Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-07-14
A REMARKABLE TRIP.
Mrs GarfleId's Special Train From
Long Branch to Wellington
judge Swaym's Story. 49,

Long Branch to Washington-r
S1Jadgs swaym's Story. 49,
Washington Special to the Chicago Times.
Judge Swaym tells the following story
about the special train that brought
Mrs. Garfield to Washington. Judge
Swaym said that he was at the Branch
this morning, ready to take Mrs. Garfield
to Jersey City to meet the party from
Washington, when he received dis
patch giving some of the details of the
assassination of the President. His was
then difficult task. as he had to break
the news to Mrs. Garfield. He went to
her with fear and trembling. He said
she looked up to him the moment he
entered the room, and said "Whst is the
matters" before he had opened his
mouth. Her manner was very cool and
direct. He said he felt like witness in
the box before a skillful lawyer. He
said: "The President has met with an
accident" He thought that would
break it gently to her and not tell her
the whole truth, and get her to come to
Washington without knowing all of the
dreadful details. Said Mrs. Garfield at
once: "Is he deadp" He said no. She
said: "What was the accident?" Judge
Svaym said: 81 answered as slowly and
deliberately as Icould, Il think that he
was shot, probably in some accidental
way. He, think, must have been fool
ing with pistol and doubtless he shot
himself. l can't think that it is any
thing very serious" Mrs. Garfield said
at is impossible that he could have shot
himself. He has been shot. Tell me.
the truth"
Then the Judge saw that it was use
less to evade her direct questions, and
quietly told her the story so far as he
knew it. He said that Mrs. Garfield WAS
thoroughly self-possessed. She called the
people about her and gave swift direc-
tions for packing. He said no executive
officer of ship could have prepared for
action moro speedily and directly than
did Mrs. Garfield prepare for her depart
ure for Washington. In the shortest
possible time everything was packed
and ready fsF TTs Y itSit Il
Then began. the trouble of getting a
special train. The wires were choked
with messages. Message after message
was sent By the General to Washington,
but be could get no, reply. He .tele- i
graUhed to Gen. Rockwell 10 send him a
special, knowing that a special could be
arranged far more easily in Washington
than at Long Branch. Finally he cot a
wire through to New FORK and he COM
municatsd with'the railroad authorities
there. He arranged for special and
got out the map OF the country and
studied short cut across, 30 that when
so that when at 1890 the train was
placed at his disposal dispatches were
sent to clear the track - q
The car that was given to them was .
smoker attached to locomotive and
tender. Away it dashed. The dispatch
es to clear the trains off the track were
also delayed. To avoid any possibility of
accident, Judge Swaym stationed four
them to give way. Something of the
frightful speed of this special can be es-
timated when it is known that it went
Junction and made Philadelphia inside'
of two hours. They passed four trains.
One OF them was u construction train,
and had to be watched very. closely.
They arrived in Philadelphia without
any trouble or accident. BY this time
the wires had become so open that the
track was cleared from Philadelphia to
Baltimore for the special. A parlor car
was attached to the car here and the
party. were made more comfortable
There was no particular incident except
at Bowie, station between Baltimore
and Washington. Two or three stops
were made in the trip for dispatches as
TO the Prssidepts condition.. An of
these were shown TO Mrs. Garfield ex-9
cept two or three of the most discourag-
ing. s~ss- --a.f = = 1
AT Bowie there was snap. rattle and
smash, and the engine was brought down
to dead stop. Gen. 5Swaym looked out.
Of the window as he heard the crash,and
saw man flying through the air
down an embankment. As the train
WAS brought to "a dead stop, anticipating
some horrible accident, he walked out
and found that the great bar that con-
meets the driving wheel with the smaller
wheel on the right side OF the locomo-
tive had snapped and had turn off one
side Of the cab where three of his watch
ers were standing. One of the men was
struck by the bar and hurled forty or
fifty feet down an embankment With
this train going at the remarkable speed
Of forty or fifty miles an hour, strange
to say he WAS not injured in the slight
est degree. The other two men were
struck by pieces of the cab and fell back
ward, but were not hurt. The engine
was completely disabled. There they
were, about twenty miles from WASH
ington, with a broken engine, country
station; and dispatch Just received.
saying: The President probably will
not live until Mrs. Garfield can arrive"
One OF the men dashed up the track
arosnd cvrve, and said: "Glory to
God, there is a train out here on the
side track" He rushed doTn and found
it was attached to u freight train. He
uncoupled the engine, came thnndering
back, got up the disabled engine, took it
down and switched it., and in fifteen
minutes the disabled engine was on the
side track, and the captured engine Of |
the freight train was bearing away to
Washington with Mrs. Garfield. The
whole delay did not exceed twenty min |
utes. The story of Mrs. Gartield's arri-
val has already been told.