Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1864-07-16
MISCELLANEOUS.
Thrilling Narrative.

GOING DOWN a MOUNTAlN SlDE.-h COIIes-
pondent of the Missouri Republicin, of the
9th, was passenger on the train from Chat
tanooga to Nashville, which, on the 29th
ult., met with what might have been a
dreadful catastrophe. lie gives thrilling
details of his experience, having escaped
uninjured. The road passes over the Cum
berland mountains. On the eastern slope
the train is pushed up, but on the western
slope the train slides down its motion ar
rested by close application of the brakes,
and, If necessary, reversal OF the engine.
About midnight on the day in question, the
correspondent was asleep, but was startled
suddenly into wakefulness 10y an unusual
extraordinary noise. On looking through
the glass door, at the end of the car, its
origin was manifest; he beheld a sight
which no mortal man, having once looked
upon, could ever forget.
Two trains had started at the same time
as the one in which he rode. 1t was about
half way down the mountain Qhc grade be-
ing very Steep, about two miles from the
foot of the grade. The two trains in the
rear were at the usual distance, when sud
denly" exclaims the correspondent, "as if
the brakes were out of order, and would
not work, the train behind us started for
ward with the rapidity of lightning, and
came tearing furiously toward us. Our en-
gineer put ON all steam in the endcavoi to
escape; the engineer of the crazy train re-
vcrscd his engine, but it was all in vain
The train was under too much headway
1t was when it had reached tn less than a
hundred yards OF us that awokc and look
ed out. Like destroying demon, bent
upon our annhilation, seemed the terrible
engine. Its wheels were running in re
verse direction, but under the fearful force
it had previously acquired, 1t would no
longer obey the motion of the wheels. 1t
was sliding onward to destroy us and at
times the wheels, fixed upon the track, and
balanced between the two forces, one urg-
ing the locomotive forward, the other en-
dcavoring to pull it back, tore from the
rails stream of fire. Then the reversing
force would whirl them round for mo-
ment with the most awful rapidity.
| rushed toward the hind end of the car
with the design of leaping out. But by
this time the monster behind us had nearly
reached the end of the car. The next in
slant our train Was struck, and bounded for
ward for few feet, as If shot from can
non, still, however, remaining upon the
track. We 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
cndcavor to escape the pursuing engine now
insured our destruction. A mad rush on
ward of about twenty feet; a dreadful sound
rs we ripped up the rails and ties under
meath us; then iurch, hurting us with fear
ful 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 IA gorge of the Cumberland Mountains.
During the few seconds of the descent
before the stroke, the whole dread reality of
the situation stood like an awful picture
before my eyes. | felt palpably thai the
next instant should probably be mass OF
quivering. shapeiess flesh yet, strange 10
say, did not, rs many are said to do under
such circumstances recall my past life, nor
did bestow Thought upon the future all
the faculties of my soul were concentrated
in the awful present. The crash came;
bump and roll, and all was still. There
was no light in the car, and the absolute
darkness into which We were plunged, the
wailing and moaning of those who were
hurt, the sickening smell of fresh human
blood, the fearful uncertainty as to the tate
of those on board whom you loved, the con-
sciousncss that the next instant you yourself
might be crushed to atoms all these things
formed an awful combination of horrors
There was another crash above us again
the car turned over, but that last turn of our
Car raised in my mind the idea that the
whole of the following train, with its loco
motive, might come down and grind us all
t. powder. Then came the burning, hoping,
.li:,ost dcspairing desire to get outside OF
the ruined car.
Dashins through glass door, finally
emerged from the car. Let me tell now
what saw. The accident had taken place
upon an cmbankment. The two passenger
cars of our train had rolled down about
sixty feet, finally resting against the trees
The locomotive which had run into us had
passed On with several OF its cars, not lcav-
ing the track. -Four of them had tumbled
oil on the other side of the vmbankment
from us. One had rolled down upon our
side, just ahead of our two passenger cars.
Another WAS resting with its fore end upon
the top of the car IN which rode, its wheels
thrust into our car, its hind end resting
against the cmbankmeDt, about half way
down to our car and thus actually forming
an immense bridge, under which a man
could walk upright! For the space of
thirty or forty feet, where the car had run
after leaving the rails, aud before tumbling
down the embankment, there was not a sin-
gle rail or tic remaining nothing but the
rough stones which had formed the ballast
ing of the road
when lights were procured, there were
found TWO score bruised, cut, lacerated, aud
stunned, but, strange TO say, not one person
AS far AS could learn, was killed outright :
so wonderful seemed our preservation thai,
think no one failed to attribute II 10 the
gracious interposition of Almighty God,
aud return to Him, some perhaps for the
hrst time In their lives, hearty, earnest, Ter
vent thanks"
Mrs. sigourney writing 90 the venerable
Father Cleayeland "a Boston clergyman