Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-10-22
TWO VERY CLOSE CALLS.
New York Sun.


i've had some narrow escapes dur
ingmy twenty years knocking around
the country" said John Gilbert, the
travelling gr0ceryman, ''but / think
about the closest call was the time the
quarter mile Of railroad track ran
away with itself IN Oil City. l don't
know, though, after all, whether ]
had a nearer glimpse of the Great Be
yond on that occasion than I did the
day the Dyer lap weld mill and por~
lions of the machinery distributed
themselves about PittsbUrg in won~
derfullv pr0miscuOus fashion. AS the
two calls were only two days apart,
maybe ] can lump them and call EN-
one.
Maybe you think it's funny to say
chat o railroad track ran away with
itself; but if you had been there when
the runaway happened, the funny
part OF it wouldn't have been very APP
parent to you. Oil City lies between
ranges Of lofty hills, and it's available
building sites, owing to the rapid
growth Of the place, became very
scarce and costly some years ago. a
number of speculative gentlemen, not
satisfied with the uncertainties Of oil,
conceived the brilliant idea OF utiliz-
ing the airy SUBMITS of the high hills
on the west side Of the town for build
ing lots, and purchased big tract of
land on top of the range. There was
no way to get to the prospective new
addition to the city, and SO they built
railroad from the base OF the aills to
the summit, the car TO be run by sta
tionary engines and cables, after the
manner of the gravity roads In the
coal regions. 1t was a good scheme,
but it didn't work. Nobody bought
the breezy lots, and the road was
abandoned. In the winter of 1880
some coal operators OF Schuplkill coun-
ty bought the railroad, and the day I
struck Oil City they were to take up
the rails and remove them to their
mines. The road was a narrow gauge
and had two tracks. Tae rails were
fastened together at each end, and
formed four unkroken lines of track
from top to bottom of the hill.
I had a friend living In Oil City
who kept good horse. His barn was
about 100 yards from the foot of the
railroad track, and his heuse was
nearly in line with the barn. He
asked me to take a sleigh ride with
him, and went over to his barn to
see him hitch up. I stood Ia the stall
on one side of the horse, and my
friend was on the other sine i'll the act
of throwing the harness over the
horses back when he heard rumbl-
ing noise something like that made by
a heavy slide of snow from the roof,
and the next instant there came a
crash against the side Of the barn, and
we were almost buried In shower Of
Splinters and broken boards. Follow
ing the crash a black streak shot
through the stall behind us and out at
the open door about foot above our
heads. | ran out Of the door and saw
that the streak was a string of iron,
and it kept coming until it was at
least 1000 feet IN length. It sailed
across my friends garden, just grazed
the corner of his house, and made
kindling wood Of an clubhouse that
stood In its path. The iron string kept
right on its course like a streak of
lightning, and was headed straight
for the kitchen of the James House,
Whatever made that flying iron
swerve in its course I don't know, but
it curved around sufficiently to bring
it in contact with 8 high stone fence
not four feet from the kitchen door.
When il struck the wall the iron
string flew into half dozen pieces,
and they went flying about in all di-
rections, some of them shooting on
for 100 feet before they fell to the
ground. A number of girls were at
work in the hotel kitchen, and if the
line of iron had kept straight on there
would have no doubt been four or five
funerals from that house. A portion
of the broken line was hurled high ia