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Obituary- Smith, Fred and Smith, Edward and Marney, Maggie 1

NO ONE BLAMED.

Responsibility in Terrible Rossville Accident Not Fixed.

Engineer and Conductor Tell Their Story on Stand.

WARNING WAS GIVEN.

Assert That Whistle Was Sounded For Crossing.

The Coroner's Inquest Reveals Few New Facts

At the inquest held Tuesday afternoon at Rossville to determine the cause of the death of Fred Smith, Edward D. Smith and Miss Maggie Marney, the jury decided that the parties came to their death by being struck by a Union Pacific railway engine, and attached blame to none of the railway employees. Coroner Hogeboom of Topeka conducted the inquest.
Engineer Lewis and Conductor Fields who were in charge of the train that crashed into the carriage containing the people who were killed were at the coroner's inquest. Engineer Lewis testified that he used his whistle and was ................... (not readable in clip)The first I know of the accident, said Engineer Lewis, "was when I saw the horse on the track directly in front of my engine. We were right upon the horse, and my first thoughts were that it was a single horse running loose in the road. I couldn't see the carriage from where I sat in the cab on the right side of the engine, for the reason that the horses and carriage were coming up from the other side. The first I realized the true situation was when I heard the crashing of the carriage as the engine splintered it to pieces."
Engineer Lewis was almost completely prostrated from the accident. He assisted in placing the bodies in the baggage car to carry them to St. Marys, but when he climbed down from his engine at Junction City at the end of his run he was ashen pale and completely unnerved. He remarked that he could not have run his engine any further.
There seems to be considerable dispute as to whether Engineer Lewis sounded his whistle for that crossing. Mrs. Smith, the only survivor of the accident, still declares the whistle wasn't sounded. The accident is accounted for in this manner. The young people who were returning from the dance at St. Marys were perfectly familiar with the regular running time of the trains and were aware that the time they were returning home there was no regular train due at that point. They had had no means of knowing that the passenger train was an hour and a half late. They were driving along with the curtains of the carriage all drawn and were totally oblivious to the danger of the approaching train.
Mrs. Smith, who was married in Topeka Saturday night, was kept in ignorance of the death of her husband and brother-in-law and her chum, Miss Maggie Marney, all day yesterday. She was gradually recovering from the shock caused by the accident, and it was deemed best to not allow her to know the real state of affairs. She was unconscious nearly all the time until she was taken home Tuesday and consequently knew nothing of the fate of her companions.
Mrs. Smith will recover within a few days, her worst injuries being bruises. Mrs. Smith sat on the front seat of the carriage with her husband, who was driving the carriage, and who was instantly killed when the train struck them. Mrs. Smith sat on the side of the carriage that the engine struck.
Mrs. Smith's brother and his fiancée sat in the rear seat of the carriage and were instantly killed. All of the young folks were under 22 years of age.

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