avenue, East Norwalk. ~ steam a , ment at South Norwalk. WI. v11 Whole 110.1540 ALL WERE KILLED. Foreman Powers and FourJ Laborers Hurled Into Eter- nity Without Any Warning.‘ Clouds of Smoke and Steam Shut Them Out From View of the Freight Coming (in.‘ As stated in yesterday’s GAZETTE all ‘ five members of the section gang work. ing between East Norwalk station and the railroad bridge were killed by be- ing run down by a. freight train, yes- terday afternoon at 2:07. The dead men were James J. Powers, foreman of the gang, John Shea, John Callahan, John Griffin and Salvator Spina. They were working on the west bound passenger track at a point just east of the Fort Point street trestle in East Norwalk, when the west bound Colonial express came in sight. Fore- man Powers was the first to see the train, and as he stepped over to the westbound freight track he called to the others to look out for themselves. The other four, without looking to see whether the freight track was clear, followed Powers, and stood on the .freight track to let the express train pass. A witness of the horror that followed was Victor Borgeson, of 17 Van Zandt He stood in a field at the south side of the tracks, and saw the freight train’strike the men. He said that just/,before the express train reached the scene of the fatality the fireman of the engine fed the fire, causing a dense volume of black smoke to pour from the smokestack. The air was heavy and the smoke settled over the tracks. Close behind the express train, running parallel with it at a 25 mile gait, was the way freight that works between South Norwalk and Bridgeport, switching cars on the way. It was bound for South Nor walk. The heavy smoke shut out the freight en- gine from the s1ght of the section men, and also had the effect of hiding them from the eyes of Engineer Field of the freight train. Had he seen them he could have warned them by a blast on the whistle and the fatality might have been averted but the engine rushed on to where the man stood, all unconscious of the awful fate overhanging them, while the engineer’s ignorance of their danger shut out the only possibility of their salvation. Not and the men were struck did F1eld know of their being on the track. As Borgeson told the story, Shea was the first man struck, be standing at end of the line nearest the freight engine. He was hurled to one side of thetrack, and was alive, but unconscious, for five minutes after Borgeson reached him. The other four were borne down by the engine wheels, and were mangled be- neath the engine and the cars behind it. When Engineer Field heard the shrieks of the doomed men, be shut off nd brought his engine to a sud- den stop, but it was too late. After seeing that Shea was alive, Borgeson ran to call for help, and in a. few minutes Dr. F. B. Baker, of East Norwalk was bending over the dy- ing man. He saw that only the slight- est spark of life remained. All efforts to restore Shea to consciousness were futile. In less than ten minutes more ' Dr. Burke of South Norwalk, was at the scene of the accident. There was nothing for him to do in a surgical way, but as medical examiner he gave a per- i; for the removal of the bodies to D. taking establish- w, Raymond’ a under He then no- tified Coroner Doten. The news of the awful occurrence spread like wildfire through the town and' 1n an hour several hundreds of morbidly curious people were on the spot. There was nothing for them to see but pools of coagulated blood and THE ONLY EIGHT-PAGE ONE-CENT DAILY IN THE WORWALKS. M Norwalk, Conn, Thursday Evening, January 28, 1897. 2: Price One Cent here and there a shred of mangled flesh. As quickly as possible the men from the next section were summoned and covered up the ghastly evidences of the slaughter. The bodies were frightfully mutilated, all being more or less out about the face. Both of Callahan’s feet were cut off and his entire face from chin to the forehead laid open. Spina’s right hand was gone and his face battered almost bayond recognition. The dead men were all well known in town. Foreman Powers was about 55 years of age, and for over 30 years had worked on the scctlon of which he was foreman, He leaves a widow and a large family. He was in well to do cir— cumstances, and owned some property. His oldest daughter was employed as a stenographer at the office of Judge Downs of Stamford. The other mem- bers of his family are all well