Excerpt from A Treatise on the Law of Railroads, Vol. 3 of 3

Kansas case, it appeared that the engine in passing a distance of a few miles with an ordinary load, set the adjacent grass and stubble on fire several Itimes that though this engine had been backward and for ward over the same road during all of that fall, and though other engines were passing and repassing, some. Upon the same day, yet no fires had been communicated other than these upon this day from this engine that engines in good order, and carefully managed, seldom communicated. Fire to the adjacent grass and stubble and where it appeared that something was seen to be thrown out of the smoke-stack, and fall into the neighboring stubble, and almost immediately the stubble was in a blaze, and thereafter a piece of coal was found surrounded by ashes in the stubble, and apparently the remnant of a piece of coal six inches in diameter, which had been there burning; and where the conductor of the train, at the first station after pass ing these fires, telegraphed to the assistant superintendent of the road, that the en gine was setting the country on fire and where it appeared from the testimony of experts that where an engine starts a suc cession of fires, and others operated along the same road under similar circumstances of wind and weather do not start any, the difference can be reasonably accounted for only upon the supposition of defects in the construction, condition, or management of the engine doing the damage, it was held that a verdict finding negligence would be sustained, although several competent wit nesses who examined the engine at and shortly after the fire testified, that it was in perfect order, and supplied with the best appliances for preventing the escape of fire, and that the engineer was compe tent and careful, and he testified that he used all possible care and precautions to prevent the escape of sparks and fire upon that day; and although there was no direct testimony contradicting these witnesses, and that it was impossible for any one from the testimony to point out in what respect, if at all, the engine was defective, or out of order, or the engineer guilty of negligence. Atchison, &c. R. Co. V.

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