The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1871-03-04

ISIGEC-tIFG3GC
lel--The Wreck Of The Freight Ifdtlt-4'ftrat
tH Pittsburgh.
Ralph Keeer, having been ordered by the
conductors of Erc1?1 Saturday ITO form one OF
an expedition effected jurctGre, at New
Y ork, with Mr.. Harry Fem, with whom. after
a dinner at Delmonco's, he proceeded to the
Taking OF Pittsburgh" Here are extracts of
the report of the trip "over the hills and far
away towards the ''Smoky City:
Our first surprise on entering the sleeping
coach WAS that the conductor spoke to as in Il
q thing so unusual in his class that it attracted
our attention strJightway to surprise number
the same conductor; thcu came the third sur
prise oE the correctness and polish of his Ian
rear of the car, and we found him man full of
surprises II not long till he ana our ar
scapes Of Turner, and talking Familiarity and
lovingly OF the great pictures in the Louvre and
vatican. Who was this man? We sat discours-
ing toSSthci Hlllii latc INTO the higlit iG olIiE
once, seemingly by the nlcrest accident, did he
let anything concerning himself escape. He
was co!tGhleu tndt tilohG OF Aneflcaas are
better behaved than English thrOng, and in
Stanced the fact that he had dTeSs-cCat torn
completely OIL him on his way from a Queen
reception. am ashamed to say that we tried
every means collectively and individually TO
draw him out bout hiIusclf-and failed utterly
He was tail and straight arrow, though at
least fifty years OF age. His finely cut face was
non-coInuiJtal as his conversation. In fact
we cuulu find no way OF explaining why such
English birth. and, for conductor of 81 sleep
ing-coach, he is still the greatest mystery ever
encountered.
Il was not yet daylight the next morning
when VIC We're aroused and informed, in Eng
lish, of the uttermOst chastity, that we would
but five minutes it might have been better for
as, as the sequel viii prove. y quarter of an
houf gave time Tor one OF us TO don a new col
lar OF the latest stand-up pattern. which. in
reckless moment, we had purchased the day be
Tore on broadway. with this collar and oHr
other baggage, therefore, we We're promptly
put of intr Il scene OF confusion and darkness
aud general cheerieSSneSs. The train shot away
and we found ourselves suddenly in the midst
of valley covered with all sorts Of railroad
tracks, meeting, parting, getting thericgs tan
gled, crossing hands down the middle. and
twisting ouJ of sight in every direction. 1t was
little strange that the same idea occurred to
both OF as theu and there, namely. that the
PenusyivaHia railroad bad been out 70 dine
somewhere the night before, and was getting
home at its joviU! leisure in the gray and chill
of the morning. ON either side OF us rose dense
masses Of smoke or darkness or hills, or all three
impression OF so dire scene.
It viii be hardly necessary after this to say
that we found Altoona peculiar place. Au
iron suspension bridge has been built by the
tracks, ana the town authorities have contrib
uted their share to il by passing AN ordinance
warming which reads: Five dollars hnc forGn!
person lpaiing on this bridge There is suIne-
thing very minute and Saxon about the corp0-
ration "l that town. The police, we We're in
formed furnish the liquor dealers with lists Of
drinks. ..s - NOM ' '''7''' % SCH IL % 10 ING
Westopped at Altoona, I may as well explain,
because that was our best way OF getting to the
famous Great Bend which is only u few miles
away up the Allcghenics. In the course OF the
forenoon the Pacific Express came along. 1t
ala not stop at the Bend. but BY the Kindness
of Assistant Superintendent Reilly we We're
consigned to the forward locomotive. which
heips dra" the train over the summit. OF that
inspiring ride up the mountain, around rocks.
ana over precip!ces, ! cannot nope To give AN
idea. The novelty ana possible danger OF the
situation had wild JOY OF their own; and then
the crownIng rapture OF All was the mad rush
putting locomotive and laundering train behind
us, and the i'luugiHE on ahead in the darkness
tinaiiN "a man STEPPED iorth from some cave or
gruJtn IN the rock, a. IL seemed. ana in the dE5E
light OF his lamp swaycd with one hand an iron
bar and we were switched qU!etiy aside, and
the train shot out OF the tunnel away in - swift
course. After that the detached locomotive
as " whitman and the authorities Of AItooua
you'd say. until = train coming up behind US
forced us 10 run for our lives.
