The Coconino sun., 1927-05-27

! painfully injured.
The two women were together on
! the floor Of the washroom. Just across
| the front end of the car from them, in
| the corridor, was Graham, the Los
Angeles newspaper man, also flat on
the floor, his legs pinned under the
demolished steel partitions.
Cooper and the two Pullman men
devoted their attention to the women.
One, Mrs. L. f. Case of Los Angeles,
while badly hurt, later having to have
an arm amputated, showed splendid
the efforts being made to extricate
her. Cooper sent a brakeman after
jacks and himself ran to his log
ging camp and got crowbars. Then,
prying against the down curve Of
| the steel end Of the car, in about fif-
teen minutes they had Mrs. Case out,
In the meantime others from the 9TH
er side of the car were working to
extricate Graham.
| The other woman, Mrs. v. w. Vivian
Of Los Angeles, sitting down on the
floor, her head against her feet and
the steel end of the car bent down
holding her there tight, was suffering
horribly and alternately moaning and
screaming, begging piteously to have
| the weight taken off her. She was a
large woman and, it was afterward
Learned, is 78 years old. Cooper said
he was afraid they couldn't get her
out before she died, and it did take an
hour to extricate her.
By that time Graham had been re-
/ leased and pivQn first aid
Mr.. Cooper saw the smash and was
at the scene in moment. He was
driving down the hill in the woods two
| hundred yards or so from the railroad
and saw section two standing there
Then he heard the whistle to recall
| the flagman, then came the crash.
| When the engine of section hit
| the other train it jumped every car
! in it ahead so feet, he said.
The severely injured were brought
into Flagstaff shortly after 10 o'clock
| by the locomotive and baggage car OF
section two and. then were rushed In
cars to Mercy hospital.
The entire facilities at Mercy hos
pital were devoted to the comfort Of
| the injured and everything possible
done for them. Mayor /. B. Koch on
| behalf Of the city asked that nothing
be left undone and no expense be
spared in seeing that every assistance
was given the injured.
Two patients for whom there was
not room in the hospital were placed
in the nearby home of Mr.. and Mrs.
George Myers.
A notable thing in connection with
the disaster was the fortitude of the
| injured.
The iron nerve of John Graham,
| Los Angeles Times man, who but for
his wife could easily have jumped off
the rear platform of the standing
train and escaped unscathed, was re-
markable. While he was pinned un-
der the crushed steel maid came
from the dining car with coffee,
Give it to my wife. Her nerves are
bad and she needs it," he said. Mrs.
Graham had been hurt, but only
slightly.
Graham seemed glad to talk to
newspaper men. While lying on cot
| between the tracks just after he had
been taken from the wreckage, he
asked for cigarette, then told Of the
accident.
81 was standing on the rear plat
form and had been talking to G. F.
Palmer, brakeman, when our train
started to slow down." Graham said.
a think he told me that the air
brakes were not working good. Any
how he started back up the track with
some torpedoes. He had not walked
more than 500 feet when I heard four
sharp whistles from our engine. |
saw Palmer place the torpedoes and
come on run toward our train. l
saw the engine of the other train COM
ing down on US. The brakeman yelled
at the top Of his voice to us: Look
out! Jumpp / ran into the car to
get my wife and got as far as the
front end of it when / was caught In
the wreckage."
Graham insisted on being taken
back to Los Angeles for operation
when he was informed that it might
be necessary to amputate leg. One
leg was fractured in several places,
the other very badly cut. He and his
wife returned to Los Angeles on the
first train that evening. Miss Laura
McDermid of Mercy hospital nursing
staff accompanied him.
Mrs. L. F. Case of Los Angeles,
the 11fSJ WOlfldH MI. OVOPSl tSlCcocu
from the wreckage, had her arm am
putated that day at Mercy hospital
She showed wonderful courage
throughout. She was on her way to
Columbia university, New York, to
lsee her sons graduation. She is SO
years old.
Mrs. v. w. Vivian of Los Angeles,
the second woman Mr.. Cooper extri-
Gated, has internal injuries and in
ternal hemorrhages. She is 78 years
old and her age makes her recovery
doubtful.
Lee Evans, colored waiter in the
dining car Of the leading train, had
broken shoulder and possible in
ternal injuries and at his request was
sent to the Santa Fe hospital, Los
/. Angeles, for treatment.
| Mrs. Ed. F. Gatchell, "a, OF Royal
Oaks, Mich, who was suffering
mostly from shock and was very ill
refused to be left here and was taken
! on east that afternoon, though it was
believed she would be placed in the
! Santa Fe hospital at Albuquerque.
/ In addition to Davis and Carter
both Of Chicago, Pullman men who
/ helped Mr.. Cooper at his work O
| rescue. r. D. Denton, colofed porter
j and Vera Greene, cOlored maid, dlC