River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-06-14
4 STRANGE VISION.
The Singular Story Told by a
Railroad Man.
An Eugin~er'- Uncomfortable Experience
viii q Fireman, and what lie saw
Passing Through a Wild
Piece of Woods.

wanna railroad was speaking tile other
da~ If singular sights and incidents he
hal met with ii his long cxpcrir. c. on
the rail. THE quccrc>t thing ! ever
knew" said hc. ''was the vision that
1911 Sandu-5y ha few wears ago.
1hcra "a. things that YOU know have
happened and are still reluctant 10
toll about, because you know YOU II be
laughed ~ aud pooh-poOhcd for your
pains and ihi, vision wa one Of that
KIND Bill n fdusky was an engineer
on the Philadelphia Il Erie railway.
and IS vet think. and lives in Erie.
: better engineer never handled the
throttle
About ten years ago a young fell
low named George Watkins went to
work "a the Philadelphia & Erie as a
brakeman. lie was a stranger. and
TO one knew where lac came from
He was twenty-One or twenty-five
yeevs old. but he had much older
lock. II had very dark complex
ion. and he was tall AMI lean. His
eyes were intensely black AMI deep
sunkcn lie had but little to say To
any Of his fellow-trainmeu. II came
TO be com non remark among them
that if at any time Watkins peculiar
eyes were fixed on them for a moment
they underwent curious Y variations of
color, and that the person upon whom
the gaze was fixed experienced sensa-
lions which he found il difficult to de
scribe, but which were referred 10 i'm
general way as decidedly uncom-
Portable. Some of the men said that
with Watkins ewes on them they
found it difficult To keep their minds
on their work. and some went so far
n To say that they could remove them
selves from the strange influence Of
hi, presence only by the exercise If
an their will power. Those who had
heart # mes mcrism decided that the
stranger was possessed of powerful
mesmcric influence. and H. was
avoided bv timiI railroad men As
much a. possible.
1T wa, plain from the bearing Of
Watkins that he was either the vie
tim Of some great trouble or haunted
by unpleasant recolIcctions. and also
that he was a man Of education and
Intelligence. He performed the hard
work Of a brakeman with faithfuIness.
aud early attracted the attention of
the superintendent Watkins had
been pa the road almost three months
when Jimmy Green. Bill Sandusky' ;
fireman. was killed while saving the
life of little chiId that was playing
ON the track. The train was
da>hiug along at the rate
Of forty miles IN hour when the child
was discovered By Bill aud his fireman
two on three hundred yards ahead as
the train rounded q curve. Bill
whistle,I for brakes and reversed his
engine but there was no possible
chance # stopping the train before it
reached the child. which did not seem
To be aware of lis danger. Quick as a
cat. jimmy Green drew himself
through tae cab window and ran out
along the guard rail to the pilot. He
dropped down Hat. and. leaning over
as far rs he could. seized the child rs
the engine dashed on the SPOT where
81 sat. IL caught the little one. and
scuopCd il clear Of the track. The
child was saved. but the brave fireman
lost his hold in making the effort. and
fell across the rail and was cut 10
pieces. George Watkins was taken
from the brake wheel aud promoted to
the place which Jimmy Green's death
made vacant. He got along with the
work from the very start As haudily as
IL hc had been no the Job all his life,
but Bill Sauduskv said that the at
mo>pherc If the cab changed the min
utc Watkins set his foot in IT. He de-
Clarci. after the first trip with the new
fireman, that Watkins would hoodoO
him.
II feel 81 queer when he turns
those sunkcn ewes Of his on me- Bill
used % ~av. 'that I darcsen't stand
still under his gaze. If | should stand
still. BIZ said. 1 believe I'd let my
engine push ON. no matter what might
happen. II that fireman said the word
s-BITs mca>iucss under the mvste-
riouS influence Of the fireman was
such tina, ne a. last told the superin-
tcnicnt that Dc was sure something
would happen some day. unless the
fireman was taken of The supcrin-
tendont laughed NJ what he called
Bit, fool -hues>. and Watkins staid
ON the engine. He had fired for Bill "A
month or -. and then the engineer
went o. the superintendent aud told
him positively that he must remove
Watkins IL couldn't give any rea-
son that had weight with the boss
and he said that fireman must STAY.
Then Bill toll him that his next trip
would be hi, last. He said he would
not run another trip with George Wat
kiuS.
.'The Pennsylvania x Erie road runs
through some very wild country in
Northwestern Pennsylvania Ole Of
the Widest spots was just west Of Kane.
in McKeaa County. The woods are
deep and unbroken for miles. and a
fellow passing through them feels As
il ne were out Of the world. Erom the
first trip that Watkins made with him.
Bill noticed that in going through
that Wild stretch the fireman seemed
a. lie seized with terror. and at times
he would turn pale. and Bill frequent
Is saw him Crouching At the side of
the cab and SlarinC wildly. and his
strange ewes seemed ID be gazing into
vacancy. On the trip that Bill de-
cIared was 10 be his last with the new
fireman. the engineer had not been
paving any attention to Watt
kius until the, had entered the
wild piece Of woods near
Kane. and had run some dis
lance through Il. Then Bill happened
20 turn his ewes toward the fireman.
Watkins ~toad against the side Of the
cah II +, $50 were staring the en-
giugeg, ana BIS eYes mel The queer