Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-09-07

From the Detroit Free Press

y locomotive engineer from the Baltimore
| and Ohio railroad was in Detroit last weel
| on brief visit to his sister. In some wa,
or other new reporter On one of the dali,
papers came across the man and appointed
| an interview in order to secure the engi
neer's adventures during the ''late war.
The brother OF the foot board was willing
to tell his story. and without stopping tt
take on wood or water he rang the bell anC
began:
81 ran tho last passenger train over tht
rOad-the last train allowed to pass BY the
strikers. All the train officials we're heavily
armed, many of the passengers carried re.
volvers and we were all ready for muss
We expected that the strikers would displact
rail. let US through bridge or switch Us
into some gravel pit. and just before left
the station ! kissed my wife and told her
where she would find the sum OF S3s 900
which ] had buried in the garden
Possible" gasped the new reporter as
he made note Of it.
And my fireman, feeling certain that he
would not live two hours longer, confessed
to me that he was the abductor of Charlie
Ross and that he once murdered man in
Missouri"
The reporter made his pencil hy for a
minute, and when he let up his notebook
read
eG-S3s, 900 Charlie Ross =
murdered seventeen nickname of fireman
Tom Collins - more com
ing - !"
And the conductor of the train," con
tinued the engineer also prepared for
death lie returned to the company 81 ,33S,- :
Efi ~ Ubtcb ha had knn,.kat inur, i,rin,r
his connection with the road, and humbly
asked forgiveness. He was much troubled
to think he had invested his share of the
plunder in founding an orphan asylum and
could not restore it TO the road. lie owned
up to having killed an old woman or two,
but forget their names, or whether they
struggled very hard when he was choking
them
The pale-iaced young man wrote again,
and his notebook read
Further horrors '''-conducto strick-
en- with remors6 restores money
owns up to murders-sees ghosts of his vie
tins around biggest item ever
published in Detroit paper '---scoop
the Free Press stone blind-ili'
well. VIC finally pulled out" said the
grim engineer, a. he wiped his heated brow
on the back of his hand, IL had Derrin-
ger on one side of me, revolver on the
other. a bowie knife down behind my coat
collar. and musket loaded with III buck
shot was strapped to my back. The fireman
had four revolycrs and six one-pound cans
of nitro o-glycerine. We meant to give 'em
the best we had. you see"
The reporter wrote:
-mu-kets-derringe
glyccrine-Hll rcady-brave as lions. but
modest as school girls The plot thickens-
full particulars in this issue-no other de-
troit paper has line of it ~
ave lit out at speed of forty miles an
hour the engineer went on, "tOr ! reas-
oned that We might as well 90 down with
flying cOlors As to crawl like a snail. We
whlzzed through cuts, dashed past farm
houses and a cross highways, and every
thing was running finely when. far ahead,
in the din CLEAN Of the headlight, ! saw
men on the track. The moment had
come ~
IL see ~ whispered the reporter as he
seized his pencil again-''rails torn up
fends waiting to wash their hands in blood
horrible massacre of innocent =
devils! l-a-h-h-h-l ! :"
Il should have put on on all steam and
dashed ahead" resumed the engineer. "but
the fireman entreated me to give him time
to confess that be had been hiding the Ben
der family in his front bedroom, and |
slowed down till the train stopped just
where had seen the crowd Only one man
was now visible"
The re: were in ambu>cade :" exclaim-
ed the reporter.
Il guess so. This one man approached.
lie had something in his hand"
Yes, he did hand grenade bomb
she'll - shouted the listener.
lie came closer and closer. walking like
a man who means murder"
Hold on ~ cried the reporter. and he
wrote:
Dark figure came nearer - nearer -
nearer-skulking-s g-slying-murderous pur-
pose displayed in oyery mOye-iull account
in this paper newspaper enterprise will
tell, ! = chance Tor graphic writing
here whoop it mp heavy and
make other papers feel bad -
Well. he was finally at the step" said
the engineer. /" lie looked up. lie raised
his right hand. lilo held something out
toward me and he spoke.
- lie did Great heavens but what
What fiend he was lie handed
you something and he spoke"
Yes, he handed me up a flask of brandy
anu nc Hah'eu W hnoW peius inht tno trhih
had stopped, II didn't think the conductor
would let him ride 10 the next station. seven
miles ahead, Tor an old jack knife and hall
a bottle of cough medicine. That was the
the best brandy | ever tasted. and shudder
now rs realize how narrowly missed it ~
" ls-that-all?" asked the reporter. as
his jaw dropped and his ears grew red.
Yes, that's all. Seems to me you can
make a graphic thing of it-SomethIng to
travel all over the country"
" les-ahcm Jess so, cOughed the re
porter, as he reached for his hat