Democratic Sentinel, Volume 11, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 August 1887 — THE WESTERN STATES. [ARTICLE]

THE WESTERN STATES.

The Coroner’s jury, after a searching investigation of the Chatsworth horror, returned the following verdict: We find that the wrecking of the said train, which totally demolished eight coaches, one baggage car, and one engine, and either killed or wounded most of the occupants of said coaches, was caused by said bridge having been burned out before -the train struck it. We think from the evidence that the bridge was fired from fires left burning which had been set as late as 5 p. m. that afternoon by the section men, as close as sixteen feet on both the east and west sides of the bridge We further find that the foreman of Section No. 7, Timothy Coughlin, disobeyed positive orders from his superior to examine the track and bridges on his section the last thing ou Wednesday, and we find that he did not go over the west two and one-half miles at all on Wednesday, and that the said foreman, Coughlin, was guilty of gross and criminal carelessness in leaving fires burning along the track in such a dry season and with a strong wind blowing, and wo recommend that he be held for examination by the Grand Jury; and, further, it is the opinion of the jury that the leaving of the track without being patrolled for six hours before the passage as the excursion train, and the setting of fires by the section men on such a dry and windy day as the lith of August, 1887, were acts deserving severe criticism. A warrant was immediately' issued for Coughlin’s arrest Republican City, Neb., was visited by a hurricane that almost destroyed the town. Houses were blown away and tho inmates buried in tho debris. Two men were killed and many persons were fatally and seriously injured. The stock company of N. Matson & Co., jewelers, comer of State and Monroe streets, Chicago, has closed its doors. Liabilities, $170,000; assets, $200,000.- Edward Forman was appointed receiver. The failure was caused by the death of N. Matson, President of the company. Two cannon prematurely exploded during a sham battle at the Enfield, 111., soldiers’ reunion. A njunber of men were terribly mangled. At Valentine, Neb., a mob of 100 masked men took Jerry White, colored, from the jail and hanged him to a telegraph pole.