The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1880-11-06

On Friday Of last week, between
half-past and o'clock T. Dr., Soma
unknown wretch deliberately placed !
large pile of wood on the track Of the
L. w. railroad, abont mile west Of
Sulphur Mine station, evidently with q
view Of wrecking the eastern bound
passenger train, which passes there in
the night. A special train, returning
to Lake Charles from Orange, happened
to pass there about r. H. The en-
gineer did not see the obstruction until
too near it to stop the LOCOMOTIVES.
He whistled down brakes, but in spite
of every exertion to stop the train the
cow-catcllcr of the locomotive sent the
wood flying in every direction, some
pieces, about two feet long, being
thrown several yards away. One piece
caught in the cow-catchcr, and was
carried several yards before the train
was stopped, its friction on the steel
rail setting the wood on fire. If that,
or any other piece Of the wood, had
once got under the cow-catcler, it
would have been rolled back to the
forward driving wheel, and then the
locomotive, and probably the train,
would have been thrown into the ditch,
and the persons on board might have
been crushed to death, or manned for
life. A careful examination proved
conclnsively that deliberate attempt
had been made to wreck a train. and
the railroad company offers, in another
column, q reward of one hundred dol
lars for the arrest and conviction of
the perpetrator of this fiendish attempt
at wholesale murder. The officers of
the road say this is the second or third
attempt of similar character which has
been made in the same ncighborhood.
The English language is too weak to
express the abhorrence with which that
wretch should be regarded, who, to
crafty his malice against some officer
or officers of a railroad company, can
thus deliberately seek to slaughter in
nocent men, women and children, tray
cling on a public highway; and we
earnestly hope that every good citizen
of orr parish, not knowing how soon
he or his family may otherwise be ex-
posed to similarly horrible fate while
travelling on the railroad, will use every
exertion to detect the guilty party and
bring him to justice.
If any person on railroad train
should be killed in consequence of a
collision between the train and any OBJ
struction willfully placed on the track,
such homicide would be murder, and
would be punishable as such; but even
where no injury follows willful OBJ
struction of a railway, our laws
provide severe penalties for merely
placing such distinctions, as will be
seen by the following sections of our
Revised Statutes;
SEC. 91s. Whoever shall place any obstruc-
ton upon any railway within this State, with
intent to hinder, or obstrnct, or impede, or
endanger free passing thereon, or with the
design to injure the said railway. or the pas
sengers, or engine, or cars passing thereon,
or whoever shall take up, or loosen, orrerioye
any part of the superstructure of any railway
with like intent or design, or whoever shall
displace any switch upon any railway with
like intent or design, shall, on conviction, be
imprisoned not exceeding five years ut hard
labor, nor less than thirty days In the parish
prison, and fined not exceeding five thousand
dollars, nor less than fifty dollars, ut the dis
erection of the court.
SEC. 9l9. Whoever shall ywillfully and ma
liciously impair, or injure Or destroy, any en-
CINE, or carriage, or car, or cut or destroy any
bridge, or any basement, or trestle work, be-
longing to any railway, shall, on conviction,
be fined not exceeding Ave hundred dollars,
or be imprisoned not exceeding one year, or
both, at the discretion Of the court. .
The general manager of the Louisi-
ana Western Railroad deserves credit
for seeking to protect the lives and
limbs of passengers on the road, by
Offering areward for the arrest and
conviction Of the perpetrator of the
above-named attempt to wreck train
last week, and for the honor of hui
manity we hope we may not have to
chronicle another act Of such dastardly
and detestable diabolism.
81 TN