Lee Gee and Young Gow
As part of the Chinese Historical Wrongs Legacy Initiative, we’ve digitized a small selection of inquests and inquiries from 1872 to 1934, found in series GR-0431. These were chosen to reflect the experiences of early Chinese immigrants to B.C. – their living and working conditions, and their unfortunate accidental or unusual deaths. They range from a woman working in a brothel in Barkerville who died of natural causes to three sawmill workers who died from malnutrition. Learn more.
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/3/ The air breaks are coupled up to the two coaches I noticed, immediately, directly I felt the shock that Something occurred to the main line of my air equipment I immediately put the engineers break [value ?] in lap position The train was at a standstill, and as I had [the ?] injector working. I waited a few moments until I got sufficient water in the engine, I might say before leaving Cumberland two workman, Thomson & Edwards, who were going to no 4 mine got on the engine and went in on the firemans side when we received the shock as the switch Thomson and Edward got off the engine going a head to find out the trouble Thomson then came back asking me for a light, at the same time stating that someone got hurt. I gave him my torch. I then got off my engine and went ahead with him and found some loaded cars three or four, three I am certain of, they were standing [foul] on the main track the nearest load coal cars was within about as a near as I could judge 4 or 5 feet of the points of the switch, the switch was set for the main line. There was a space of about 6 or 8 feet between the workmans car that I had on my [? ] and the coal cars When I reversed my engine, I had moved my train back this distance right after I received the shock I also noticed some person laying and also noticed the end of the workmen's car was stove in also noticed the body or person laying amongst the wreckage on the cars, some of the workmen had gone to the mine for a stretcher then I went back to my engine for things ready to bring the Body of the dead chinaman that was dead also another injured chinaman hurt at same time I brought them in the workmen coach to to the water tank at [nob] hi, then took the man back to no 4 that had assisted. This is all I personally know of the matter. The cars that my train ran into were standing on my previous trip about 140 feet away from the switch