The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-10-19

the bearer of it: "What is it,
Bradford?"
"The passenger reckon" was
the answer. Williams thought
he saw it as we came around
Point-o'-Rocks. and he was afraid
the dispatcher had got balled up
some and let 'em past Little
Butte without meet-order."
For a moment the group on the
rallied platform was silent, and In
the little interval low, humming
sound made itself felt rather than
heard.
Your engineer was right" re-
Joined the superintendent, sharp
ly. She's coming!" And even
as he spoke the white glare of an
electric headlight burst into full
view on the shelf-like cutting
along the northern face of the
great hill, pricking out the small
est details Of the waiting special,
the closed switch, and the gleam-
ing lines of the rails.
With this powerful spotlight to
project its cone of dazzling brill
lance upon the scene, the watch
ers on the rallied platform of the
superintendent service car saw
every detail of the swift outwork-
ing of the tragic spectacle for
which the hill-facing curve was
the stage setting.
When the oncoming passenger
train was within three or four
hundred yards of the spur track
switch and racing toward 1t at
full speed, there came a short,
sharp whistle-scream, a crash as
of the ripping asunder of the me-
chanical soul and body, and a
wrecked train lay tilted at an
angle of forty-five degrees against
the bank of the hillside cutting.
1t was a moment for action
rather than for words, and when
he cleared the platform hand-rail
and dropped, running, Lidger-
wood was only the fraction of a
second ahead OF Van Lew and
Jefferis. With Bradford swing
ing his lantern for Williams and
his fireman to come on, the four
men were at the wreck before the
cries of fright and agony had
broken out upon the awful still
ness following the crash.
The baggage-car, riding high
upon the crushed tender, was
body-whole, but the smoker, day
coach and sleeper were all more
or less shattered, with the smok-
ing car already beginning to blaze
from the broken lamps. Lidger-
woods genius for swift and eff
fective organization came out
strong under the hammer-bkow
of the occasion.
stay here with Bradford and
Jefferis. and get that engineer
out!" he called to Van Lew
Then, with arms outspread, he
charged down upon the trains
company, escaping as 1t could
through the broken windows OF
the cars. "This way, every man
of you'll" he yelled, his shout
dominating the clamor of cries
crashing glass, and kissing steam
"The fires what we've got to
fight! Line up down to the
river, and pass water in anything
you can get hold of! Here, Gron'
er'-to the train conductor, who
was picking himself up out of the
ditch into which the shock had
thrown him-"send somebody tC
the Pullman for blankets. JumI
for it, man, before this fire gets
headway!"
| Luckily there were by this
time plenty of willing hands tc
help. The Timanyoni is a mans
country, and there were few wo'
men in the trains passenger list
Quickly a line was formed to the
nearby margin of the river, and
water. in hats, in buckets i'm
provised out of pieces of tin torn
from the wrecked car-roofs
Kissed upon the fire, beat it down
and presently extinguished it.
Then the work of extricatine
the imprisoned ones began.
In the very little time the
length and breadth of the disaster
were fully known, and its conse'
uuences alleviated, SO far as they
might be with the means at hand
There were three killed outright
in the smoker, two in the half
filled day-coach, and none in the
sleeper; six in all, including the
fireman pinned beneath the
wreck of the tender. Crawford
the engineer, was dug out of his
coal-covered grave by Van Lew
and Jefferis, badly burned and
bruised, but still living; and
there were score of other
woundings, more or less dreadful
| Freed OF the more crushing re-
] sponsibilities, Lidgerwood found
1 Bradford and Groner, and with
the two conductors went down
the track to the point Of derail-
ment to make the technical in
vestigation of causes.
Ordinarily the mere fact of a
destructive derailment leaves lit
tie to be discovered when the
cause is sought afterward. But
singularly enough, the curved
track was torn up only on the
side toward the hill; the outer
rail was still in place.
Broken flange under 204, I'll
bet." said Groner, holding his lam
tern down to the gashed ties. But
Bradford denied 1t.
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