New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1884-03-12
! believe, to the Cleveland meeting.

I believe, to the Cleveland meeting.
There were fifty or sixty passengers in
the two cars. got the signal from the
conductor to start, and pulled out.
We had got under considerable head
way, when, looking back, saw that an
oil car in the middle of the train was
on fire. reversed my engine and
whistled for brakes. The conductor
and brakeman jumped off. They un-
coupled the passenger cars and set the
brakes on them, bringing them to a
stop. Surprising that the brakes on the
brakes on the burning oil cars would
also be put on, called to brakeman
on the box-car to draw the coupling
pin between that car and the head oil
tank, backing SO that he could do it, in
tending to run far enough away to save
the box-car and locomotive.
AS ran down the hill, after the pin
had been drawn, what was my horror
to see that the burning cars were fol-
lowing me at speed that was rapidly
increasing. The men had not succeed
ed in putting on the brakes. l saw that
the only thing to be done was to run
for it to Brocton, and the chances were
that we would never reach there at the
speed which we would be obliged to
make around those sharp reverse
curves, where we had never run over
twenty miles an hour.
When | saw the flaming cars-for
the whole six were on fire by this time
after me, and only a few
feet away, l pulled the throttle open.
The oil cars caught me. though, before
| got away. They came with full force
against the rear of the box-car, smash
ing in one end and knocking the horses
and their keepers fiat on the floor. The
heat was almost unbearable, and, do
my best, | couldn't place more than
thirty feet between the pursuing column
Of fire and ourselves. BY the light
from the furnace, as my fireman open
ed the door to pile in the coal, caught
sight Of the face of one of the horse
men in the box-car. he having climbed
up to the grated opening in the end 1t
was as pale as death, and he begged
me for Gods sake to give her more
steam. | was giving her then all the
steam she could carry, and the grade
itself was enough to carry us down at
the rate of fifty miles an hour. We
went so fast that the engine couldn't
pump Every time we struck one of
those curves the old girl would almost
run on one set of wheels, and why in
the world she didn't topple over is
something l never could understand.
She seemed to know that it was race
of life and death, and worked as if She
were alive.
The night was dark. and the road ran
through woods. deep rock cuts, and
along high embellishments. There we
were, laundering along ut lightning
speed. and only few PAGES behind US,
that fiery demon in full pursuit. There
were $4,000 gallons of oil in those
tanks, at least, and it was all in y flame,
making flying avalanche of fire 500
feet long. The flames leaped into the
air nearly u hundred feet. Their roar
was like that of some great cataract.
Now and then II tank would explode
with noise like cannon, when n
column of flame and pitchy smoke
would mount high above the body of
the flames, and showers of burning oil
would be scattered about in the woods.
The whole country was lighted up for
miles around
Well, it wasn't long, going at the
rate we made. before the lights of
Brocton came in sight down in the val
ley. The relief l felt when these came
in view was short-lived, for l remem-
bered that train No. 8, on the Lake
Shore, would be due at the junction
just about the time we would reach it.
While we were thinking of this we saw
the express tearing along toward the
juction. Could we reach the junction,
get the switch, and the switch set back
for the express before the latter got
there? If not, there would be an in-
evitable crash, in which not only we,
but probably scores of others would be
crushed to death. ALI this conjecturing
did not occupy two seconds, but in that
two seconds lived years.
Great God! | said to my fireman,
what are we to do now?
The fireman promptly replied-and
he was brave little fellow-that l
should whistle for the switch and take
the chances. l did 50. That whistle
was one prolonged yell of agony. It
was shrek that seemed to tell us that
our brave old engine knew our danger
and had her fears. Neither the fire.
man nor myself spoke another word.
Thanks be to God! The engineer on
the express train, seeing us tearing
down that mountain with an eighth OF
a mile of solid fire in close pursuit of
us, knew in a moment that only one
thing could save us. He whistled for
brakes, and got his train to stand not
ten feet away from the switch. The
switchman now answered our signal,
and we shot in on the shore track and
whizzed up on by the depot and
through the place like rocket. The
burning cars followed us in, of course,
but their race was run. They had no
propelling power now, and after chas-
ing us for mile they gave up the pur-
suit, and in three hours there was moth
ing left but smoking ruins.
My fireman and were so weak when
we brought our locomotive to stop
that we could not get out of the cab.
The two horsemen were unconscious in
the box-car. The horses were ruined
And how long do you think we were
making that sixteen miles? We ran
two miles on the Lake Shore track.
just twelve minutes from the Summit
to the spot where we stopped! A plum
eighty miles an hour, not counting the
time lost getting under Roadway and
stopping beyond Brocton. ~. y Sun.
A Wonderful Piecs of Detective Work.
A serio-comic incident occurred that
slightly enlivened dull Sunday at San
Francisco police headquarters. Shortly
before noon j. G. Wisiuzil, tailor, en-
tered his store, under the Lick House,
and removed his coat and vest while
looking over his books. In an inner
pocket of the latter was a pocket-book
containing the comfortable sum of &c.
600, and when Wisluzil attempted to re-
sumo his garments the vest was not to
be found. His natural supposition was