Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-02-01
A Miraculous Escape.

A remarkable instance occurred dur
ing the run of the express train over
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail-
way, due here from Chicago at IL
o'clock last night. Among the passen-
gers was lady named Dixon, with q
family of eight children, seven boys
and one girl, the age of the eldest of
the former being fourteen years. AS
the train sped toward Milwaukee the
children one by one dropped into a
sound slumber, until all were asleep.
The train passed Lake Station, and was
flying over the rails at the rate of fully
thirty miles an hour, when the mother
missed her eldest boy from his seat,
and looking in the direction of the door
of the car, caught glimpse of his
slender form as it passed through and
out upon the platform. She hurried
after him as quickly as possible, but
before she could reach the platform he
was gone. He had stepped off the car
and plunged into the abyss of darkness
that shrouded the train and its sur
roundings. The poor woman became
frantic with grief when she realized
that her idolized son, the oldest of her
interesting flock, had encountered o
danger from which the chance from es-
cape from certain death was perhaps
but one out of one hundred. The re-
naming occupants of the car were also
terror stricken to such an extent that
steps were instantly taken to find the
conductor, with the view of having the
train stopped and backed to the scene
of the accident. BY the time this
could be accomplished, however, Mil
waukee was so close at hand that the
conductor concluded to make the de-
pot and send party of yard men to
search the track for the lad. A switch
engine was accordingly dispatched,
which proceeded as far as Lake Station,
where the youth was found wandering
about upon the platform in state of
bewilderment, rubbing his eyes, and
feeling of his shoulder and head, which
had sustained slight scratches and
bruises. Beyond these not the slight
est injury could be discovered. The
lad could give no account of his singu-
lar action. He knew only that he had
fallen asleep in the car with his
brothers and sister, and was awakened
by the shock of striking the earth up
on his shoulders. The violence of the
conclusion caused him to roll over and
over down the slight embankment of
the road bed, and by the time he could
collect his scattered senses and regain
his feet the train was out of sight. Not
knowing which way to proceed, he wan
dered along the track at random, and
soon reached the platform of Lake Sta
ton, where he had concluded to re-
manned until daybreak, when the res
cuing party came up. The Joy of the
mother on finding her boy safe and
sound can better be imagined than de.
scribed. He had passed through ter
rible ordeal in somnambulistic state,
and escaped without sprain or a frac-
ture, and no discomfort beyond that
occasioned by few scratches and
bruises. Mrs. Dixon is en- route from
Montreal to Manitoba, in the British
possessions, where her husband is at
present engaged as contractor. She
remained in the city until this after
noon, when the journey to the new
home in the far Northwest was re-
sumed. The story of the wonderful
escape spread like wildfre on the South
Side, and resulted in making the
mother and her family objects of inter
est during their stay.-Mtooaukee, Wis
c0nsin.