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Coroners Inquest on the bodies of
Morris Crouse, Joseph Wheeler and Elisha Hendricks
March 24, 1870
State of Illinois
Adams County
THE INVESTIGATION
Coroner Brown being at LaGrange A. W. Blakesley,
police magistrate, was requested to conduct the examination as
acting corner. At nine o'clock he summoned a jury for the
purpose of holding the inquest. The following is a list of
members of the inquest: W. G. Ewing, foreman; Wm. Thompson, Henry
Lansing, John Meyers, Ira M. Moore, Wm Evatt, Dr. Charles
Zimmerman, Herman Moecker, E. S. Mulliner, Harris Swimmer, Isaac
Abrahams and F. Nelka. After being qualified, the jury proceeded
to the late residence of Morris Crouse to view the body.
They next visited the Sherman House, where they
took a look at the disfigured lifeless remains of Joseph Wheeler
and Elisha Hendricks. They next proceeded to the scene
of the accident and examined the ground, which they found by the
traces of blood along the track. The way the car was
inspected, and the evidences of the collision found to be plainly
visible. The front platform was broken off and the front of
the car spattered with blood, gore and particles of flesh.
The engine of the extra train was also examined and the result of
the explosion of the steam chest noted. The jury then had a
measurement taken of the distance from the point of collision to
the curve in the road where the accident happened to the engine of
the extra train. After taking these observations, the jury
separated to meet at the court house in the afternoon for the
purpose of listening to the testimony.
THE EVIDENCE
The jury assembled at the court house at two
o'clock, for the examination of witnesses. The first person
called was B. B. Reagan, a boy, who testified that he was on the
regular train that was run into by the extra. He was not in
the way car, but with some stock in a freight car, in front, near
the engine. The train, at the time of the explosion, was
moving about as fast as a man could walk. The witness stated
that after the train was struck, he looked back and saw that
something was the matter - saw them taking the men out; the extra
train followed the regular train from Bushnell as witness saw it
in the rear several times, but could not tell the distance between
the two trains. He knew nothing about the collision and was
dismissed.
TESTIMONY of WM. WHEELER
Wm. Wheeler, a brother of Joseph Wheeler,
deceased, was then called.
His statement is as follows: I was on the freight train that
arrived here yesterday; I was moving to Missouri and my brother
was going with me to assist me with my stock; we were both on the
way car at the time of the collision; there were eight persons in
the car; the first notice I had of danger was from the conductor,
who hollowed, "look out". He was on the platform
car, in front of the way car; I rushed out on the front platform,
went down the steps and jumped off. I had just struck the ground
when I heard the crash, and the train went past me. They run
some distance below me, I
think a quarter of a mile. I saw the train in the rear
several times between Bushnell and this city. Did not know it was
close to us until I heard the conductor call out.
Saw the rear train twice, this side of Plymouth, don't think it
was more than half a mile distance. The front platform at the time
of the collision doubled under the platform car. My brother
told me that he was trying to step over the railing on the
platform car at the time the cars struck.
JOHN POLLOCK was next called. He said: I
was on the train; got on at Coatsburg in
company with the deceased Hendricks. There were eight
persons in the car. At the time of the collision, the train
I was on was moving. The first intimation I had of danger,
was a man I supposed to be the conductor, came to the front
platform, held up his hand and said, "look out". I
ran forward; Gray was ahead of me. He jumped off, and I followed
him. The first I knew of danger was the action of the
conductor; when I recovered myself after jumping, the rear engine
was about two rods from the way car, and struck immediately after.
The cow catcher was under the way car and lifted it up, threw it
forward and down, and pushed it under the platform car. When
I got to the train, I found the three deceased lying piled up in
front door with their feet and
legs wedged under the iron rails. I saw the rear train approach
this side of Paloma, not more than half a mile. Helped to
take Hendricks out of the car, and was with him last night.
He died this morning at half past nine.
