St. Landry democrat., 1888-02-11
OEE THE TRACK.
A Stubborn Cow Derails q Car and Causes
General CONSERVATION.

General CONSERVATION.
Rev. Heman Dyer, in his work,
''Records of an Active Life, gives the
following amusing bit of experience of
being in car off the track. He was
travelling by rail, when, just before
reaching Auburn, N. z, the train came
upon three cows feeding upon the track.
The engineer blew the whistle, and two
of the COWS ran out of the way. The
other persisted in keeping by the track.
The engine, tender, baggage and one
other car passed her, but then she gave
bound and came in between the car
MIR. Dyer was in and the one before it.
Our car was thrown off the track,
while all the others. before and behind,
kept on the track. AS the speed of the
train was very considerable, the pas
sengers in our car had a lively time.
The car did not tip over, but in going
rapidly over the ties it bounced us up
and down at fearful rate. DR.. Lee
and myself were pretty well forward,
and our seat was Immediately under
the lamp. 1t CHANGED that in our
movements up and down my head
came in contact with the lamp and
broke it to pieces. My stove-pipe hat
protected me so that / was not cut by
the glass, but such an amounting poor
fellow never had. The oil was neither
fresh nor sweet, but it was abundant.
1t streamed down all over my hat and
| buster.
DR.. Lee, who was fully six feet
high and weighed more than two hun
bred pounds, had his fun in striking, at
one moment, the top of the car with
his head, and the next, coming
down with prodigious force upon
the seat. His hat was mashed
into every variety of shape. and
driven down over his eyes, giving
him sucha ludicrous appearance that |
burst out into a roar of laughter.
| With that he said to me, in kind of
agonized voice: dyer, how can you
laugh? Don't you know we are going
right into eternity?"
This speech might have sobered me,
but just then | caught sight of man
a little forward of us on the other side
| of the car. He was alone in the seat,
somehow he had slipped off, and was
holding with one hand to the back of
! the seat, and with the other to the
cushions. As he went up and down
his hat tumbled off, his coat tail came
over his shoulders, his hair stuck out
every way, and his countenance ex-
pressed both fear and determination
to hold on. It was irresistible. | had to
laugh, no matter where we were going.
As soon rs the train slowed. this man
stood up, holding the arm of the seat,
which had been wrenched off, in one
hand, and the cushion, which he had
pulled off, in the other. BY this time
DIR. Lee had got his hat off his eyes,
and looking at me. and seeing my oily
condition, and then around the car,
and taking in the dilapidated state of
| affairs, he also went off into a fit of
laughter. AS soon as the train stopped,
we went out to see the condition of
affairs. We found that our car and one
other were badly broken. The rest of
the train kept ON the track. Nobody
was hurt, but good many were terri
bly, scared. One man, standing at the
end of our car, outside the door, sup
| posing there was to be fearful smash
up, gave random leap, but fortunate
ly he landed fiat upon his back in a big
mud-puddle, and was not hurt at all,
except in his feelings His clothes and
my hat and buster suffered the greatest
injury. Youths Companion.