The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1856-10-03
THE DAILY GAZETTE.
OFF THE TRACk--A THRILLING
ADVENTURE.

/ ~ y. htuccktu with astral ulttucLi5,
could make it, We were seated qni-
city in the last car Oft a railroad train
| Of live ears. BY our side, on the same
seat, sat our travelling companion,
| hail asleep and occasionally nodding.
! Opposite Us sat q woman with three
small children, apparently all more
asleep than awake. Every seat in
the car was occupied, there being not
! less than fifty persons in our car. The
train fairly shot along through hills
| AMI over prairics-now i'll a deep cut
and now on an cmbankment-now
| darting undera bridge and then steam
ing like thing Of life round cnrve
| II was an express rnn-a fast train,
and going at full speed We were
llusine ofhomc and friends, Of the
good wife far away, Of incidents Of the
past and the present, and ofthe things
d" come when suddenly, like the
shock oi an earthquake, our car was
thrown upwards. and descending,
went darting with the swiftness OF
lightning first 10 one side. then to the
other, like arockct in lis corse--deaf-
cnin@ us with noise. and making u
i.pefiect chaos ci darkness, confusion
ana thunder in the interior ofthe car
1t was terrible moment. Not a
Worlsyas spoken--not Il cry uttered
every soul was breathlcss.
Oh, it was a painful suspense. We
EcXpected every moment that the car
would be dashed down some great
HcIlasm or be crushed toatoms upon us.
We saw nothing but the darkness pro
| found, for at the first jump Of the car
every lamp was broken and every
light cxtinguished; and we could hear
nothing but the rumblings, crashings,
thundcrings Of our own furious car,
pitching and twisting as if it had be
come a thing animate with life, and
crazy Mt that Some one caught hold
OF the bell rope and pulled with all
his might, for it was at once evident
that the car had been thrown from the
track. and still attached to the train
was being dragged over the rough
ties anu rails, and Liable to he dashed
to pieces at every instant Onward
We rushed, the glass "fthc Windows
cracking, the seats flying in every di
reetion, the atirightened but llelplesH
passengers thrown 10 the floor ami
against and npon each otlier in one
miserable mass. and the wheels below
breaking mp the iloor, and the car,
like a blind bird, lying e fr1, hiiher
and thither noW one end raig inS up.
ward, as If abont to climb a bin. and
then speeding downward like a lie
scending DART now nearly upset to
the right, and then lifted over TO The
left until il seemed ready 10 fall from
the trucks and turn Il somerset down
an cmbankment.
This was all the work offve minutes
time; and then, ike a swift-spseding
proiectile coming in contact with an
immovable mass, our car gave a tre-
mendous pitch, and suddenly stopped
"a heap Of rutas' It had broken
iiotnt the train, and. been thrown down
an embankment. For an instant all
was still as death. We lifted our
eyes upward towards the stars shi,
ming down so peacefully upon us, and
ipstinctively exclaimed. Thank God!'
Wewer safe. We had been several
times violently lntrledagainst the sides
of the car, tothe floor and against
some enc ofour fellow passengers, but
with the exception ofa slight scratch
on the hand, we escaped unhnrt-and
great was our gratitude. tindingour
self safe, we fastened to the relief OF
those near us, expecting to find at
least some them mangled and killed
We found our travelling companion;
he escaped with a slight bruisc. We
found the woman with her three chill
dren, who had been sitting opposite
us: she had her three little ones clasp
cd in her arms, was herself pale as
death and in tears. but neitherof them
we're hurt, not even by scratch
And to our joy--nay, to the JOY and
gratitude Of all, it was soon ascertain
cl that Not one OF those fifty passen-
gers had been seriously hurt and
yet the ear laid there a complete
wreck in pieces--a shattered mass
of broken seats, boards, window sashes
doors. trucks and iron wheels. No
one hurt What group Of half-joy
Gus, half,irightened men, women and
children was that assembled there on
tlrat railroad track, and congratula
tine one another on their escape, and
describing to one another their sensa-
ti6ns. A#@
A miracle il was, verify, that no
one was killed a greater miracle that
nobody was even hurt.
Hats had been ianmed, clothes torn,
faces blackened; but that was nothing
and no one cared. After all had been
extrieaed from the wreck, the group,
with hearts tremulously joyful, moved
down the road TO the train, which had
stopped some forty rods ahead, and
being again seated, the locomotive
whistled, and the train started on,
leaving the shattered car alone at The
foot Of the embankment to which il
had heen thrown.
\ terrible adventure--thc most
terrible that we have ever experienced
vas that in the railroad car. May
we never meet with the like again.
A RoYn CniLp.-The Young Pris
cess of England is a little headstrong,
as this aneedote will show:
sdr. Brown, anedical practitioner,
IN the vicinage of Windsor's Meads,
is frequent visitor, a kind of daily
pufveyor OF domestic medicine, at the
Palace. and the Princess often address
edhmthus: Good morning, Brown,
emitting the Mr. This came to tho
ears of the royal Ma, who forbade its
recurrence, and threatened that on its
heing repeated she would send Miss
Guelph 70 bed On Mr.. Browns
next visit, and in the presenceof Vie
toria, the Royal Princess saluted him
n usual, with Good morning, Brown,
! and Good night, Brown, Tor l am to
he sent TO bed, Brown. The Queen
| kent her word ,,,tsge