The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-02-05
GARDEN CITY
RAILROAD WRECK
DETAILS OF THE ACCIDENT BY
MEMBERS OF THE
TRAIN CREW.
.COND. BLAKE AT DESK
HEROIC WORK OF CONDUCTOR
HOOVAL FIREMAN HAGEN
AND BRAKEMAN WESLEY.

near Garden City than was first pub
lished. The Tribune. after first tell
ing of the collision itself, says:
The snowplow, with crew of six,
left here at 12:40 A.. m, and after
proceeding about six miles north, il
encountered a heavy drift in a cut
and being low on steam and water,
found it impossible to go either for
ward or back.
The passenger, drawn by a dou-
BILE header, left here at 2:22 a. M,
and although fifteen torpedoes had
been placed on the rails by a flagman
liars Westby) who had been sent
above the wind and storm and the
first intimation those on the passen-
ger had of the plow's proximity was
when they crashed into the caboose.
Conductor Blake, who had been
keeping a careful lookout from the
cupola, failed to either hear or see
it," Trainmen have related hat
they found the conductor sitting at
his desk. The Tribune then says
that "he was caught and crushed be-
tween the desk and the chair.
"Roadmaster w. III. Crabbs, En-
gineer John Kaisersatt and Brake
man NJ. l.. Adkins were sitting about
the stove engaged in conversation
and all three were buried under the
wreckage. Cliff Hill, the fireman of
the snowplow engine, was catapulted
through the cab window, but was
unhurt.
The injured were removed from
the wreckage by the other trainmen,
without difficulty. and taken into
one of the coaches where they were
given the best aid possible until help
arrived. Conductor Blake lived an
til 2 O'Clock and was conscious most
OF the time.
mo n on the passenger, either
crew or passengers. were injured al
though the second engine was badly
damaged and thrown from the track.
The head engine. with the exception
of the smokestack and the eowcatch-
err. is apparently as good as ever.
Lars Westby, brakeman on the
snowplow. was sent back to signal
the passenger which was running
about an hour behind the snowplow.
He took eighteen torpedoes with him
and placed them at intervals along
the track.
Knowing that the passenger
would soon be along. he made all
haste in an attempt to intercept it
before IL left Garden City, but failed
by about five minutes. He placed
his fifteenth torpedo at the steep
grade south of the bridge in the
north part of town.
He had just finished clamping it
to the rail when the head engine
loomed up In the darkness and he
just saved himself by jumping to one
side. He recovered as quickly as
possible and hurled his lantern at
the cab of the second engine, at the
same time shouting a warning. The
lantern missed the cab entirely and
neither the report of the torpedo nor
his shout were heard by the engine
crews of either engine. He hurried
into the depot and wired the dis
patcher at Madison of the accident"
According TO the Tribune. the first
word of the accident reached Garden
City through a phone message from
a farmhouse, at $50 a. m, Wednes-
day. A rescuing party, which in
cluded Lars Westby, set out in
sleighs and after a three hours bat
tie with the storm, finally reached
the wreck.
Conductor Blake had expired
shortly before the party's arrival.
The injuries of the others, w. H.
Crabb, John Kaisersatt and M, L..
Adkins were dressed and after being
made as comfortable as possible in
the bottom of the sleighs, they set
out for Garden City and arrived there
at S o'clock.
That the accident was unavoidable
is clearly evidenced by the testimony
of his fellow railroad men who I'M
phatically state hat "Westby did all
that a human being could possibly
do to prevent the wreck" This
statement was made by Fireman Dan
Hagen to a Daily Leader reporter
Saturday night, and was corrobo-
rated by Brakeman M. l.. Adkins, at
his home this morning.
las near as we can figure out, we
had so much snow between the cow
catcher and the rails that its pressure
simply pushed the torpedoes off,"
said Fireman Hagen. If it did not,
the howl of the wind and the storm,
together with the roar of the train,
prevented us from seeing or hearing
a thing.
Going up we could not see a thing
ahead. as the snow had coated the
windows and a lookout was all a
matter of guesswork. Engineer
Larson, on the head engine, looked
Out from tho cida of Tho ooh For