Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-04-13
VOLUME XXVI.
THE MURDER IN THE TUNNEL.

THE MURDER IN THE TUNNEL.
IA STORY from Gray. Now, old fellow,
out with it. You've got an hour yet be-
fore your train starts, and you haven't
yarned to us in an age. Yes, yes, a story
from Gray"
Such were the exclamations that met
the individual of that name as he entered
the cOZy conductors room of the L. & G..
Railroad, at -.
well, boys, am pretty near drained of
my adventures, said Gray" but, if haven't
told you it before, don't mind letting you
hear about an incident that happened to
me out West, before / came among you
boys here. Did I ever tell you of the
murder in the tunnel9 Well, then, here
goes, and we will let him tell it in his
own words:
You see, when I was on the old w. &
V. line, in Missouri, ran what was known
as the Drover's Express, going West, but
which had the name-I suppose in contra
diction to that title-of the gentleman's
wagon, coming East. The drovers, when
coming to market with their cattle, always
went with the beasts on the freight train,
but going home and westward they went
with me.
One night had an unusually rough
crowd aboard. They were generally rough
enough, but this time they were worse
than usual had their car (for / kept
them to themselves) placed ill the rear of
the train, and to prevent their trespassing
into the other cars of my train, or stepping
off the platforms, l had them locked in.
We started about 9 o'clock in the night,
and as l went through the drovers' car for
my tickets, l found mischief brewing al
ready. Each man had provided himself
with bottle or two of whisky, and the
carousal had begun in real earnest, but few
if any of the drovers being sober.
One or two small fights had been begun,
one in particular between tall Kentuckian
and short, thick-set Missourian, having
threatened to lead to serious consequen-
ces, both men having drawn their knives.
Their friends had, however, separated
them, and had placed them in different
parts of the car, the Kentuckian sitting in
the first seat near the door, in the front of
the car, and the Missourian far back in the
rear. The latter when they were being
parted, had vowed that he would yet kill
the former, but, as both were in hot blood,
the words were not thought much of,
| though they helped to sentence him to be
| hung afterwards.
AS 1 took up the Missourian's ticket,
he repeated to me his threats against the
life of his opponent, and proposed duel
with bowies in the baggage car. man.
aged, however, to silence the half-mad-
dened man, and friend sitting in the
same seat with him, and nearest the aisle
of the car, promised to see that he should
| not leave his seat and attack the Ken
tuckian. looked in upon them about
o'clock, a. M, and found them all asleep in
drunken slumber. The Kentuckian sat in
the front seat as I had left him, and the
Missourian away in the rear, and also in
his previous position.
There being no more stops to make /
curled myself up in chair in the baggage
car for nap, and dozed comfortably till
awakened by the rattling of the bell-rope
overhead, and the whistle of the engine
calling for the brakes to be put down
Catching up my lantern / opened the car
door and looked out, but found nothing
but darkness the most intense. The train
having stopped. got off and ran to the
engine, asked the engineer in halfasleep
manner where we were and why he had
stopped2 "We're in the Grover Tunnel, u
he replied, "and I stopped because the
bell-rope was pulled"
The Grover Tunnel was about mile in
length, through which we passed nearly
all the way on half-speed and with the
| being doWn-grade at the entrance, which
was sufficient to nearly give us headway to
| carry us through. When the engineer
| saw the light at the further end of the
tunnel, however, he was accustomed to put
on steam, and it was Just at that time, he
told me, that the bell was pulled, being
the signal for him to stop.
! By this time my brakesmen had been
around the outside of the train, and find.
ingall the couplings right, and not discover.
ing anything wrong externally, gave the
| signal to go ahead, as it was dangerous tc
stay in the tunnel AS we came out the
day light was just breaking, and, with 6
brakesman, l started through the train to
find out, if possible, who pulled the bell
rope.
Most of the passengers were asleep in
the forward cars as we passed through, but
some few we're awake, who told me that
the pulling of the bell came from behind
from some of the rear cars. I made the
trip through the entire train with the ex
ception of the drovers' car, and yet the
account said the bell was pulled from still
further in the rear. 1t was daylight as the
brakesman and myself crossed on to the
platform of the last car. After unlocking
the door, we essayed to push it open, bu1
some weight against it prevented us
With our united strength, however, we
pushed it open, and found the cause O
the obstruction.
Against the bottom of the door lay tht
Kentuckian, his body twisted and rolled ul
into distorted heap, as if he had beef
overtaken by fit. Supposing him to bt
in drunken stupor, I raised him to hi
seat, and then began to loose his collal
and neck-tie. AS did so noticed small
iivid blue line running exactly around hi
throat, and cutting deeply into the flesh
his face also was of a deadly hue; anc
frightened at know not what, sent tn,
brakeman for physician whom I knew
was on the train. AS soon as he came an(
had handled the Kentuckian, he exclaimed
1.-THE mans dead-his neck is broken-th,
man has been murderedp
Immediately remembered the fight o
the preceding evening between the nov
dead man and the Missourian, and tellin,
the doctor of my fears that the latter ha(
kept his word and murdered the Kentuck
ian, we agreed to make some movemen
toward the detection of the murderer
Going to the rear, we found the Nilsson
rian curled up in his seat, his friend ais
being in the outside seat, and both bein,
apparently asleep.
As we looked upon the Missourian W
heard him mutter, "I'l kill him, I'll xii
him." as if half asleep and awake W
were turning away when the doctor
quick eye caught a glimpse of somethin
the man held in his hand, and reachin
over, gently drew it from his fingers, ez
claiming, land this is what the deed wa
done with" holding up to me thi
leather string, about the size of smal
whip-lash, and used by drovers as bel
around their waist, and also to hopple a
unruly OK, or to tie the legs of calf.
AS we left the drunken man, the docto
said: That brute has crept up behind tn
Kentuckian, when in the darkness of tn
tunnel, and throwing this strap around hi
| throat, has jerked his head back an
, broken his neck at once. The body ha
then fallen forward against the door Will
: the murderer accidentally caught the bel
rope in his drunken grasp, and s
, pulled it."
As we passed the next station thre,
| 4 L L