Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-09-28
OVER A MILE A MINUTE.

w lak n ulAAI n HIN " lie
The Excursion Train that Left q
Whirlwtnd in itB Wake-One n un.
dred and eleven MILES in One
Hundred and Mine INMATES.
Detroit Free Press.l
There was only one stop in the
III miles that separates st. Thomas
from AmherStburg on the Canada
Southern railroad. The engineer,
Macomber, was surrounded by an
admiring throng, and passengers
and railroaders commented on the
handsome appearance of his iron
steed. The steam gauge just be-
fore starting showed pressure of
eighty-five pounds, moderate fig
ure for a locomotive. Conductor
Crawford sang out, "All Aboard!" f"
and the special train with Bishop
Borgess. on board pulled out from
st. Thomas at 5:27 pm. A grand
hurrah from the platform Signaled
the departure.
Once the bridge was cleared, Ma
comber "let her out" Bishop
Borgess., in the palace car, after re-
ceiving the salatations Of the gen.
tlemen of the party, sat down, and
dinner was served to him and his
travelling companions upon small
table. No one noticed any particu-
lar motion in the car. There was
no disarrangement in the dishes,
crowded and small us was the table
The hum of the train was some
what sharper than usual, and the
rushing air against the windows
sounded like the sweeping of a rain
storm. Otherwise there was no
indication of unusual speed to a
person in the car.
Presently watches were taken ont
and observations made. The rev.
erend clergy, as well as the more
worldly laity, became interested.
CA mile in sixty seconds!" ejac-
ulated one.
Shortly after-"A mile in fifty
eight seconds !"
Again-"A mile in ffty.seven
secondsl" and the enthusiastic
Frank Moran, with cheer that
intensified the excitement, an
nounced that his stop-watch mark
ed fifty.fve seconds to the mile.
Before one could point out an
object it had vanished. Before a
question could be asked and an
swered a mile had sped; five miles
were traversed in the interval while
cigars were handed around and
lighted by as many men. A flock
Of blackbirds flying toward the west
with all their feetness in cleaving
the air were soon left behind and
lost to view.
The wires on the telegraph poles
swung up and down from the move
ment of the train. The bushes or
the sides of the bitches shook as if
swept by a hurricane, and the tall
and gandy yellow coxcombs that
grew beside the fences bent to the
ground in a seemingly overpower-
ing desire to get loose from the
earth and follow the rushing train.
The dust from newly ballasted por-
tions Of the track and the chips and
leaves rose up fercely against the
force of grayitation and gyrated
like vapory clouds in tempest. A
thin line of smoke stretched in
terminably in the distance, The
impetus of the train increased; the
vehemence with which it rushed
forward created a vacuum that APP
parently took nature some seconds
to overcome, and the spirits of the
passengers were exhilarated by the
unprecedented speed at which they
moved through space.
A side-track passenger train sa-
luted us with cheers and locomotive
whistles, Neither was heard be-
fore the sound could reach the ears
Of the passengers in the special it
was beyond hearing. One could see
the rushing steam and the waving
handkerohiefs. Train Dispatcher
Noble reported that six miles be-
tween Highwood and Ridgeton
were made in five minutes the
filty-seyen miles between st. Thom.