River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1884-05-29
A rHRuLrNG EPISODE.
A Locomotive Engineers Instinct How
he Saved a Train and How he Saved
HIMSELF

he Saved Train and How he Saved
Himself
On one of the darkest and stormiest
nights of the recent unusual winter,
the express on one of the leading New
York railroads was moving westward
from Albany. The engines headlight
threw q strong reflection in advance,
but the storm was so binding it was al
most impossible to distinguish anything
even at short distance. Under such
circumstances instinct necessarily takes
the place OF sight. All seemed to
be going we'll, when, in an
instant, the engineer reversed his en-
CINE, applied the air brakes, and came to
full stop. Why he did so he could not
tell any more than any of us can account
for the dread of coming disaster and
death. and to the wondering inquiry of
his fireman he simply said: q feel that
something's wrong" Selling lantern
he swung himself down from the cab and
went forward to investigate. Everything
appeared to be right. and he was about
to return to his engine when his eve
caught sight of a peculiar appearance
at the joint of the rail next to him.
Brushing the accumulated snow
away, he looked a moment, and
then uttered an exclamation of horror.
The rails on both sides had been I'M
spiked and would have turned over the
instant the engine touched them. What
inspired this attempt at train wrecking
is unknown, but it was presumed the
confederates of some prisoners who
were on the train hoped, III the confu-
sion of an accident, to deliver their
friends.
Engineer John Donohoe of Albany,
to whose wonderful instinct was due the
salvation of the train, when asked by
the writer why he stopped his engine,
said:
II can't tell why. / only know l felt
something was wrong"
do you have these feelings often
when upon the road?" continued the
writer.
"No, very seldom, although for the
past twenty years [ have been in a con
dition to feel apprehension at almost
anything"
"How is that?"
'Why, l have been victim of one
of the worst cases of dyspepsia ever
known. l have not been confined to my
bed, as like thousands of others, 1 am
compelled to work whether able or not.
Indeed, when it first began had only a
loss of appetite, faint feeling that
would not go away and bad taste in
my mouth, and finally got those terrible
craving and knawing feelings that make
life SO unbearable and are known as gem
eral debility"
What did you do?"
81 tried physicians until became dis
couraged | gave eight different ones fair
tests, but none of them benefited me.
then tried proprietary medicines, but
they failed, likewise. It looked pretty
dark for me so far as any peace or en-
ioyment in this world were concerned
and | became terribly discouraged.
"You certainly do not look that way
now"
"Oh, no, indeed, am perfect health
now" was the reply "and propose to
continue SO. My nervousness is entirely
gone; lean sleep nights; the aching
numbness has disappeared; the pale,
sickly appearance has gwen place to the
color of health. and have readily put
on flesh This is what has been accom-
plished by means of Warmers Tippeca-
noe If | can be cured after a chronic
illness of nearly quarter of century l
believe all suffering in a similar manner
can be restored by using the same great
remedy"
Such is the testimony of man who
could detect and remove unseen danger
on the road but could not remove the
danger from within his own system I'M
til brought face to face with the great
preparation above named which did so
much for him and can do so much for
all those who require it.