Daily globe., 1883-10-29
A TERRIBLE HIGHT.
a Man and His Family Walking
Over the EinEua Viaduct.
f. Narrow Escape from n Horrible
Unfortunate Delay Of q
gsaii9oad Train.
fBradford Pa.) Letter in N. Y. Times.

nsss f1tsscs.s of his in the Kinzda district of
the I--elts, c.E county oil region, gives the par
ticcssr.loi most extraordinary adventure
wilI>h d - anti his wife and two children had
in the Elar2a wilderness a few days ago, the
entire f1xas1y Icing saved from u most horri-
BILE deai$s through the merest accident. The
party e. Bradford in the evening to drive to
an iso sss,,3 settlement known as Howard Hill
wli,sr>sar Patterson has property. The road
lcadss<, =, tbs place runs for the most CT the
G,sta~e. t.,rough the deep forests Of the
region, sT-@ i high among the mountains.
After i.avirs the village of Alton the way is
especially wild and intricate, and, after driv-
ing ,or..s; tire through the woods bIr. Bat
terson f5und that he had lost his way, and all
his efforts to find q thoroughfaro out Of the
wilderness seemed to serve only to plunge
him dcepa: into it. Darkness came on and
Rat;cs3on discovered that his horse had wan
dercl OF OF even the semblance OF q road he
had been following, and was picking an aim
less coSnoe through the woods. The night
was very cold, and Mrs Patterson and the
childrrz1 began TO suffer from the chilly air,
as they vera net clad with the expectation of
being out long after nightfall. En- Batter
son fci.nd aD Old railroad lantern in the car
riage and, lighting it, he prospocted through
the woods in the hope Of finding road that
would lead them out Of the woods. There
was nore to be found.
About o huhdred yards ahead of where he
left the carriage he came out upon a railroad
track. This was the track of the Erie rail-
ways Bradford branch or Jehnsonburg ex-
tension. Feeling that neither his wife nor
children could stand night of exposure in
the mountains, he resolved to drive along the
railroad track, Notwithstanding the great
danger that attended such a course, in the
hope of coming to some road crossing the
track or sonle station near by. He did not
know what railroad it was, nor what the
chances were Of trains coming along before he
might reach place Of safety. His wife was
willing to take risk with him, aud he led
the horse out upon the track. He then
walked ahe,id with the light, and his wife
drove the horse along over the ties after him.
On either side were the woods and high banks.
There was no way to escape should train
appear Thay had proceeded nearly mile
without finiing any crossing or place where
they might turn out. Then Mr.. Patterson
took his wife and children from the carriage,
so that they might climb the bank or get into
the woods away from danger if train was
heard approaching. He led the horse and
they followed on foot at the side of the
track. After proceeding in this way for
hundred varsis CT SO, they came to q bridge,
on one side Of which was a narrow plank
walk, the railroad track occupying the re-
mainder of the bridge. This was the great
Kinzua vilduct, which spans q ravine at the
bottom of which flows the Kinzua creek.
This bridge is the highest railroad bridge in
the world, being sos feet above the creek.
1t is nearly half milo long. Mr. PATTERSON
and his family were now in q situation the
peril of which was too apparent, and the IN
certainty Of which filed them with terror
They were entirely ignorant as to where the
bridge would lead them if they ventured to
cross it, but knew it was madness to remain
where they were. Mr.. Patterson at last de-
tern1ined to attempt the crossing, trusting to
Providence for the result He succeeded in
getting lis horse on the footpath. The
wheel on oua side Of the carriage extended
over on to the track and bumped over the
ties. Mr.. patterson at first suggested 'aban-
doning the horse and carriage, but his wife
would rot bear of it, taking the ground that
their presence on the track might
lead to Il disaster on the railroad
The horse was led slowly forward
on the bridge, and Mrs. Patterson and
the children followed close behind the car
riage. A high wind was blowing down the
valley, and it was with difficulty that they
could keep their feet. They had proceeded
on their way only short distance when a
sudden gust Of wind extinguished their Ian
tern. 1t was impossible to relight it in the
gale that was blowing, and they were COM
PEELED to grope their way onward in the dark
ness They crossed the bridge in safety, and,
if they had known it, really placed themselves
in greater peril, for trains pass over the
bridge at very slow rate of speed, nd can
be stopped almost Immediately.
When Mr.. PATTERSON and his family left
the bridge they entered deep roci. cut made
for the track, and were wrapped in still
greatur darkness. A train coming upon them
in the cut would have crushed them all to
death, for there could have been 10 escape.
That they were not ground to pieces in that
way was owing only to the fact that coal
train which was due at the cut at the very
time Patterson and his family were stumbling
and feeling their way throughsit VAS detained
g mil below by hot journal. The party
emerged from the cut and discovered the
light at Palen'S Switch, q small station a
short distance below, just as this coal train
whistled for the station. The horse and car
riage were turned from the track into the
road leading alongside of it to the station,
and Mrs. Patterson and her children had
reached place of safety just as the
train rushed by and thundered into the cut
A delay Of One minute in making their way
through the passage would have been fatal to
the entire party. When the full force of the
peril to which they had been exposed and
the narrow escape they had made broke upon
her, Mrs. Patterson tainted away Mr.. Bat
terson himself was so unneryed that it was
some time before he could summon aid They
found shelter at Sweets boarding house, at
the station, where all were soon revived
They ascertained that Howards Hill was
only four miles from the station. In spite of
the terrible experience through which they
had passed and the lateness of the hour, Mrs
Patterson was anxious to proceed TO their
destination, which they did, reacEuis The
settlement safely about midnight.