intend
ing to stun him. Instead he fractured
his skull, killing him.
Mrs. Mccoy was sent for and as 500
as she saw Rogers Historically accused
him of numbering her husband. The
fireman was put under arrest and in
time indicted for the murder of the en-
gineer. There was no corroboration Of
his story further than certain passen-
gers bore witness that they thought
the train was travelling rather fast.
But this counted for very little. Mrs.
Mccoy. who was very bitter against
Rogers. found several sympathetic
friends who were willing to testify
that Rogers had been at enmity with
her husband and had been heard to
make threats. There was some foun-
dalton for this. for. Rogers wished to
be made an engineer, and Mccoy for
some ISL unknown except to him
self declined to help him secure the
coveted promotion.
Rogers vas tried. and the evidence
was strong against him. Only one per-
son vas found to testify that he had
noticed strange actions on the part Of
Mccoy. while a dozen swore that he
was as sane as any a The story
told the Jury by the bereaved wife
through tears had a telling effect. Rog-
ers was an orphan and had no one to
influence the jury in his behalf by
weeping for him. The trial was near
ing an end. and the consensussof opin-
Ion was thatsAshe would be convicted.
though there Wsns sympathy for him by
some Of the passengers who had been
on the train when the tragedy occurred
and who considered that In any event
they had had a narrow escape.
The trial did not take place near
where the murder had been commit
ted. and Jimmie Connolly heard nothing
about It. One evening his father came
in to supper and remarked:
Rogers has been convicted"
who's Rogers?' asked Jimmie.
1.-THE stoker who killed the engineer
last August"
what engineer?"
Mr.. Connolly told his o the story OF
the murder. 1t brought back the re-
membrance Of the sight he had seen
while fishing on the lake. l
II seen ar engineer last summer"
he said. 'tdancin' in his cab while the
engine was runnin' Wild"
That was alt Jimmie had seen. but 1t
impressed his father as Of possible i'm.
portance In the Mccoy case. The next
morning he called up by phone Rogers
legal defender. who interviewed Jim
mic, and by comparing dates and clock
time discovered that Jimmie had seen
Mccoy on the day Of the murder.
Rogers had not been sentenced. and
the case raj reopened. Jimmie was
called to the stand. and after counsel
for the. defense had established the
essential facts the boy told how he
had seen the engineer dancing on the
cab door and the train running wild.
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