Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-10-22
TWO VERY CLOSE CALLS.
New York Sun.

New York Sun.
1--WE had some narrow escapes dur.
ing my twenty years knocking around
the country" said John Gilbert, the
travelling groceryman, "but | think
about the closest call was the time the
auartes mile of railroad track ran
away With itself in Oil City. / don't
know, though. after all, whether l
had a nearer glimpse of the Great Be
yond on that occasion than | did the
day the Dyer lap weld mill and por~
tons Of the machinery distributed
themselves about Pittsburg in a won~
derfully promiscuous 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
that 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 its 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
a railroad from the base OF the hills to
the summit, the car to be run by sta
tlonary engines ard cables, after the
manner OF the gravity roads in the
coal regions. 1t was a good scheme,
but 1t 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 |
struck Oh 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 unkreken lines of track
from top to bottom of the hill.
II had 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
nm, and | went over to his barn TO
see him hitch up. / stood in the stall
on one side of the horse, and my
Trend was on the other sine IN the act
OF throwing the harness over the
horse's back whom he heard rumbl-
ing noise something like that made by
heavy slide of snow from the roof,
and the next instant there came
crash against the side of the barn, and
we we're almost buried in a shower of
spllnters and broken boards. Follow
ing the crash q black streak shot
through the stall behind us and out at
sue open door about a foot above our
heads. ran out of the door and saw
1ast the streak was a string of IRON,
Spo 1t kept coming until it was at
leasL 1000 feet ia length. Il sailed
across my friends garden, just grazed
(Ie corner of his house, and made
hinQlng wood Of an clubhouse tnat
A.oou IN It's path. The iron string kept
Egnt on its course like a streak Of
lightning, and was headed straight
Tor the kitchen of the James House,
Whatever made that flying iron
ss"erye in its course / don't know, but
u curved around sufficiently to bring
IL IN contact with high stone fence
n I,I four feet from the kitchen door,
" nen II struck the wall the iron
slrlng flew into half dozen pieces,
ana they went flying about IN all di
frecuons, some of them shooting on
Ior lOO feet before they fell to the
ground. a number of girls were at
work IN the hotel kitchen, and if the
me o. IRON had kept straight on there
smouIo have no doubt been four or five
l9n 4 from that house. A portion
Vi the broken line was hurled high in