The Westerly echo, & Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1854-1858, 1856-10-23


carried u ever mile The shrieks o.
the passengers now rose above the crasl
of the rails, and more terrific than al
else, arose the demonac yells of tie
engineer. .---,e,e e-.---
: Merclul Heaven!' gasped out the
Iguardsman. There is not moment
to be lost, Schweiz is close by! If you
dare not go, III 90 myself But hold,
let's shoot him = .- .... ....- .....
At that moment, tall, stout German
student came over to the platform where
We stood, and saw that the madman had
his heavy pistol aimed at Us. He grasp,
ed heavy stick of wood from the tender
and with steadiness of nerve which |
could have commended, he hurled it
with such force and precision that he
knocked the pistol from the maniac's
grasp. . .....
saw the movement, and on the in
stant the pistol tell sprang forward,
and the German followed me. / grasped
the man by the arm. but should have
been a mere infant in his mad power had
| been alone. He would have hurled
me from the platform. had not the stu
dent at that moment struck him on the
head, with stick of wood which he
threw over the tender. .f,a g..G.s a.,
Kroler settled down like dead man
and on the next instant | shut off the
steam and opened the safety valve. As
the freed steam shrieked and howlcd in
its escape, the speed Of the train began
to decrease and ia few moments the
danger was passed and as | settled back
entirely overcome by the wild emotions
that had ragged within me, we began to
turn the curve by the river, and before
| was fully recovered, the fireman had
stopped the train in the station house at
Schwetz
Martin Kroller, still insensibe, was
taken from the platform, and as we car
ricd him into the guard room, one Of the
guards recognized him, and told us that
he had been there about two weeks be
fore.
'Hef came,' said tho guard, and
swore that an engine that stood near
here was his. lie said it was one he
had made TO 90 to the moon in, and
that it had been stolen from him. We
sent for more help to arrest him and he
fled - ....
well, I replied with a shudder, /
wish he had approached me in the same
way. But he was more cautious at
Dantzig. ...n
At Schwetz we found an engineer to
run the engine to Bromberg and hav-
ing taken out the western mail, for the
next northern train to take along, we
saw that Kroller would be properly at
tended to, and then started on. 7i .
The rest of the trip we run in safety,
though | could see that the passengers
were not wholly at case, and would not
be until they were entirely clear of the
railway.
A heavy purse was made up by them
for the German student, and he accep-
ted it with much gratitude--and | was
glad Of it, for the current of their graft
tude to him may have prevented far
different current which might have been
poured upon my head for having en-
gagged madman to run railway train.
4 ut this is not the end Martin
Kroller remained insensble from the
effects of that blow upon the head nearly
two weeks, and when he recovered from
that, he was sound in mind again. Ills
insanity was all gone. ~
| saw him about three weeks after
wards, but he had no recollection of me
He remembered nothing Of the past
ycar--not even his mad freak on my
engine. .-.g.,
But remembered it, and remember
it still and people need never fear that
/ shall be imposed upon again by a
crazy engineer. .....T
aos- Tnteoritv is the first moral vir-