JAMES R. GRAY testified as follows: I got on the
train at Paloma. Think there were
eight men in the car. The first intimation I had of danger
was hearing the conductor say, "look out", in a loud
voice. Think he was on the front platform. He jumped
off; I ran to the door, went down the steps. Saw the engine in the
rear, then I jumped off. I saw the rear train several times;
noticed it particularly this side of Paloma, when it was not more
than the distance of three telegraph poles in our rear; was afraid
of
it at the time. Saw the cars coming together after I got
off; saw the freight cars coming down the track about three
minutes after the collision. I followed the cars down to where
they stopped. Took ten or twelve minutes to extricate the
deceased, who were piled upon the door, their feet and legs
held fast by the rails.
SYLVESTER CLARK said: I got on the train at Camp
Point; the first intimation I had of
danger was from the conductor, who said, "look out", and
I jumped off. I ran out, jumped to the ground and fell.
As I got up I heard the crash; the train was running about four
miles to the hour at the time.
MAX CROUSE was the next witness. I am
brother-in-law to the deceased Morris
Crouse; we both took the train at Camp Point; the first idea I had
of any danger was hearing the conductor say, "look out"!
The passengers all rushed to the door; I was behind and when I got
forward there were three men at the door, and I could not get out;
I ran to the rear and saw the engine right under us. I again
ran to the front and as I approached the door the collision took
place, and I was thrown from my feet, my
brother-in-law was carried home, where he died of his injured last
night.
JOHN MENNE At the time of the accident, was near
where the collision took place.
He stated: I saw the first train running slowly, and noticed the
rear engine coming about two blocks off. When the engine was
about twenty feet from the way car, the smoke stack fell off, I
heard an explosion and saw steam escaping from the side of the
engine immediately after the collision occurred. The forward
train was going slow; I saw no brakeman on the rear train; I went
down and assisted in getting the injured men out from between the
cars.
WM. MOUNTS the conductor of the regular freight
train, was the next witness. The
train in the rear of mine was an extra, and followed us from
Galesburg; saw it several times in our rear during the day;
sometimes it was a miler and a half and at other times half mile
off; sometimes it was nearer; at the time of the collision my
train had not come to a stop; I saw it just before the engine
struck; heard the explosion and saw the steam and knew it would
run into us; I have no rational recollection of what followed; I
don't know what I said or how I got off; I was under the
impression that I jumped off the car platform; the three men
injured were wedged between the way
car and the platform car in front; the rules of the company
require a train following another train to keep one mile in the
rear; I think when the explosion occurred the rear engine was the
distance of a block away; I was running between five and ten miles
an hour, and was slacking up to stop as usual, at the semaphore;
first intimation I had of danger was hearing the explosion in the
rear; I knew the engineer had lost control of his engine, and I
think I must have lost control of myself; don't know what I did
from then till after the train struck; had the steam chest not
blown out there would have been no danger, as the engineer could
have checked the engine.
MATTHEW BONE the engineer of 66, the engine on
the extra train said: My train
followed the regular train from Bushnell into Quincy; was a mile
off most of the time; was nearer than that twice in going upgrade;
I was in three quarters of a mile then; the first danger I
discovered was in the sand cut; there I looked back and saw my
train broke in two, looked forward, saw way car of regular train;
I reversed the engine and put on tender brake; the stem chest
blowed out; think at the time I
reversed I was half a mile off; when the stem chest blowed out the
steam escaped and did not operate in cylinder; the engine ran
ahead; think she increased in speed; was coming in at rate of
eight or ten miles n hour; I struck the way car at a speed of six
miles to an hour; Five cars were next to the engine; eighteen
remained behind; two brakemen were on the rear of the train;
conductor was on the way car; I staid on the engine until she
struck; ran a quarter of a mile before the cars stopped; after the
engine struck I jumped off and ran ahead; the engine was 150 yards
past the curve when I reversed the engine; ran 100 before the
explosion; the strain on the machinery is greater when the engine
is reversed; the engine was carrying from 115 to 120 pounds of
steam; a piece of the steam chest was found 400 feet above the
point of
collision; freight trains have two breakmen; one forward near the
engine and one at the rear; both breakmen and the conductor were
on the rear as we came in yesterday; had the steam chest not blown
out, the reversal would have stopped the train without the use of
the brakes; it would have stopped in 450 feet; the smoke
stack did not fall off until after the collision and the engine
had run 40 feet after it struck before it tumbled over; the steam
chest was put on near about three months ago; the engine on that
day appeared upon examination to be in perfect order.
