South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-08-04
VOLUME I.
MY WIFE'S PRESENTIMENT.

Il W A4db ID H. 0~AA LOa SSNA1 -
have the blues this morning. l shall b;
back in week, you know"
l noticed that my wife, after bidding mt
"gOod- bye" more than once, seemed stii
unwilling 70 have me go, and was inclined
to adopt any little device to detain me {
few moments longer. Turning rather un
expectedly, 7 observed her brushing teal
from her eyes. Her conduct was unusual
for she had been accustomed to my absence
on tours much longer than the present
was intended to be.
"Ch, nothing st all, l suppose" sht
said, endeavor.ng to smile. Il know yor
must think it foolish, but do dread thii
present Journey of yours, and for no good
reason that can think OF. l think mus
be little nervous, that's all. don't be
lieve in presentilents. Do you?"
endeavored to reassure her, but was
only partially successful. l had no time
to ask the nature Of the Troublesome pre-
sentiment before the vehicle arrived
which forthwith entered. As it turned
a corner 1 saw my wife still gazing intent
II after it
1 crossed the ferry at Chambers street
and took seat on the Erie train, which
emerging from the darkness of the Bergun
Tunnel, wss soon shooting across the
Hackengsck meadows and through the
hills beyond. The morning was foggy
and disagreesble. l myself felt gloomy
and depressed, because my wife, usually
so cheerful, had seemed low-spirited. II
was remarkable thst she should speak OF
present.ments, for she had always been
accustomed to ridicule such notions. The
car which / had entered was filled with
passengers. L stranger occupied seat by
my side who had such remarkably red
hair as to attract my notice. He was
reading one of the New York dailies. At
te1 Iide of an hour or two in silence, be
offered me the paper and made remark
with reference TO the state OF the weather.
I was so irritable that l answered curtly,
and l f. 2r rudely. Seated by the open
window, with my ears filed with the
never-ceasing clatter of the engine,
mechanically fixed my eyes upon paint
ing on one Of the panels at the front end
OF the car. Suddenly there was a jar, a
grating, crashing sound: the panel on
which my gaze had been directed was
gone, and in its place huge timbers of q
shattered car came driving through and in
the midst of the human forms in front OF
me. Seats, heads, cushions, glass, legs
and arms seemed collected in an avalanche
and descending upon the particular seat
which and my red haired friend had Sc
lected.
When consciousness returned / found
myself lying on my back on hard, un-
carpeted fOor. / endeavored to move, but
not muscle could be brought into action.
Gulliver, WHEN he awoke in the morning
on the island of Lilliput bound hand and
foot, was not more thoroughly helpless
than l. My vision was so indistinct that
l could only discern the giimmer of light
gradually, however, objects began to as
sumo shape before my eyes. My hearing,
disturbed at first by clatter as of a
thousand engines rushing around an iron
track spiked 10 the inside of my Uranium,
was restored by degrees to its normal con-
dition, and at last became painfully
acute.
Limited as was my range of vision,
it comprehended a portion Of the walls
of a room covered with timetables, and
lined with the inevitable row of seats,
which told me that was in the waiting
room of one of the Erie Railroad stations.
On the platform without heard the hasty
tread of feed, and often excited voices, and
could occasionally gather such words as
collision" misplaced switch, killed
and wounded" and the like. By a side
long glance perceived on the floor ghast-
ly objects, which soon concluded were
dead bodies horribly mutilated. Lying
near ne was a body, which a second
glance convinced me was that of the red
haired dcompanion who had shared the seat
in the car with me. His face was blanch-
ed. but not disigured, and he was evident
ly dead.
Twas now satisfied that 1 was in the
room alone with the bodies of those who
had been killed by the railroad accident,
and that l had been brought there while
insensible, under the supposition that l
was dead. My first impulse was to call to
those without, ana make known the fact
that was alive, but my tongue refused to
move.
1 had now an abundance of time for
meditation, and think two or three hours
passed while was so occupied. Iarrived
at the conclusion that l had met with such
a conclusion of the brain that l was for
the time paralyzed; that my condition
now, whether from the shock or other
causes, was st least similar to that of
which I had often read, called "catalep-
sy - and that might expect, after a Tea-
sonable time, to recover from it.
In this rather gloomy situation l await
ed events. Occasionally some of the Gu
rious ones on the platform without, would
stretch their necks to gaze over the curtain
which had been drawn across the window,
and get a view of the dead bodies IN the
waiting-room Besides this, nothing OF
interest occurred until after long time,
when | heard the distant whistle OF an sp-
proaching engine, the rumble of wheels,
and the usual clatter and confusion as a
train rushed into the depot and came to q
stop without
NV suspense wss brought to an end by
the rafting of key in the door and
the entrance OF three individuals, who
l soon learned, were a coroner and two
physicians from Jersey City. The oldest
of the two physicians had sandy hair, ano
such florid complexion as would suggest
too frequent tasting of some of the more
concentrated alcoholic tinctures. The
Younger physician who seemed ali assis
tant of the older, carried in his hand {
small mahogoay box.
"Well, coroner, which are they!" sale
the older physician.
"Thim two," said the coroner, punch
ing the toe OF his boot into my ribs, anC
pointing at the same time TO my auburn
haired friend "Neither of 'em has got
scratch Upon Linn, and p'raps theys die
of heart disease, or somethin' suddint tina
kim upon 'en in the cars before the ellis
ion. If they die, the company's not re
sponsible for Sseir indings, at any rate
You kin pos'-nortem thin, sure"
"Come. Grunt, let's get to work: we'v
no time to lcse. Coroner, send in tn
table"
The coronsr disappeared, and in a fey
moments two attendants entered, bringin
a pine table six feet long by three l
width. Onthe table were pals, sponge
and c saw.
"This Journey hasn't amounted to muci
has it, doc. 2" said the younger suTgeo
-"not even sn amputation among all th
wounded, nor a csse for the hospital.
don't pay TO come SO far for such game"
Mot if there is much to do in the cit
but business is so dull just now that
have plenty OF time. How's practice wit
youf"
misunderstanding doing. If Il
weather keeps ss cool as this, there won
be a case of cholera morbus nor any sicl
ness among children this summer. Sti
we may have some typhoid early in Il
fall Well, which one shall we taf
, firstl"
"Try the red-head; he's the nearel
Catch hold Of the feet-Iu take Il