The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-07-16

V0aEIuS lOt1OuSly COW0IO ~ our 00Bl0ee1
put on all steam In the sndeevor to escape;
the engineer ofthe crazy train reversed Bis
engine, but 1t was all in vainl The train
was under too much headway. It was
when IL had reached to less than hund-
red yards Of us, that awoke and looked
out. Like . destroying demon, bent upon
our annihilation, seemed the terrible en-
gtne. it, wheels were running in re-
verse direction, but under the fearful force
any longer obey the motion Of the wheels
fixed upon the track and balanced between
the two forces, one urging the locomotive
forward the other endeavoring to pull 1t
back /, tore from the rails stream Of aDg-
~ fire. Then the reversing force would
whirl them round for . moment with the
most awful rapidity.
THE TRAIN HURLED DOWN THE MOUNTAIN.
As soon as had fully collected my fac
ulties, (stunned by the terrible spectacle
rushed toward the hind end Of the car,
with the design Of leaping out. But by
this time, fortunately for me no doubt, the
monster behind us had nearly reached the
end of the car, and I saw escape was i'm
possible. The next instant our train was
struck, and bounded forward for few
feet as If shot from . cannon, still, howev-
time than it has taken me to read the last
dozen words, we were struck again; and
this time our car, with know not how
many others, was thrown entirely from
the rails. The fearful speed at which we
had been going in our endeavor to escape
the pursuing engine; now insured our de-
structiou. A mad rush onward Of about
twenty feet; . dreadful sound q We rip
ped and tote up the rails and ties under
meath Us; then tremendous lurch, hurl-
Ing us with fearful violence from one side
Of the car to the other; and the huge box
in which We were confined was rolling and
tumbling down into . gorge Of the Cum
berland Mountains.
I cannot now even think without shud-
dering Of the state of intense consciousness
in which, for the moment, seemed to ex-
ist. It certainly could have been but .
few seconds from the time our Car first left
the track until it rested amongst rocks
and trees and brambles below; but those
few seconds seemed drawn out into an
each other through my mind. I have
spent fearful moments on many battle
fields, from Perryville to Kenesaw, but
never one % fragrant with unutterable
horror - was that; and / fervently pray
God that may never know such another.
The whole dread reality of the situation
stood like an awful picture before my eyes.
felt palpably that the next instant /
should probably be mass OF Quivering,
shapeless flesh; yet, strange to say, while
the car was turning over and over, I spec
ulated on my chances for safety. and called
to my mind . dozen instances Of hair
breadth and almost miraculous escapes!
/ did not - many are said to do under
such circumstances, recall my past life,
ture; all the faculties Of my soul were con-
centrated in the awful present.
The car stopped in its downward career,
and thought the danger was over: then Q
crash above, and again we turned over.-
We stopped. But that last turn Of our car
raised Ii my mind the idea that the whole
Of the following train, with its locomotive,
all to powder. Then came the burning,
hoping, almost despairing desire to get
outside of the ruined car.
HORRORS OF THE SITUATION.
What moment was that succeeding the
one in which our downward motion ceasedl
It was midnight. There was no light in
the CIR; and the absolute darkness into
moaning Of those who were hurt, the sicken-
ing smell offreshhuman blood, the thought
that the first step you took you might
stumble upon the mangled and bleeding
corpse Of your friend, the fearful uncer-
tainty ~ to the fate Of those on board
whom you loved, the consciousness that
the next instant you might yourself be
. combination Of horrors, to which, for the
moment, the misery Of hell would have
been . blessed relief
Dsshing my hands througha glass door,
and kicking away panel, finally emery.
ed from the car. Let me tell now what I
partly saw in the darkness Of the night
but did not fully comprehend until day
light.
menSo emb0ukment. The two messenger
cars of our train had rolled down about
sixty feet, finally resting against the trees.
The locomotive which had run into ne had
passed on with several Of its cars, not leav-
Ing the track. Four Of them had tumbled
OF on the other side Of the embankm ment
from us. One had rolled down our side.
just ahead Of our two passenger cars. An
other was resting with its fore end upon
the top Of the car In which I rode, IT'D
wheels thrust into our car, ito hind end
resting against the embankment about half
immense bridge, under which q man could
walk upright! For the space Of thirty Or
forty feet, where the car had run after
leaving the rails, and before tumbling
down the embankment, there was not 3
single rail or tie neutrality-suspicious. but
the rough stones which had formed the bal.
lasting Of the road. - swg
4 CRGsus AND Hrs WEALrH.-C -Crnsus
century B. c. The prodigious wealth which
he had inherited had been increased by
the tribute Of conquered nations, by the
confscation Of great estates, and by the
golden sands OF Pactolus. Perhaps some
idea Of the extent Of his wealth may be
formed from the rich votive offerings
which he II known to have deposited In