News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-04-25
A BRAKEMAN's BRAVERY.
How He Saved Train and After
wards Stole a Bride.

Washington, d. c., has a social sem
satiOn. VIII am Guyton, a properous
| young business man, fell in love with
Miss Annie James Darling, an heiress,
md the pretty niece Of Charles Spencer,
Of 1902 S street. She reoiprocated, per-
mi ted him to slip an engagement ring
on her finger, and then blushingly told
her aunt what she had done. Mrs.
Spencer was very angry, threw the ring
in the fire, and forbade the young lovers.
to meet again. But they did meet, and
until they got caught. Then pretty
Miss Annie was locked in her bedroom.
She brlbed a servant girl to take q note
to Mr.. Guyton's stores begging her
lover to come and release her. This
was last Wednesday. That night Mr..
Guyton crept stealthily into the yard
and waited Until he saw an upper win
! dow raised. In an instant a pair. of
sheets, tightly knotted together were
lowered, and then the plucky little miss
swung herself down into his outstretched
arms. A hug, kiss and hurried visit
to the house of friendly Parson, and
they We're linked together for life. All
day yesterday the Washington police
sought in vain for the missing girl. This
morning she went back to her uncle's
house for her clothing, and on telling
her aunt that she was married she was
again locked in her room. But it hap
pened that her husband was waiting on
the doorstep outside, and when he heard
his bride scream he forced his way into
the house and rescued her. They have
secured fiat on Twelfth street and will
soon be comfortably settled in their own
home.
Mr.. Guyton formerly lived in Chica-
go. He is a good-looking young man,
but has only one thumb. For the miss
ing one he got $500, besides column
after column of praise in the newspa-
pers. 1t was in 1882 that Mr.. Guyton
lost his thumb. He was brakeman on
freight train running from Evans
vile, Ind, to Chicago. One morning
he was IN the caboose at the end of the
train and the engineer whistled for
"down brakes" in the startling way that
indicates to every railroad man that
danger is brewing. Brakeman Guyton
ran to the front platform of the caboose
and began twisting at the brakes for all
he was worth. Then the collision came.
Brakeman Guyton was crushed between
the caboose and the freight car Just
ahead of him. Every one of the men
on the freight train was killed or injured.
Two of Guyton's ribs were broken and
his right thumb crushed. The collision
occurred just where the track made a
sharp turn around the base of the hill,
and the wreck piled up on the track
could not be seen hundred yards eth
er way.
Then Brakeman Guyton recollected
that passenger train was following five
or ten miles behind his train and that
unless it was tagged it would dash
around the curve and be wrecked too.
He looked for a flag, but the caboose
was so badly wrecked that he could not
find one. Beside the wreck was the
body of another brakeman, who hc6
been killed instantly. The dead man
had on a red flannel shirt. Putting his
mangled right hand inside his vest, so
that it would not be in the way, Brake
man Guyton tore off the dead man s
shirt and started back around the curve
to flag the passenger train. He fell
once, but struggled to his feet and got
around the curve and on the straight
line of the track. He sat down on one
side of the track, too weak to stand, and
waited for the passenger train, and that
is all Brakeman Guyton remembered.
The engineer of the passenger train
saw the bloody figure lying there beside
the track with the red flannel shirt in
his hand and stopped the train. The
brakeman had tainted from loss of blood,
but he had tagged the passenger train
and averted another and more serious
accident He lost a thumb and in re-
turn got So, 900 and the thanks of many
for his courage and bravery. And this
is the man who won pretty Annie Oar
ling's heart. Chicago Times.