COLLISION ON THE C. M. & ST P.
CAUSES THE DEATH OF ONE SPENCERITE AND SERIOUS
INJURIES TO THREE OTHERS

Sunday night a bridge gang on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul road, all residents of Spencer, went to the depot about 1 o'clock to take the west bound freight to Sanborn to commence work Monday morning on a section of the road to the west of us. They were M. C. Stephenson, G. W. Stephenson, Datus Stephenson, ___G. W.'s boy, and Lewis Miller. The regular freight was two or three hours late, but an extra was at the depot ready to pull out, and the boys boarded this train. The only other occupant of the caboose, besides the regular train men, was a traveling brakeman, going west for a job. They were all rather sleepy and lay down on the benches to sleep. When they pulled in at Hartley, the second station west of us, G. W. Stephenson got up and looked out to see where they were. He found they were in Hartley and after walking about the caboose a moment or two, lay down and dropped into a doze. At that time the train was standing still and everything appeared all right. When he woke up the train was under way, and the motion was so peculiar, he stepped to the door of the caboose to see what was the matter. As he opened the door, he looked into the headlights of an engine that was rapidly approaching and only a short distance away. He shouted to the boys inside to look out and jumped to one side of the door outside and the next moment there was a terrible crash and he was thrown violently to the ground several feet away. The caboose in which they were in was split clean in two pieces and the boys inside were hurled violently out on either side. Datus Stephenson and Lewis Miller were on the north side of the caboose and in the rear of the car and were terribly scalded by the escaping steam from the engine. M. C. Stephenson and G. W. Stephenson were badly bruised but not scalded. Datus Stephenson and Lewis MIller were brought back to Spencer and given the best possible care, but Datus only lived about six hours after the accident occurred. Lewis Miller, although badly scalded is somewhat improved and hopes are entertained of his recovery. The funeral of Datus was held in the Free Baptist church, Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock and was conducted by Rev. A. S. Cochran. So far no one knows how the rear of the train came to run back to Everly from Hartley, but it is supposed that the brakeman failed to set the breaks on the rear section of the train while they were switching at Hartley, and as there is a heavy down grade from Hartley to Everly, the train started by its own weight down this grade and collided with the section of the extra, which was following the one at Hartley not quite a mile out of Everly. The engineer on the section which was following, saw the red lights of the caboose approaching in time to reverse his engine and set the air breaks and get clear of the collision, or the loss of life and property would have been much grater than it was. P. J. Mead, conductor on the first extra, was summoned Monday evening by the coroner and held to give his testimony before the coroner's jury, which met Wednesday morning.

Contributed by: Mary Jane Parsons. Source: Spencer Reporter, Spencer, Clay County, Iowa, November 21, 1892.

Zahrt Car Burns (Rossie)

July 22, 1932 (Special)--While driving through the south part of Rossie at the Sigman corner last Friday, Fred Zahrt lost control of his machine and it plunged into the ditch at the side of the road.  It caught fire and was completely destroyed.  Mr. Zahrt managed to leap clear of the wrecked car before the flames reached him and was uninjured except for minor bruises.

Contributed by: KKCS.

Thanksgiving day Mr. and Mrs. A. W. GREEN of Spencer celebrated their golden wedding. They have lived in Clay county for forty-eight years.

Source:  Emmetsburg Democrat, Emmetsburg, Palo Alto, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec 4, 1918.

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