St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-10-28
WITH A MANIAC
Shut Up in an English Railroad
Car With a Mailman.

NdE w III q w
On my way from Wales to London |
met with one of the most exciting
scenes / ever witnessed. We were II
railway tram going at a terrific velocity.
There are two or three locomotives IN
England celebrated for speed. One
they call the FLYING Dutehman. An
other they name the Yorkshire Deyll;c
We were flying behind one of these
locomotives sixty miles an hour. There
were five of us-fOur gentlemen and q
lady-in an English car, which is a diI-
ferent thing, as most people know. from
the American. the English car holding
comfortably only about eight persons
four of them occupying one seat faclnSs
four on the other. We halted at the
depot. :
A gentleman came TO the door and
stood q moment. as if not knowing
whether to come in or stay out. Inc
conductor compelling him to decide I'M
mediateiy. he got in. He was tlnely
gloved and every way we'll dressedA
Seated, he took out his knife ana began
the attempt of splitting sheet OF paper
edgewiSe. and at this sat lntentiy en-
gagged for perhaps an hour. The Susy
pieion of all in the car was aroused IN
III iilHl. HllGu AAO etiCoSI
and looked around at his fellow paSsen-
gers. and the fact was revealed by MS
eye and manner that he was maniac.
The lady in the car (she was unaeom-
panied), became frenZied with fright
and rushed to the door as If about TO
jump out. Planting my feet against
he door | made that death imT ossibie.
A look of horror was on all the faces,
and the question with each was: w nat
will the mailman do next? A mailman
unarmed is alarming, but a mailman
with an open knife is terrific. In the
demoniae strength which comes to Suen
a one he might make sad havoc on that
flying railway train, or he might spring
out OF the door, as once or twice he at
tempted. 1t was a question between re-
tanning the fOaming fury in our COM
pany or letting him dash his life out ON
the rocks. Also il might be question
between his life and the life OF one or
more in the train. Our own safety SAID,
LET him 90" Our humanity said.
keep him back from instant death"
and humanity triumphed. The bell
rope reaching TO the locomotive on En-
giish railway trains is outside of the car
and near the roof and difficult 10 reach.
| gave it two or three smart pulls, but
there was no siackening OF speed.
Another passenger repeated the at
tempt without getting any recognition.
We might as we'll have tried to stop a
whirlwind by pulling a boys kite
string. When an English engineer
starts his train he stops for nothing
short of collision. and the beil-rOpe on
the outside edges of the car is only TO
make passengers feel comfortable at the
idea that they can stop the train II they
want to. and. as it Is not once III thou
sand times any one is willing to FISK
his arm and reach out of the window
long enough TO work the rope, the delu-
sion is seldom broken. To rid ourselves
of our dangerous associate seemed i'm
possible. Then there came struggle
as to which should nave supremacy OF
that car, right reason or demenIla.
The demOniae moved around the car as
if it belonged to him and all the rest of
us were intruders. Then he dropped in
commissions across the lap Of one OF the
passengers.
At this moment. when he thought the
horror had characterized, the tragedy
was intensified. 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 worse posi-
ton than to be fastened in a railway carr
rage. eight feet by six, in tunnel or
complete darkness. with 4 maniac? May
the occurrence never be repeated. We
knew not what moment he might dash
upon us or 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 af-
flicted man lying helpiesSly across one
of the passengers. When the train
halted it did not take us long, after
handing over the poor unfortunate for
medical treatment, to disembark into
another car.