1
Mm
VOL. XXL
GRANTS PASS. JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OREGON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1906.
No. 44.
L
Ml
i
!;
4
I
y. e
SOUTHERN
Biggest WreclqEver Known in
Killed and
I J. r oi Dyn
Grjfri. Falling
Dynamite lrtthe Wreck
to Explode'AverU
an Awful Havoc Engines
y and Cara Demolished.
One of the most disastrong wrecks
rer bad on the Southern Pacific in
-A - V
V BoKoe River Valley took place in
' ' tbe eait limits of the Grants Pass
' Station last Monday at 6 :28 p. m. It
9 resulted in the death of Flremau
J i John P. Barger and the serious in-
i Jury of Engineer M. V. Crocker, and a
bad shaking up of the passengers and
heavy damage to the two trains in the
. -v "IpHision.
Freight train No. 223, in charge of
onductor Golden was just palling
i tlie siding, -With passenger train
o. 16 in charge of Condnctor Ed
fyoan following close behind. The
freight was a long heavy one palled
by two engines and just as it was half
on the siding it broke in two in tbe
on tl
f
'die, by the giving away of a
bolt. This left the rear section
'ing ou the main track with the
brakes set hard. Conductor
m sent a brakeuian hurriedly
k to signal tne on-coming passeu-
t train, but it was so close in and
s couiina at juoli alliiuh BDueiLthat
.a"- 3 engineer bad but time to whistle
JLrJp t be saw the warning signal and
Vi M throw off steam and bet the
argeuoy brakes when the train
,"'. Ished into the freight The track
i was wet and slippery causing the
t i , brakes to have less effect in checking
W the speed of the train.
In an instaut with a teriflio crajh,
that was heard all over the east part
of town, the trains came together.
The passenger train was pulled by
two engines, the first manned by En
gineer M. V. Crocker and Fireman
Jubn P. Barger and the second one
by Engineer Frank Kiuney and
Fireman B. F. Bytfci. The head en
gine was almost stripped and was
thrown to the side of the track and
lying on its side and headed from the
roadbed at almost rixhtaugles. The
tender was thrown across the roadbed
and badly stove in and with its trucks
torn off. The second eugine reuiaiued
on the roadbed but buried over the
axles in the eartlu It remained up
right bat tbe forward end was badly
smashed and the cab' was broken
considerably. Its tender was bot lit
tle injured. The foreward end of the
mail car left the trucks and was
thrown on the tender, standing it ou
an augle of 20 degrees and smashing
the forward end considerably. Daring
the night it slipped of itself off the
tender and fell back ou the tracks.
The caboose to the freight train was
literally ground into kindling wood.
Forward of the caboose was a car load
of dynamite which was hurled into the
ditch and thrown at an angle to the
track. The oar was badly wrecked
and many of the boxes of dynamite
were broken. To the fact that the
giant powder was frozen while cross
ing tbe Siskiyoa mountains and had
not yet thawed ont was due that there
was not a terrific explosion that would
have killed many of th passengers and
smashed about all the windows in
Grants Pass. It was a very narrow
escape and added to the horror of the
Affair to tbe 300 passengers who bad
. m. mm mm
Sell Real Estate
3 W. L. IRELAND, "The Real Estate Man."
& Ground Floor Courier Bldg. Grants Pass, Ore.
PACIFIC TRAINS CRASH
Engineer Hurt -
r
g;v;i'i iti; s
"(vj-.t -jt-'kw srrtf'.'r ".ferry--xyK
4
1 "''i ? x1'Nf "'"
Photos by A. E. Voorhies.
No. 1 Dynamite unloaded from wrecked car. No. 3 John P. Barger, the fireman who was killed.
Nos. 8 and 4 Wrecked locomotives. No. 6 Wrecking crew st work.
m wm "
Rent Houses
Make Loans
Afjent For
Phillips Hydraulic Ram
and
1 1
rra nre hudd
Call upon or write
Rogue River Valley Fireman
Close Call for Mail Clerks.
m Mk Ml
' v -v;'5)lv- -r-. .
X!- .Mail
"kirk -J r a
escaped by so narrow a margin with
their lives.' The second car forward
of the caboose was an empty freight
aod it was thrown off the track and
partially wrecked. The track for
150 feet was torn "up aod Dbrt of the
rails were twisted and bent beyond
farther use.
Engineer Crocker was picked op
beside the track back by the mail oar,
bo having jumped from his engine
just as the collision took place. He
was oarried to the Grants Pais Hos
pital, where his injuries were attend
ed to by Drs. 8. LouRhridge and M.
C. Findley, Soot hem PaciQo surgeons
for this place, assisted by the Hospital
staff. Both bones of the right leg
wsre broken just above tbe ankle and
he was badly shaken op. Tbe body
of Fireman Barger was found lying
on the wreckage, between the cab
and tender of his engine, where it
bad dropped after be had been crash
ed. He bad tried to Jump from the
TOGETHER
-rW X---
" 'rirru y
engine, but was caught between the
corner of the cab aud the end of the
tender and bis hips and abdomen
were horribly crashed and much of
the flesh was torn from his thighs.
Hs was just gasping his last breaths
when Conductor Tynan, Brakeman
Ben Rohr and some of the pass
engers, who bad rushed to the resoae
of the enginemen, reached him and
he was dead before they coo Id get him
removed. His body was at once taken
to an undertaking room and prepared
for shipment to Roseburg. Engineer
Kinney aud Fireman Ryan staid by
their euglne aud as the cab was not
cronhfd in they escaped with only
some severe braise.
The mail oar was in charge of N.
A. Ambrose aud .E. L. Gordon.
They were at work aud having no
warning of the crash were both
thrown violently off their feet Mr.
