The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1888-11-10
AN EXCITING SCENE.
Shut Up In an English Railroad Car with n
Madman.

Madman.
On my way from Wales TO London
/ met with one of the most exciting
scenes | ever witnessed, saws letter
to the Pittsburg Dispatch. We were in
n railroad train going at n terrific
velocity. There are two or three loco
motives in England celebrated for
speed. One they call the Flyinr
Dutchman. Another they name the
Yorkshire Devil. We were flying be-
hind one of these locomotives sixty
miles TO the hour. There were five of
us-four gentlemen and lady in an
English car. which is n different thing,
as most people know, fi.m the Amcri-
can car-thc English car holding COM
fortably only about eight persons,
four of them occupying one seat facing
four on the other. We halted ut the
depot. \ gentleman came to the
door, and stooda moment rs if not
knowing whether to come in or stay
out. The conductor compelled him to
decide Immediately, he got in. He was
finely gloved and every way well
dressed. Seated, he took out his knife,
and began the attempt of splitting n
sheet of paper edgewise, and ut this
sat intensely engaged for perhaps an
hour. The suspicion of all in the car
was aroused in regard to him, when
suddenly he arose and looked around
at his fellow-passenTers and the fact
was revealed by his eye and manner
that he was n maniac, The lady in
the car (she was unaccompanicdl be-
came frenzied with fright and rushed
to the door rs if about to Jump out.
Planting my feet against the door |
made that death-leap impossible. 4
look of horror was on all the faces and
the question was, "NVhat will the mad
man do ncXt?" A madman unarmed
is alarming, but madman with an
open knife is terrific. In the demoniac
strength that comes to such one he
might make sad havoc in that flying
railway train, or he might spring out
of the door. rs once or twice lie at
tempted. 1t was question between
retaining the foaming fury in our COM
pany or letting him dash his life out
on the rocks. Also it might be
question between his life and the life
of one or more in the train. Our own
safety said "Lethim 60" Our humanity
said Keep him back from instant
DEATH" aud humanity triumphed. The
bell-ropc reaching to the locomotive in
English railway trains is on the out
side of the car and near the roof and
difficult to reach. | gave it two or
three stout pulls, but there was no
slackening of speed. Another passen-
ger repeated the attempt without get
ting any recognition. We might as
well have tried to stop n whirlwind by
pulling boys kite-string. When an
English engineer starts his train he
stops for nothing short of a collision,
and the bell-ropc on the outside edges
of the car is only to make passengers
feel comfortable at the idea that they
can stop the train if they want to, and
as it is not once in thousand times
anyone is willing TO risk his arm and
reach out of the window long enough
TO work the rope the delusion is seldom
broken. To rid ourselves of our
dangerous associate seemed impossible.
Then there came a struggle as to
which should have supremacy of that
car, right reason or dementia. The
demoniac moved around the car rs if
it belonged to him and all the rest of
us were iutruders. Then he dropped
in conyulsions across the lap of one of
the passengers. At this moment,
when we thought the horror had
characterized, the tragedy was intensi-
fed. We plunged into the midnight
darkness of one of those long tunnels
for which English railway travel is
celebrated. Minutes seemed hours.
Can you imagine n worse position than
to be fastened in railway carriage,
eight feet by six, in tunnel of COM
pletc darkness, with II maniac? May
the occurrence never be repeated, We
knew not what moment he might dash
upon us or in what way. We waited
for the light, and waited while the hair
lifted upon the scalp and the blood ran
cold. When, at last, the light looked
In through the windows, we found the
afflicted man lying hclplessly across
the lap of one of the passengers. When
the train halted it did not take us long,
after handing over the poor unfortu-
nate for medical treatment to discm-
bark and move into another car.