employed. He was a member of Division 1, AD. H. ~ John Callahan was Foreman Powers’ brother-in-law, the latter having mar- ried Callahan’s sister, and boarded with Powers. He was 89 years of age and married. His body was sent to Dan- bury this morning by Undertaker Ray- mond. ' John Shea was 47 years old and leaves a family. He lived at5 Charles street, East Norwalk. John Griffin was 50 years old and leaves a family. Like his foreman, he had spent the best part of his life on the railroad as a section hand. Salvator Spina was a native of Italy. He had been with the gang for three He leaves a widow and three He was 34 years of years. small children. age. Perhaps the most grateful man in South Norwalk was James Silk who had worked with the gang for several years. He was laid off a week ago and expected to resume work any day. He undoubtedly would have shared the fate of the others if he had been Working, and when he heard of the ac- cident made many reverent expressions of Providence. He had thought he was in hard luck at being laid off in winter while the others had work. _ The accident occurred directly in front of the house of Engineer Field, who ran the freight train under Conduc- tor McIntyre. All of the trainmen of the freight train were completely 11n- nerved by the occurrence, particularly because the men killed by their train were men with whom they associated every day. It was at first considered strange that all five men would be forgetful of the possibility of danger on the freight track, but according to the story told by Borgeson, the men blindly followed the lead of the foreman, apparently taking it. for granted that he had looked for a train on the track onto which they stepped. Coroner Doten will hold an inquest on the death of the men. >-—> YE OLDEN DANCE. The Twin City Ball a Social and Financial Success. The grand twin- -city ball for the bene- fit of the Norwalk hospital at Lock- wood’s Hall, last night, was a success, both socially and financially. The floor was crowded with ”dancers and the galleries on both sides of the dance floor were crowded..with specta- tors, who enjoyed the old-fashioned dances nearly as well as the dancers. The feature of the evening was the spirit with which both young and old entered into the ijs of the old-fash- ioned dances, which Leader Weiden- hammer handled like an artist. There were sixteen dances on the program and every one was enjoyed. Refreshments, were served in old New England style from 10 to 12 o’clock, of which many partook. It was an affair long to be remembered and should be repeated at an early date. .___-—-——4+>————-—-— Feed the Birds. Don’t forget to throw out some crumbs to the hungry sparrows, while the snow covers the ground. They are a pugnacious and bothering bird, yet their twitter cnlivens the dreary days of winter and so don’t let them starve. —-‘+ ' i—Advertise in, the GAZETTE. Snowstorm, Cases a- Delay on the D. & N. Branch of the Consolidated Railroad. Passengers Wade Through a Font ofSnow. Despite the heavy storm that pre- vailed last night the train on the Dan- bury branch of the Consolidated rail- road due here at 7:55 was on time. On the train was the regular number of “up the road ladies and gentlemen” who are employed at various factories in South-Norwalk, as well as a number of passengers en route to New York. The train was in charge of Engineer Dougherty and Conductor “Jack” Dyas. The locomotive ploughed its way through the foot or4 more snow that covered the tracks, and was brought to a stop near the'gas house to take on a car load of theatrical scenery. The locomotive was uncoupled from the train and was backing up to connect with the “extra” car when it “jumped the switch” and the engine and tender were thrown from the tracks. The ac- cident blocked traffic over the line for two hours or more. ' The passengers, including twenty-five or thirty women were forced to wade up the track, through the snow, which nearly reached up to their knees, to the railroad station where they boarded electric cars for South Norwalk. At 11 o’clock the tracks were cleared and trains were being run through, in a vain attempt to make up for lost time. 0 wing to the heavy fall of snow much difficulty was experienced in clearing the tracks. .9- io Boon TRADE. Every Hour Sales at the Boston Store, Norwalk, on Friday. —None of these goods sold to children. 9 to 10 o’clock Best linings cambrics 3c per vard limited. 