The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1883-03-24
A Burning Sleeping Car-NarrOw Es-
capeS.

PrTTsBURGH, Pa, March Is.
The passengers occupying ono Of the Pull
man sic pers drawn by the Western express
on the Pennsylvania Railroad, had thr ling
experience Mt Wilmore station n few les
this side of Altoona, shortly after five o'clocS
this morning. The train had passed Crcssou,
and was nearing Wilmore, with all aboard
obvious of their danger, when a tiny tongue.
of flame shot out from among the curta rs
near the end OF the rear ca gradUally but
surely developing into an alarm ne blaze.
A passenger in ber'h No. !, Mr. P0llern. OF
Ba timore, who was not sleeping very heavily
Mt the time, was aroused 10y the smell Of the
burning tapestry, and an instant later he
sprang out OF his berth, fully alert to he porn
Of the moment and gave the alarm. Imme'
diately all was confusion, and tn occupants
of the berths jumped out TO find the CIR en-
velpped in flame. A dozen persons ran TO the
doors, but finding tn, train stu in motion
pulled the bell cord OwngtO tue right signal
not being gwen, however, the engineer paid no
attention to it until il had been pulled several
times. In the meantime III widest excite
M mt prevail I, and the pasaeng rs ran hither
and thither, not knowing what to do. Several
ladl tainted, and a number were with diit-
Guilty prevented from jumping OF.
The train was finally brought TO n Stand-still,
and the occupants of the car rushed out, some
of them were in their nght-clothes, while 9th
eIh SllCN tGutu III hdNlnE tlbuBu OL iutll tl-
fects 10 make themselves appear respectable.
The fire had not been discovered moment
too soon, as by the time the train stopped and
the occupants of the burning ear had escaped,
the whole sleeper was one mass of tiame and
inside of twenty minutes was heap of smoul'
! dering ashes.
OF the twenty-six passengers who had Occur
| pied the burned car, twenty were gentlemen,
! four were ladies' and the others were chlldtcn.
| Eprtt1uaiplv n them 1ulnrpl Ag
| they stepped from the train they presented
| motley appearance Some Of tn we're
wrapped in blankets; others were without
| hats and bonnets, and still others had no shoes.
! Among the passengers were GeneraEicn2ion-
Agent Dudley, Colonel BENJAMIN wilson, an
| ex-Cong, essman Of West Virginia; General
| Ca kins, of lniana; Colonel Davidson, of
Beaver, Pa. and Colonel Porter Postmaster
of Conncllsy lille, Pa
The makeup of number OF the gentlemen
was ludicrous. Colonel Porter hal on one
boot and one slipper, and was hatless. Colonel
| Davidson had his head done up I'm ncwspa-
per. while Colonel Ben Wilson, attre1 in a
blanket and bare beaded, looked for al tho
world like an Indian chief on a foraging eXpe-
dtion. General Dudley is said to have been
the coolest person on the car, aud by his wise
counsel did much t. allay the Scars of the la
| dies and children.
The fire originated in the rear Of the car, and
is suppos' TO have been caused either By the
overtunlng Of lamp or from the stove. Com
ductor Harry Hawkins who was in charge ~
the sleeper, did all in his power aid the pass
engers to escape, and was the last man TO Leave
the burn ny car.
The loss can not be approvlmated. The
Pullman Company estimate their share at
about $50, o. The loss e. thu passengers was
cor siderable I'm clothing, watches "a 1cwelry.
some of them also lost considerable sums Of
money, Up Their arrival here @ unfortu-
nate were kindly cared for, and We're soon pus
| in presentabie condi ton