Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1883-09-27
A THRILLING STORY.
NARROW ESCAPE FROM DEATH
A Lost Family GrOpe Their Way In the
Dark Over a Bridge 500 Feet High.
(Cincinnati IImes-Star.)

BRADFORD, PA.-William Batter
son, of Buffalo, who is building bas-
ket factory at Howard's Hill, left this
city few nights ago to drive to the
place accompanied by his wife and
twofchildren. The locality is All iso-
lated one among the mountains, and
the road leading to it lies for great
part of the way through deep forest.
While passing through the wilderness
Mr.. Patterson became bewildered in
the darkness and lost his way. After
many attempts to discover the road,
he finally let the horse take its own
course through the woods, following it
with lighted lantern. After houn-
dering aimlessly about for some time,
they came suddenly upon a railroad
track. Mr. Patterson did not know
what road it was, but felt that there
must be station or road crossing
somewhere i'll the vicinity.
He at first intended to walk along
the track until he came to either one
or the other, but his wife was afraid to
remain alone in the woods, so they
concluded to take the chances of meet
ing train and drive along the track
in search of a way out of the wilder
ness Mr.. Patterson led the horse on
the track and walked on ahead with
the light. Mrs. Patterson and the
children followed in the carriage. A
mile or more was traversed without
finding any crossing or indications of
station, and then to insure the safety
Of his wife and children, Mr.. B. took
them from the carriage and they fol-
lowed it on foot by the side Of the
track, so that at the sound of an APP
preaching train they could climb the
bank. After going quarter of a mile
further they came to bridge.
They could not retrace their steps,
and they resolved to share the risk of
keeping on their way and attempting
the crossing. They found narrow
plank foot path at one side, and Mr..
Patterson succeeded in leading his
horse upon it. The wheels on one side
ran ON this walk, but on the other side
they bumpted along the ties. The
bridge was swept by a high wind, and
it was with difficulty that Mrs. B. could
make her way along with her two
! children. To add to the terror of the
situation a gust of wind extinguished
the lantern. The darkness was in
tense, and they groped their way along
slowly, tortured by the fear that they
would be crushed or hurled from the
bridge by a train before they could
reach place of safety.
They were nearly half an hour il
crossing it, and they found themselves
in narrow rock cut, through which
they felt their way and stumbled along
and when they finally emerged from
it, they were almost overcome with JOY
to see light just ahead of them. A
the same moment they heard the whis
tie of an approaching train. The
horse was turned off the track into the
open space below the cut, which prov
ed to be a road, and Mrs. b. and th'
children followed it to a place o
safety. They had not gone twent,
feet from the track when coal trair
went rushing by into the cut. Boil
Mr.. B. and his wife were so overcome
with the sense of their peril that it wa
SoI1fC LlfllC DClOIC SOuAN tASSNNA
When they were able to go on, the.
found that they were at a small station
known as Palen's Switch. They hat
driven for mile and half over the
most dangerous portion of the John
sonburg Extension of the Erie Rail
way, and had crossed the great kinzu;
viaduct, the highest railroad bridge il
the world, which spans the Kinzu
ravine at a height of 303 feet abov
the creek. The viaduct is nearly hal
mile long. Their escape from deaf
was owing solely to the stopping of tn
north-bound coal train a mile belo'
the rock cut on account of hot jour
nal. The train was due at the cut jus
as they were picking their way throug
it. Howard's Hill was only fou
miles from Palen's Switch.
: