Weekly Calaveras chronicle., 1867-07-27
CAUGRt IN A TUNNEL.
BY GEN. WIN. Ii. MORRIS.

of Il cousin in Albany, few days ago,
| took my seat in anNevening Hudson
River Railroad train. While looking
through the window at the crowd of
hurrying passengers, | felt my shoulder
touched, and heard the pleasant voice
of my friend Captain B. AS there is
no military renown connected with the
incident | am about to relate, perhaps
he might not like his name to appear ;
but should fyou visit West Point and
meet with an artillery officer whom ey-
erybody likes, and who is one Of the
most agreeable companions in the
world, you may ask him about bis tun-
mel adventure, and he will describe it
to you better than | can
The conversation of my friend con-
verted the tediousness Of the journey
into enjoyment; and before we had
supposed ourselves at Peekskill, v e are
surprised at the shout of the brake
announcing the station, "Garrison S. "
"Do you not stop here for West
/ oilt llVilIcu.
"No," replied the Captain, Il am
going to Hudson to dine with Alger"
Immediately after passing Garrison S,
the train steamed through the long tUn H.
uci which takes its name from the sta
ton. My friend was silent for several
minutes after, when, turning to me, he
said ~ always feel chilly when l GO
through that tunnel.'
"For what reason,' | asked.
81 was caught in it one night" said
the Captain, "and | think | never so
narrowly escaped death as on that oc-
casion."
begged him to relate the particu.
lars, and he obligingly described the
occurrence as follows
"You have lived long enough in
Cold Spring." said the Captain, "to
know that the Saturday dinners of Mr.
- are exceedingly delightful. Well,
on one occasion | was present at one of
these Saturday evening reunions, and
there was such an unusual amount of
enjoyment, that time flew by with
double its ordinary rapidity. Gen.
Scott had taken his seat at the whist
table, and having been beaten, he could
not bear to abandon the game until he
had his ''revenge." a group of West
Point Professors watched the players
with deep interest; and [ myself be-
came so absorbed in Watching the game
that, when | at last remembered that
had agreed to meet Livingstone at the
depot and 60 with him to Garrison S, |
found on looking at my watch that |
had but seven minutes to get to the
train. l made my adieus hastily, and
walked rapidly to the station, but ar
rived too late. The train had gone.
The night was delightful, the stars
were brilliant and the moon was nearly y
full. | felt unusually well, and being
an excellent walker, | at once resolved
to walk to Garrison S, for the distance
was about three miles only. and had
on several occasions walked over that
portion of the railroad. L examined
my time table, saw that there we're nc
trains due for some hours. | did not
at that time, know it had been that day
changed.
"After picking my way over the long
bridges on piles, and testing my powers
of walking rail over the draw bridge,
[ reached the mouth of the tunnel 1t
looked darker and more forbidding than
| expected, and paused few moments
before | resolved to 90 through it. |
had not gone far when [ was in perfect
darkness. Knowing that the trains run
on the right track, | took the one on
the left, in order that | might not be
overtaken in rear, and could see the
engine light if approaching me in front,
as soon as possible. | had reached
about the middle of the tunnel, when |
heard the distant rumbling of a train
| listened attentively, and felt satisfied
that the cars were coming from the di-
rection of Cold Spring I therefore
continued on the track | had taken.
Presently the sound of the engine
whistle reverberated in the dismal pass
age, and I was startled with the singular
effect, for at one instant | was sure it
came from the north, while second
sound seemed to come from the opposite
direction 10 fact [ soon became so un-
certain as to the way the train would
approach, that | stood still and watched