10 to 11 o’clock-2 Dress steels 50 per set; Corset steels 3c per pair. 11 to 12 o’clock . 4-4 Unbleached musllns 35c per yard. 4-4 Standard b‘leached muslin 61w 3d. 12 to 1 o’clock Men. s heavv5 red Merino hose 3 pairs f0r2 1 to 2 o ’clock5 Boys’ Winter pants 69c ones . for 350 per pair. 2 to 3 o’clock Full sized table turnblers lc each, limited. 3 to 4 o’clock 750 Black Dresden Corsets, 39c each. 750 Sailor Hats for 353 each. $1.98 Trimmed Hats for 980. 4 to 5 o’clock $1.98 Fleeced lined flannel Wrappers for $1.25 each. filo 6 o’clock Ladies’ dressing sacques 98c ones for 49c each. THE WHEELllIlFN’S CONTEST R. F. Cotter Passes the Three-Hundred Mark. In the contest for the GAZETTE’S Washington inauguration trip, R. F. Cotter of the Alpha club, to-day passes the three-hundred mark and draws nearer second position. George Allen also advances to 800, giving him a sub- stantial lead in the race. 40-- Anotner Fire. An alarm was sent in from box 52 late yesterday afternoon, to which the de— partment promptly responded. The fire was in a house opposite the William R. Nash place at the corner of Main street and the New Canaan road. The fire originated near a sink and was ex- tinguished before damage not in excess of $50 had been done. A Public Benefactor. William Whaley, early this morning harnessed Mr. W. F. Bishop’s superb old grey to a four foot snow plow and .plowed a clean path through the deep snow, on the Belden avenue line of sidewalk, from the Corner of Union place in front of the Charles Sherwood place,~ down to the corner of Mott place in front of the Lawn Tennis Grounds. O. Gas Main Frozen. Bethel was in total darkness Tuesday night in consequence of frozen gas mains. The town receives its supply from Danbury. The hat factories were compelled to close on that account yes- terday. a Sudden Death. Mrs. Kate Shea of this town who was visiting at the home of Mrs. John Ita- die in Georgetown, suddenly dropped dead yesterday at that place. Junrtnyrswncn usEo Ai‘BAsE BALL BAT. Testimony for Defense in the Ezekiel Di- vorce Case Heard. The divorce suit of Charles I. Ez skiel ' against his young wife, Jennie, before Judge Ralph Wheeler in the Superior court, is attracting a good deal of at- tention. The publication of the trial drew a number of spectators to the court room. The testimony for the de- fense began Tuesday afternoon, and was continued yesterday. The first witness for the defense was the defend- ant, who denied the allegations of the plaintiff. She admitted that the letters she had written to Mr. Parish were familiar. . Mrs. E. M. Mulcahy testified that she had seen the husband strike his wife. At the time the defendant’s sister interfered, and plaintiff knocked his sister-in-law down and blackened both her eyes. Mrs. Mulcahy said plaintiff was a coward. The first witness yesterday was Susan Ann Larrabee, mother of the defend- ant. She said her son-in-law and daughter were living at her home the year before the plaintiff deserted his wife. She told of certain acts of cruel- ty on the part of the plainllf toward his wife. Once he backed her against a wall. Another time when his wife was in bed, her baby not a week old, he threw a vest at her head. Witness saw bruises on her daughter’s body. Oliver S. Larrabee, brother of the defendant, was the next witness. His testimony was corroborative of that submitted by his mother. He had seen Ezekiel strike his wife with a base- ball batand slap her face. As will be remembered a deposition of C. H. Par- rish’s, submitted by the plaintiff’s at- torney, stated that Mrs. Ezekiel had lived with Parrish in a New Haven boarding house for?) days, Aug. 4, 5, and 6, ’93. Mrs. Annie A. Patrick of Norwalk, testified that on Aug. 5, 6, and 7, ’93, Mrs. Ezekiel was at her housenursing her. She remembered the dates as she became the mother of a baby, Aug. 6. John F. Sammie, father of Mrs. Pat- rick corroborated this testimony, but on the cross-examination could give no good explanation as to why he remem- bered the date and birth of his grand- child. Attorney Walsh appears for the plain- tiff and Attorney Light for the defendJ ant. Arguments in the case will be made to-morrow. «Op—- A “SMALL” BLIZZARI. The Worst Storm of the Season Descends Upon Norwalk. A load of baskets arrived in this city yesterday morning, which led one of the “oldest inhabitants” to remark, “Children I tell you that we are going to have a big