Out Oi danger again, thc engineer s3aeheuCd
speed. put us OF above hIttaHninE Point, aid
There, III the midst OF the grand scene, which
Alr. Fem has described ia MS own. iGiluitahiH
way, We partno< Of our material lunch. When
the sketchiug was through with took up our
line Of march for the station at the Point. We
passenger train swept hy for i'ittsburgE 1t
was iiUti" consolation FOR rs to know thar If we
had been at the station the train would have
stopped Tor as. We made all sorts of arabcsquc
signals with our carpet-hs -. but the relentless
thing went on, as il the ghost of the murdered
Logan after il. The Point is named after
the old Indian trail which led around it 70 Kit
tanning. the county seat of Armstrong county,
on the Allegheny river. We were. then, in the
former EaUHtS OF the mighty chief who has been
proposing iOriai CunundrumS in our school
+ readers for 50 many years. The memory OF Lo-
gan however, becomes SDNCWAUt CiItCTlSSS
when II is called uuou to make up a haIf-day's
T instruction or amusement; aDG we found no.
thing else of interest tC while away the whole
desUiatc afternoon mat We had to wait fer the
next train. Except ourselves, the only living
T creature fOT hours = EiEed at
Us all the afternoon, and answered any question
g- 4.
We have called him The Solitary Inha5I5uut
OF kittunuiug Point"
drew mp ut our bleak station. Though it was
technically called Tine Emigrant,' we found "a
comfortable car. and from tne face there was
. lost time to make up, we were whIricd along at
Pacific speed. At some quaint little mountain
town we got OF and went into q grocery, upon
whose counter = bCunt"OuS supper was spread.
The room was full of local gossips and we were
round, while doing Our hungry best to the meal
There Old time bucoic simplicity il the
Dutchmau's speech, for notwithstanding the
havoc we had made OF his cdIhles, he charged
us only twenty-five cents apiece
Taking seats in our car again. view ere hurried
. on a. before In the course of two OF three
/ interest in things about rs when WOre star
tied by a series of fearful explosions ''Iorpe-
/ does" exclaimed a man III tie seat ahead of us,
/ as h's lace idrheG ueadl! iaie. lhcG we @ hnS"
! that something terrible had happened, or some
/ thing terrible was TO happen; we had heard the
most desperate warning used ia l5tlitoadilS--
/ With the utter recklcsSuess which in such mo-
mGnls ilIIlS f"PIG 10 10 me Ii9t IL a'cri 90 ~
I thing they can 90, We threw open tic Wlht!oNs
. and thrust out our heads. We were just going
round Al bend on down grade at appalling
speed, and the scene which met our ey Is bet
! ter portrayed by Dir. Fem than l can hope to
! do in words. An entire freight train seemed 10
! be pilcd up III Il tumuitu0us ruin before us; At
/ one side lire had been kindled OF the riddled
/ boards and timbeTS Of the wreck. This it was
that made the 1ror OF the scene SO NiEidi men
( were rushing TO and FRO. and waving lamps at
+ US while the background of confusion and
darkness suggested nj! manner OF worse disaster
/ beyond. There did not seem 10 be the least
( hope for us, for our hole train, and d. not
! think any OF US had the power 70 STIR. But even
/ while were thus para!y2Cd. our train came
10 Il stand still without a jar; it could not have
taken thirty seconds, yet in our fright II seemed
! much longer. OF course, we all then rushed
madly from the coaches, and examined the
! wreck OF freight cars which strewed both tracks.
! 4 truck had been broken, but no lives had been
/ lost, and only two or three cars, instead OF Il
( whole train. had been shivered and splintered
/ and piled up. Not until had learned these and
other particulars, did think to inquire by what
! miracle train had been so suddenly stopped.