Two people in the sleeper were killed outright, and three were
injured, while the engineer and fireman of the freight were badly hurt
by jumping. I didn't get a scratch.
As I stood watching the wrecked cars burn, I heard the conductor say,
"he wished to God he had an operator with him." I told him I was an
operator and offered my services. He said there was a pocket instrument
in the baggage car, and asked me if I would cut in on the wire and tell
the despatcher of the wreck. I assented and went forward with him to the
baggage car, where he gave me a pair of pliers, a pocket instrument and
about eight feet of office wire. I asked for a pair of climbers and some
more office wire, but neither was to be had. Here, therefore, was a
pretty knotty problem. The telegraph poles were thirty feet high; how
was I to make a connection with only eight feet of wire and no climbers?
I thought for a while, and then I put the instrument in my pocket, and
undertook to "shin up" the pole as I used to do when I was a schoolboy.
After many efforts, in which I succeeded in tearing nearly all the
clothes off of me, I finally reached the lowest cross-arm, and seated
myself on it with my legs wrapped around the pole.
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