OTHER WITNESSES
A. J. Wade, fireman on engine No. 66, was next
called, and stated that at the time the train broke, he was on the
forward part of the engine; as they turned the curve he
saw the way car and knew there was danger; when the steam chest
exploded, he climbed back on to the first car to put on the brake,
but did not reach it before the collision; the explosion took
place after they had turned the curve; the engine then was within
a quarter of a mile of the way car; in coming down from Bushnell
the extra was sometimes a mile and sometimes five miles distance
from the regular train.
James Darcy, a section boss of the road,
testified that he had counted the rails on the track from the
place where the collision occurred to the curve in the road, and
made a distance 1350 feet; he found the piece of steam chest
imbedded some six inches in the sand back about three hundred feet
this side of the curve; he did not see the collision and knew
nothing of what occurred there.
Joel West, master mechanic of the railroad shops
in this city, testified that the bursting of a steam chest would
take away from the engineer all control of his engine; the steam
would escape instead of running into the cylinder. He also
stated that there was a greater strain upon machinery when the
engine was reversed, until the wheels stop and turn the other way;
than at other times he considered Mr. Boone an experienced
engineer; he had been a fireman four years, had acted as engineer
two years in the yards and been on the road but a short time; he
was not a machinist but
thought him to be a good engineer.
Dr. Charles Zimmerman testified that he attended
Mr. Crouse, that he died from the injuries received by the
collision; that he saw Wheeler and Hendricks after they were hurt
and their injuries were mortal and produced death. This was
all the evidence, there being no witnesses known who could throw
more light upon the case. The jury retired and after an
hours deliberation, agreed upon their verdict, which was certified
top the coroner, and is as follows:
THE VERDICT
We, the jury summoned by A.. W. Blakeskey, a
justice of the peace, in and for the county of Adams and state of
Illinois, acting coroner in the absence of the coroner of said
county, to inquire into the cause of the death of Elisha
Hendricks, Joseph Wheeler and Morris Crouse, do find that said
persons came to their death by reason of injuries received by a
collision of freight train No. 21 and extra to train No. 21,
coming on and belonging to the C.B. & Q railroad; that said
collision occurred by reason of the extra train being broken in
two, and the steam chest of engine No. 66,
drawing the extra, bursting, thereby depriving the engineer of
engine No. 66 of any control of his engine; that said collision
occurred on the 23rd day of March, 1870, in
Quincy, in said county, and that while we regard the occurrence as
most deplorable, still we regard it as purely accidental, and that
no person can be charged with negligence or carelessness; and
further we, the jury, recommend that said railroad company require
the employees to rigidly observe the rules of said company in
reference to running of trains and ask every employee join against
the repetition of so
deplorable an accident.
Witnesses: W. G. Ewing, foreman, Ira M. Moore,
Ed. S. Milliner, Wm. Evatt, H. Moecker, Wm. Thompson, Isaac
Abrahams, Harris Swimmer, Henry Lansing, John Meyer, Dr. Chas.
Zimmerman, F. Nelke.
Quincy, Ill., March 24, 1870
I Asa W. Blakesley, Police Magistrate and Exofficio a Justice of
the
Peace hereby certify that the above is a correct copy of the
evidence and the verdict of the jury impounded and sworn to hold
an Inquest as above indicated.
March 24, 1870 Asa W. Blakesley
(Seal)
Police Magistrate
Special Thanks to Helen E. Bortz
for sharing the inquest information.
Copyright © 1996 - 2003 Linda Lee. All
Rights Reserved.
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