The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-04-02

! bed. This happened in the early morning,
! among the small hours, on the 18th of August,
! 1862, while Joe Hooker was advancing to
! reconnOitre the "Johnnies" at Malvern Hill,
| the sleeping of course being done during a
! halt of the column
| But TO return to my railroad trip. / slept
| all night like Rip Van Wrinkle, OF the re-
/ nowned Seven Sleepers, and awoke betimes
in the frosty morning just as the wintry
/ twilight began to dawn over the snOw-hid
landscape. ] soon clambered down from my
| high nest, and had my vaise and overcoat
ready to go forward into the front car again,
when | bethought me of my wallet of green
backs. / soon ascertained the fact that the
wallet was non est in regard to my pocket,
and l therefore lost no time in making search
foI the same. It occurred to me that small
article might fall down out of the upper tier,
through a space between the side of the car
and the bed and, sure enough, there lay the
wallet behind the next man below, intact,
safe and sound. All this caused short de-
lay; and most fortunate delay it proved for
me. The wallet secured and safe, started
again for the door of the sleeper, and had
given the knob twist to open the same,
when bump, bump, bump went the car over
the ties, and some one called out in quick
sharp tones to seize hold of something and
hold on for dear life. The suggestion was
good one, and I seized the back of seat
with a firm grip and held on with vice-lilze
tenacity. We not kept long in suspense
as to the course of events, for the car lay
over on its side as if tired with its long trip,
and then shot upwards at an angle of about
thirty-five degrees, finally coming TO a stand
still with people, stoves, band boxes and
things generally, in a confused tumble. -
There was no noise when the car went over
utter silence seemed to reign for short
space-and after while we heard a confused
noise of voices outside
The way the car lay, the side being the
extemporized floor the windows lay under
our feet, and quick thought struck me to
break through the glass and jump to the
ground below. ! will here explain the posi-
ton of the train. The front axle of the ten
der had snapped off, some say from the eff
fects of the frost, but that could hardly be,
as the axes would be heated by friction.
But. however it came about, the axle snap
ped of Just as we reached the end of a bridge
across the Juniata, and the two front cars
ran down the bank and partly into the river,
smashing themselves and manning their iu-
mates as they went One end Of the sleeper
mounted the ruins of the two front cars,
leaving quite space between it and the
ground As I jumped down through the
broken window and joined-a group of per
sons standing near, noticed the fire break
ing out in the ruins from the overturning
stoves. Every instant gave strength to the
. Ia, 4 q, bo
be long delayed. ] soon recollected that
had forgotten my valise in the confusion, so
l crept back in the car and secured it.
The fire was now raging in earnest, so I
Joined the party who were rescuing the pas
sengers from the wreck. We dragged two
old ladies from the middle car, stupefied with
hurts and fright, and we kept on in the good
work till we had lain thirty killed and
wounded side by side. The conductor was
among the wounded and, after he had come
to himself a little, ! recollect him standing
there with the blood streaming over his face,
calling out in a StentOrian voice, ''StOp the
train stop the train - Having fine silk
handkerchief in my pocket l bound up his
wounded head Herewith, and that was the
last | saw Of him, for ! started in immediate
ly to help save the u. S Mail, which was be-
ing burned up by the bagful. Meantime
the flames from the wreck had communicated
to the end of the bridge, and fiery tongues
roared and leaped high into the air. The
malt car happened to lie almost under the
blazing bridge, and it was no holiday task to
stem the heat of the confiagration. The
scene bore a striking resemblance to battle
field, inasmuch as groups of wounded men
-, al, la--
groaniug in agony.
The engine had broken loose from the train
and steamed away across the bridge, leaving
the wreck of humanity in the debris of the
"smash-up." Pretty soon another train
backed up and took on the passengers who
were able TO move forward and all went
ahead as if nothing uncommon had happen
ed. We stopped at the next town on the
Ioute, where we were quite an object of Gu
riosity to the good people, who had desire
to see folks just emerging from such perils
and flames.
one urchin seeing my burnt overcoat cried
out in vociferOus eagerness go, look at
that one his coat tail is neatly burnt of -
AS / had been an actor in that horrible
night scene of Charlottesville, amid the
flaming forest and crashing trees, such cpl
sodes as these were little to me but tameness.
l was young at the time, and my spirits were
too elastic to be depressed by anything short
of annihilation; still there was something
extraordinary about my sCathelesS escape
which should not be overlooked. To reca-
pitulate: l was in the front car with the
other furloughed sOldieTs-the car from
which hardly one escaped. Then anincident
occurred which induced me to seek the sleep
ing-car, in the rear OF the train again, sleep
ing all the night, and getting uD just i'll time
to escape being thrown from the top berth
on to the floor by the Oversetting of the car
the delay consequent on the search for my
wallet she car oversetting as 1 had my hand
on the knob OF the door on my way out into
the front car again.
Now, this train OF circumstances was set
agoing by the individual who sat down be
side me in the ear, and it all resulted in my
escape from the fate which seemed TO be in
store for me.
1 think all such occurrences should be re-
corded, for they furnish blazes by the way in
the course Of providence. 4. d. II.
THE WAY TO DO IT.-"IIow shall we
treat the BOYS ." asks writer in an educa-
tioual magazine. Oh don't YOU worry about
that just you call them ND and ask them
what they'll take, and they will render their
decisions a great deal more promptly and
more to the general satisfaction than you
could do. Don't let that keep you back a