, 1880-09-20
4 Prodigi0us PulI-back.


n interesting experiment was tried
mere Monday. which caused intense ex-
cltemsnt among the inhabitants of this
qul@ town. A modest mechanic of
thSs place, who has felt the aggravation
q being "lust In time to be too late y
ebtalned permission of the railroad
company to test what he calls his gioan-
TIC pull-back. The female portion of
the community We're disappointed
when they found it in no wise related
to the mysteries of the modiste's art
The inventor had the end of his mil.
back sunk in the ground several feet
between the rails at the station and
securely anchored by bolts and screws
The pnll-back consisted of an immense
elastic cable (made at the rubber
works here) which was run along the
ties under cover of iron tubine. to a
dlctance Of twelve hundred feet Of
which point the cable ended in huge
iron hook. This hook was poised
above wire spring sunk into the
groaad, which connected with the tele-
graph battery at the station by wire.
Tie purpose of the pull back is, as the
reader has by this time surmised. to
eaten and draw back to the station any
train thar happens to forget something.
or for some belated passenger tha.
stands cursing the fate that made
him late, etc.
Ihe initial test was made, as stated.
on Monday, IN the presence Of large
gathering of the curious toynsfolk.
Inc whole scheme was intended to be
Kept secret, but of course, the planting
OF the cable aroused rumors that spread
until the public mind was at high
pitch of curiosity. When it was final
ly divnlged what was the intent and
purpose OF the scheme, people laughed,
shrugged their shoulders and said:
The man is crazy!n Others said:
=" Perhaps he is, but give him show"
The inventor volunteered to take the
part OF the belated passenger " for this
occasion only" and Just as the 11:3O
express pulled cut for the next station,
and was gaining headway at every
chew" of the engine, the excited
mechanic came tearing down the street
with his coat tails flying and his face
flushed. The crowd cheered and
laughed. 1t was nevertheless an excit-
ing N oment. He shouted to the tele-
graph operator to make the connection.
The current flashed over the wire and
set loose the spring which threw on the
iron hook. The crowd heard the clamp
OF the iron, and watched with bated
breath the result. The hook had
caught the last car sure enough, and
the big black cable was seen to stretc b
out of the iron tubing like a serpent
out of its hole. The train soon came
tn Al % 4 r.f
tho remarkable result of the whole
scheme. The speed of tie train grad
ually slackened, then finally stopped,
and then the cable, with prodigious
power, began to redeem its tension and
draw back with increasing speed the
captured train. The astonishment of
the crowd was unbounded, and as the
train ratified back to the station like a
truant child brought home, the cheers
and yeiis were deafening. The en-
gineer smiled grimly, and said: 81
guess we've forgot something" The
inventor chuckIed and looked happy,
stepped on board, and the tain sped
away again to make up the lost thirty
seconds occasioned by the gigantic pull
back.
There are thousand and one reasons
way such an invention would be Of in
calculable service to railroad compa-
MES. Collisions can be avoided, mis-
takes corrected, tardy conductors re-
stored to their charge, and =" wild
locomotives prevented from galloping
over the country and soaring whole
counties into fits by their Comanche
yells.- Oshkosh Advocate.