Hide Article Text (OCR)
_.The south-bound passenger teal ‘No.4 on the B. N. Y. P., leaving Buffalo at 2 o’clock and Olean at 4:35, p.m., met with a serious accident immediately after leaving this station Saturday. The engine left the rails at a switch seventy or eighty yards beyond the station, and while moving at the rate of about 20 miles an hour, and about 125 feet further on tumbled down the steep embankment directly into the old canal bed, at the foot of Jay street. The baggage car was dragged from the rails, but did not go down the bank. The accident happened on a slight curve, otherwise the engine probably would not have left the ties. It was very easy to see what caused the wreck, and somebody is guilty of wicked negli gence in allowing such cause to ex ist. At the switch above mentioned the one of the two movable rails that is on the outside of the curve was at least one-third of its width too far in toward the center of the track, and the flange of the wheels struck the end of the rail and mounted it, the curve aiming to throw the engine off the rails and, later, down the bank. The engineer, Mr. Everett: M. Cook, of Buffalo, shut off steam, applied the air brakes and stuck to his post,going down with the machine. The engine turned pretty nearly bottom side up with the cab at the foot of the em bankment and the pilot reaching nearly to the top. The tender was right side up and stood at the bottom of the embankment, headed down ward. One corner was close to the demoralized cab of the engine. The baggage car was undoubtedly pre vented from rolling down the bank by striking against the tender, after running partially past it. After the crash the engineer coolly crawled out of the window of the broken cab and sat down on the tank. He had had a narrow escape from instant death, and as it was he felt pretty badly used up. He was carried to the Option House, where he re ceived the attention of Drs. Bartlett and Morris. He will be pretty sore for a while, but it is thought he received no per manent injury. The fireman, Chas. Nichols, also of Buffalo, when he felt the engine tipping over, thought he would like to get out, but the cab and tender had closed together on his side and as he hadn’t more than a week in which to act, he simply retreated into the tender, and when that pitched, head-on, down the bank, he was pretty forcibly shot out of it. He says that when he had collected him self sufficiently to look around he saw the engineer crawling out of the cab. If the fireman had staid in the cab it would have been much worse for him and the engineer both, as they would have been crushed together into a space none too large for one man. The passengers, of whom there were many, were considerably excited for a time, but wholly uninjured.A wrecking crew was set promptly to work, another engine put on, and the train was delayed. only about two hours. The wrecker was employed yesterday in clearing up the wreck. The boiler of the locomotive was half buried in the soft, sandy substance composing the bank, and from its position it appears that if the bank had been hard and firm the engine would have rolled completely over. The scene of the wreck was visited by hundreds of persons. Mr. Cook, the engineer, is still at the Option House, and is confined to his bed, though he expects to be able to go to his home in Buffalo in a day or two. His wife, who was visiting in Machias, has arrived in the city and is at the Option House. Suing Henry Spergh’s Agent. A case of litigation, haae recently came to light which involves some phases of law, fact and action not often to be met with. Some three or four weeks ago Stanley Miller, 2 young farmer living on Dutck Hill, drove to the village of Hinsdale and hitched his horse in a shed near the church. This was about four o’clock Saturday afternoon. The horse stood there without anything to eat or drink until the middle of the next forenoon, when the attention of Dr. Brownson, a kind-hearted, sympath etic old gentleman, who is an agent of the society for the prevention of ¢eruelty to animals, seeing that the poor horse had been neglected and was suffering for food and drink, took him over to his barn and made him as comfortable as possible. After awhile the owner of the horse came around, and when he learned of Mr. Brownson’s action and that his horse was at his barn, instead of going after his property he sought for a lawyer with a view of bringing suit for damages.—Mr. Brownson, it appears, was Willing to give up the horse, buggy and harness without any com pensation for his trouble or what he had fed: the animal. Miller obtained a summons of Justice W. W. Smith of this place and engaged as his counsel W. H. Nourse, Esq. Mr. Brownson retained G. H. Phelps, Esq. as his at torney. Before the return day the defendant and his attorney went to Mr. Nourse and made arrangements to have the case adjourned, as Mr. Phelps would have to leave town on the return day. Notwithstanding such arrangements, however, when the hour for trial came, the plaintiff and counsel were on hand, and as the defendant did not think it necessary to appear, took judgment by default, in the full amount claimed, which was ninety dollars, much more than the whole outfit is worth. Of course this judgment can be set aside, and if counsel for the plaintiff will not stipulate to have it set aside and con sent to a trial of the case on its merits, an application will be made to the court for this purpose. Mr. Brownson is a duly authorized agent of the S. P. C. A., and can show his commission as Sieh if necessary. There is no doubt that he could bring an action against Miller and cause him to be punished for cruelty to the horse in neglecting,it in the manner described.
Newspaper Details
Olean Democrat
Olean, New York, US
Thu, Aug 26, 1886
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Michael W.
