Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-09-19
BILL SANDUSKY'S VISION.

speaking of queer things happening,
and things that you know have happened,
but which you are afraid Ia tell any ono
about because you know you'll be laughed
at and pooh poohed IL you do, the queer
est that / ever knew was the vision that
old Bill Sandusky had few years ago
to say nothing of its extraordinary Sc
quel"
The speaker was ve.eran locomotive
engineer, who had zen talking of sinSu'
lar sights and incidents he had met with
In his long experience on the rails.
"Bill Sandusky is an engineer on the
Philadelphia Il Erie railroad, and has
been for twenty-five years. He lives in
Erie, and you may happen to run acrCss
him in some OF your travels. IL you do,
don't be afraid to ask him il what l am
going to tell You is true or not. In fact,
!. I'd take it as favor If you should, for the
chances are that you won't believe the
story, and IL you speak to him about II
he'll make good every word | say. then
you'll see at once that ! kept right plumb
on time to every fact on the schedule A
= better engineer never grabbed a throttle
than Bill SrndUsky, and his word is as
good as s10-gold piece wherever he's
known.
Eight years or so ago young fellow
by the name Of George Watkins got job
as brakeman on the p. & F. He was a
stranger, and no one knew where he came
from. He wasn't more than 20, but he
looked older. He had a very dark COM
plexion, and he was tall and lean. His
eyes were intensely black, and deep
sunken. He had but little TO say TO any
of his fellow trainmen. 1t came to be
common remark among them that If at
any time Watkins peculiar eyes were
fixed on them for a moment they under
went curious variations of color, and that
the person upon whom his gaze was fixed
experienced sensations which he found 1t
difficult to describe, but which were re-
ferred to in a general way as 'uncomfort-
able Some of the men said that with
Watkins eyes on them they found it diff
6cUlt to keep their minds on their work,
and some went so far as to say that they
could only remove themselves from the
strange influence of his presence by the
exercise of all their will power. Those
who had heard of mesmerism decided
that the stranger was possessed OF power
ful mesmeric influence, and he was
J avoided by timid railroaders as much as
possible.
1T was plain from the bearing of Wat
kins that he was either a victim Of some
great trouble or haunted by unpleasant
recollections, and also that he was a man
of education and intelligence. He per
formed the hard work of brakeman with
faithfulness and early attracted the at
tention of the superintendent
swatkins had been on the road about
three months when Jimmy Green was
killed. Jimmy was Bill Sandusky's fire
man. One day they were skimming along
over a straight piece of road, not far from
Kane, when both Bill and Jimmy saw a
little child sitting on the track not more
than 100 feet ahead of them. Bill made
tine old girl howl for brakes, but there
wasn't any more hope of stopping that
train in that distance than there was of
booming her along at two miles a minute.
The young one never moved nor seemed
TO notice the approach of the train.
Jimmy Green drew himself through the
cab-window a good deal quicker than !
am telling you, and ran out along the
boiler TO the pilot He dropped down
flat, and, hanging over as far as he could,
grabbed the child as the engine dashed
on the spot where it sat He caught the
little one, and scooped it clear off the
track The child was saved, but Jimmy
lost his hold in making the effort, and he
fell across the rail Poor Jimmy was
dead before the trainmen got back 10
!. where he lay. Well, Bill Sandusky was
left without a fireman, and George Wat
kins was taken from the brake wheel and
promoted TO the place that poor Jimmy
had filed. He got along with the work
from the start, just as if it came naturally
whole atmosphere OF the cab changed The
minute Watkins set his foot in it,
p bod blame itr Bill used TO say-that
was pet expression of his. That chap'U
hoodoo me yet feel so queer when he
turns those sunken black eyes of his on
me that daresn't stand still under EN-.
for IL did believe I'd let my old engine
pile right on through, no matter what
happened, If that fireman gave the word.
Unless he quits this road / will, for if he
runs with me something is bound to hap
pen, and / won't be able to help it,
watkins had fired for Bill month, and
then Bill went TO the superintendent and
told him that unless the new fireman was
taken of he would have to quit the run
himself; but when asked what the
charge against Watkins WAS Bill couldn't
sANC al. Alldb NclSul- loT lDt
fireman performed his duties better than
the best Of them. So the superintendent
said he couldn't remove Watkins.
Their, said Bill, my next trip on that
train will be my last one. I'll leave the
road IL | have TO run with Georse
Watkins
The p. and f. runs through some ter
rfbly wild country in Northwestern Penn
sylvania One of the widest spots is west
OF Kane. The woods are deep and un-
broken for miles, and fellow passing
through them feels as If he was out of
the world. From the first trip that Wat
kfns had made with him, Bill noticed
that in going through this wild stretch the
fireman seemed to be seized with terror,
and at times he would turn pale, and Bill
frequently saw him crouching at the side
OF the cab and glaring wildly, but his
strange eyes seemed to be gazing into va
cancy. On the trip that Bill declared to
be the last with Watkins, Bill had not
been paying any attention to the fireman
until they had entered the wild piece of
woods near Kane, and had run a mile or
so through il. Then Bill happened to
turn his eyes toward Watkins. The fire.
man stood against the side of the cab.
His eyes were staring straight at Bill,
and Bills eye met the gaze full In
stsntly, Bin said, he felt a sort of numb
sensation run through him like a flash. !
He tried 10 take his eyes away from Wat
kins', but he couldn't do it. Sense of the
fact that he was on his engine run
ming the express on the P. and f. rail /
road never left him, but there he
stood, entirely helpless TO move his eyes