snowstorm.” Later it was learned that he had been reading the predictions (If the weather bureau promulgated through the daily news- papers. The bureau said it might snow last night. The bureau was right. It did snow to a depth of over a foot, It started in this locality about 6 o’clock and came down in a business like way and is still keeping up the business. The temperature has been moderate and the storm is not attended ifwith an unusual amount of discomfort. But it is a dandy. Traffic over the Street Railway line was not impeded, indeed extra cars were run this morning and the regular cars I kept closely on schedule time, the Electric Sweeper having been set at work as early as 4 o’clock. Traffic on the Tramway line was greatly delayed and cars were seen at long intervals to some points, but everything is nearlyall right on the line at this hour. It is by all odds the worst storm of the season and suggestive of. a blizzard. To Hear Remonstrance. The County Commissioners will visit Rowayton to-morrow to listen to the remonstrance against granting a license to Frederick G. Babcock. Most of the residents of that place are no license persons and they don’t wantliquor sold in the vicinity of their homes. The applicant keeps a hotel and during the past year has conducted an orderly place. Last year when the license was granted some of the property owners claimed that it was obtained by fraud, but. there was absolutely no foundation for this accusation. Mr. Babcock pro- ceeded according tolaw. The property owners did not hear of the license until the saloon was opened and then they were mad clear through. They wanted the commissioners to revoke it, but as everytning had been regular the com- missioner could not do it. O. —'-Adverfise in the GAZETTE: ’ 1’ ; PRESIDENT # ~ ' nrnnn WILL BE INAUGURATED AT WASHINGTON ON MARCH 4'7 DO YOU WANT TO BE THERE? IF You 111151 1115111153 or 1 WHEEL cLus YOU ARE ’ 511131111510 so AT 1111: GAZETTE’S EXPENSE. ' HUSTLE FOB VDTES AND WIHJ.I Piesident William McKinley, of Ohio, will be inaugurated at Washington, D. C, on the 4th of March. Extensive prep. arations are now being made to make the civic and military parade the largest ever seen in the capital city. Thousands of visitors from all over the United States will be present to witness the grand spectacle. A Would you like to be present and see the great sight? If so, and are a member of any wheel club in Fairfield County, you are eligible to contest for the EVENING GAZETTE’S free excursion ticket to Washington. OUR PROPOSITION. The EVENING GAZETTE will p1 esent to the member of any wheel club in Fairfield County receiving the highest number of votes, a free ticket to Washington and return on the occasion of President McKinley’s inauguration. WHO ARE ELIGIBLE. _ No one can contest for the EVENING GAZETTE’S ticket unless a member of some wheel club in-Fairfield County. Anyone connected with this office, either directly or indirectly, are de- barred, and votes sent in for any employee, or for any relative of an employee, will not be counted?” THE VOTING. The winner Will be determined by a vote of the . readers of the EVENING GAZETTE, the voting to close at. 8- o’Clock p. 111. Thursday, February 25th, 1897, and the result to be an— nounced 011 Friday, February 26 In order to facilitate the voting and for the convenience of the voters the official ballot ‘below will be printed in these columns every day, which is to be cutout, and the blank lines filled in by the voter, with the name of the candidate, the club of Which he is a member, and his address, and sent to the GAZETTE office. emmmmwmammawmmeemma an. .1. . INACCURATTEN CE IeKfiNEEYe MARCH 4th, l897 W EVENING -. '- GAZETTE’S -. '- FREE. TICKET. _ it Name ’Club Address _____ , news chooses: an arms panama seem a am one; neesmnnm, >—-—-. ¢O< 0—.94 o—«H THE VOTE. fiQfi-flbfifimfi 5 George R Allen, Alpha .................................................................... ' William A. Wheeler, Twin City ............ . ..... ' ' ................................... 800 RC. F. Cotter, Aipba ................. .. 425 Leo Dav' .Twin any“ ........ 313 Thomas .Dunn, Twin Citym ............................................. 19 Frank Smith, Orient .................................... ; .......... " ' " - 11 Ernest 0. Fleet, Twin City“ ‘ ‘ ............ ..... 6 William Gunther, Orient..... . . . . .. . """" g , l hWfiMQQfiW§RWfi§fi U
Norwalk Chronicler