Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-03-19
A TRAIN IN A SANDSTONE.
DiseOmfOrts and Perils of the Mojave
Desert
San Francisco Eraminer.

The Southern overland train, which
should have reached this city on Monday
afternoon, only arrived at $40 last night.
having been delayed at Sumner by a ter
rIt1c sand-storm that ragged through the
Mojaye Desert and spread out over por-
ton OF the surrounding country. The
storm began in the early morning, and
when the train reached Sumner, in Kern
county, had become a regular simOom,
The wind swept across the sandy wastes
with such violence that the train swayed
and rocked under the violence of the
blasts, and seemed ready to plunge from
the track. The moon had become
overcast in the early part of the night,
and the journey was continued in a dark.
ness that rapidly increased until the day
began in Stygian gloom. The passengers,
who had been aroused from their sleep by
the fierce assault of the wind and the
dashing of sand against the windows
of the train, looked anXiouslv for
the appearance of the sun, but no
CLEAN of light relieved the forbidding
darkness of the east. Night maintained
her sway, and the blackness of the
heavens grew intense with the MORN
ing until the strong headlight of the
locomotive almost failed to pierce it. The
small portion of the desert which was ex-
posed by the engines lights only served
to discourage the travellers. The track
was lost under the billows Of sand that
were being tossed across the rails by the
angry storm. The desert moved like a
sea, and when the waves of sand struck
the shivering sides Of the train they scat.
tered like spray and filed the air with a
dust which made free breathing impossi-
BILE.
The travellers fears of being stopped by
sand drift were soon realized. After
leaving Sumner, which is 314 miles from
San Francisco, the train moved cautious
ly for ten miles through the shifting waste
and then stopped with a crash. The
alarmed passengers hardly dared to face
the drlVpg storm to learn the cause of
the unpleasant halt. The few intrepid
persons who ventured into the binding
simoom found that their express train had
run into freight train which had stopped
in an impossible sand drift. The slow
rate at Which the express was moving
enabled the engineer to stop the
train in time to prevent serious acci-
dent, and the collision was only sufficient
to cast the locomotive from the track. The
passenger cars remained on the rails 1t
was then 10 o'clock, so slowly had the
express proceeded through the binding
storm after leaving summer. The dark
ness of the night had only increased. and
nothing was visible except within the
radius of the trains lights. For five
weary hours the passengers We're COM
PEELED to remain on the detached train
while relief was being obtained from Sum-
ner. Assistance having arrived the track
was cleared of sand sufficiently to enable
relief engine to pull the express back
to Sumner, where the passengers found
slim accommodation until the storm
blew over. Toward O'Clock in the
afternoon the darkness began to disap-
pear, but the simo0m maintained its yigor
until nightfall. Yesterday morning the
unfortunate passengers proceeded on their
journey, the remainder of which was
made without sensational incident, as
gangs of Chinese had been at work all
night and had cleared the track of the ac-
cumulated sand drift. At Tulare the ex-
press, which was due at 40 p. m. yester,
day, overlook the belated and weather
beaten express, having passed with slight
discomfort through the tail of the simOom.
The breaking Of a piston-rod delayed the
first express still further at Lathrop, and
the two trains came simultaneously to
Oakland wharf, the first over thirty hours
behind time, and the second over six. All
hands, however, arrived safe, and in the
comforts of their hotel soop forgot the I'M
pleasantness of their adventure and
laughed over it.