Ambrose landed against tbe railing
to the stove while Mr. Gordon
plunged headlong onto the rocks,
Neither was badly injured, but thev
were so braised and unnerved that
they could not work the mails on to
Portland, that work going to the
clerks on No. 13, they golog to Port
land with their train tbe next day
as passengers. This was the eighth
wreck that Mr, Ambrose has been in
and the third for Mr. Gordon, bat it
probably would have been their last
had their oar not been thrown top of
the heavy steel tender bat had been
telesoopod by it and crushed, as is so
often the case in similar disasters.
That the wreck did not take afire waB
d oe to tbe prompt action of the train
men. The stove in tbe caboose had
fire in it, bat before it could ingite
the wreck it was pat oat. The fire
box of the wrecked engine was not
smashed and as the engine laid
with the forward end down in the
ditch tbe doors to the firebox remained
closed and the fire soon died oat.
The wrecked trains could be seen
from the depot and within five min
utes after the disaster, Operator
John Summer, under direction .of
Agent G. P. Jester, notified railroad
officials at Portland Roseburg aud
Ashland of the wreck. Scetion Fore
man Dennis MoCarthy had just finish
ed his sapper when he was notified of
the wreck. Mr. McCarthy is a
veteran railroader and to get the read
open to trains was bis first thought.
Fortunately a wood train had palled
in that evening to lay overnight here
and on it were some SO Japs. Fore
man Mcuartny got the Japs oat as
lively as thongh to chase Russians.
By the time Foreman MoCarthy got
his own men and tbe Japs oat, Fore
man J. H. Hathaway had an engine
out of the roundhouse and some empty
cars run op to the storage pile of rails
and ties, Tbe 60 men under Foreman
McCarthy Boon had the cars loaded
and with a car of wood to build bon
fires to'give light the work train was
quickly at the wreck. Road Master
G. W. Dounell, whose headquarters
is in Grants Pass, had spent the day
THESE PRICES ARE SPECIAL AND FOR THE TIME
SPECIFIED. THE GOODS CAN NOT LAST LONG. A
LOOK WILL CONVINCE YOU THAT our VALUES ARE
UNEQUALLED.
30
DAY
"SALE
From January 15th to February 15th
SPECIALS '
All Ingrain Wall Papers 25 per Bolt of 3 Rolls
All Pillows 20 Discount that moans
Pillows formerly $100 now .80c
1.50 " $1.20
2.00
" " 400
Sofa Pillows included.
All Air-Tight Heaters 33$
Heaters formerly
Cook StOtes Regular $15.00,
Dinner ware, Blue and
1 lot 30x60 Rugs, regular $1.50 and $2.00
Some shopworn, to close at
I lot UOtton Uarpet, regular staple goods. We
have too much; regular 48c now
Cut Glass 33 J per 'cent Discount, that means
goods that sohMor $5.00 are now $3.54.
Range Cook Stoves, with reservoir, regular $30.00,
now $23.50.
Trunks $9.00 Trunki for $6.50.
Oak Upright Folding Bod3 regular $22.03, m $17.00
Mahogany Finish Suits 3 pioces
Bed, Dresser and Commode, large French
bevel .plate mirrors, regular $35.00 $27.50
Solid Quartered Oak Buffett
Polished French bevel plate mirror, regu
lar $37.50 $27.85
Solid Quartered Oak Chiffoniers
Polished large French bevel plate mirror, reg
ular $26.00, for $21.65
Lace Curtains 25 per cent discount
Portieres, 20 per cent discount
Table Covers, 25 per cent discount
Picture Frames, 20 per cent discount
Picture Mouldings rceoice selcction' brin& ln your pic-
Thomas & O'Neill
HOUSEFURNISHERS
on the road near Tunnel 9 where
large force of men are making some
big fills, and being notified of the
wreck ordered the grading crew to be
in readiness to come on tbe wrecking
trai n that was soon doe from Rose
bnrg. He at onoe came to Grants)
Pass on No. 11 and took charge of the
work of building tbe track around the
wrcek. So espfditioua had Foreman
McCarthy been in getting his force at
work that by 10:80 when Road Mas
ter D onnell arrived on the scene, be
had quite a beginning made on track 1
laying- Tbe ground aboattbe wreck it
a wampy and there is a large ditch oa
eaoh Bide of the roadbed and this was)
fulll of water. A cribbing of solid
ties and bridge timbers had to be
bail t for the 800 feet of new track,
an d though the work was done with
the greatest speed it was 9 o'clock
the next morning before it was com
pi eted. An engine bad been ordered
from Ashland and it hauled the pass
en ger, baggage and express cars of
the wrecked train back to Wood vl lie
to be ont of the way of the construct
ion cars. In the morning an enigne
was sent and brought the train down
and so soon as the road was open it
proceeded to Portland, without a mall
car. No. 13 doe here at 6 a. m,
was also held at Woodville and came
down following No. 16 and went as a
seoond section on to Portland. No.
11, which got in at 10:83 p. m. was
held here uift'il the track was rebuilt
The freight train that, was in the
wreck got oat on its way to Portland
within an hour after the disaster,
with an empty box car doing doty a
a caboose.
The wrecking train and crew
stationed at Roseburg arrived during
the night and after Resisting in get
ting the traok opened began the work
the next morning of clearing the
wreck. The wreck was so extensive
and the engines heavy and the ground
difficult to, work on by reason of its
swampy nature thst extra equipment
was brought from Portland, and D.
(Continued on last page. )
30
1.60
3.20
Discount
$7 50 now $5.00
5.50 " 3.67
Special $12.90
White, 20 per cent off.
$1.00
35c
r
JL