The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1892-07-28
HAUNTED FOR HIS CRIME.
Terrible Retribution of an Engineer Who
Ditched Rivals Train.


Ditched Rivals Train.
My God, help! There's Dicksons
engine coming again. See his ghost?
On. she's coming, coming! Help!
help!"
The sentence is uttered by ex-En-
gineer Henry Shantz nearly every
day. After being in frenzy half
minute he falls to the ground in
faint.
Shantz lives with his brother John
on farm between Fenton and Kirk
wood on the banks of the Meramec.
He is hopeless maniac and has been
SO for two years. His history ex-
plains it.
Sixteen years ago Henry was an
engineer on a Union Pacific locomo-
tive. Among his railway friends was
one George Dickson and the latter's
fireman, Allison. Dickson and Shantz
got into dispute over a game of
cards, and whenever they passed
each other after that Dickson and AL
lison would taunt Shantz and call
him a thief and coward. One day
in Denver matters came to climax.
Shantz got into a rage and swore he'd
get even with his enemy within
twenty-four hours. "a
He left Denver for the west in
charge of an express. He learned
that Dickson and Allison would fol-
low him on lone locomotive within
fifteen minutes. About fifteen miles
out of Denver, at the Geyer gorge
was switch that ran a track down
a slope, which stopped abruptly at
the brink of the gorge This siding
was rarely used. and the switch was
locked
Shantz saw his chance to get
even with his tallnters in ter
rible way. He slowed up, and with
the excuse to the fireman that he
would go back to see if the switch
was sound, rushed back, broke the
lock and turned the lever from right
to left, SO that Dickson's locomotive
would go down the siding and smash
down the gorge. He then returned
to his engine. yg.z4s
Within twenty minutes there was
an unearthly shrek in the valley, a
tremendous crash and Dickson's en-
CINE had smashed down the gorge and
was dashed into a thousand frag-
ments hundreds of feet below.
Pieces of flesh and bones was all
that was left of Dickson and Allison.
The affair attracted great atten-
ton at the time. Shantzwas at once
suspected, and the combined facts
that Shantz threatened to get ''even"
and that he stopped at the gorge
convicted him. He was sentenced
lightly, however, going to the Den
yer penitentiary for ten years. In
1886 he was released.
No one knew where he was after
his release, until one morning, two
years ago, he knocked at the door of
his brothers house. He was very i'll
and for two months raved like a
mailman. He has improved at times.
but he is a hopeless maniac.
While wandering about the yard
he will suddenly rush into the house,
yelling, THAT locomotive is coming
straight toward me- It is coming
oh, for Gods sake, take me away
Dickson is steering it to run directly
over me"
After his faint he will describe his
phantom engine.
1t had Grape all over it, he says.
Dickson, with a white shroud over
his shoulders, had his skinny hand
on the throttle valve, and he uttered
loud curse on me before he blew
off steam. Allison tainted me like
he used to do. A demon sat on the
cowcatcher with his arms open to
grab me-" .
He viii then go into his room and
tremblingly go to his bed. At night
he walks to and fro, looking out of
the window at intervals, and then,
drawing back, would shrek: "Oh,
that headlight is coming round the
bend! It has monster blaze!" Then
he will crawl under his couch and
remain there for hours. st. Louis
Chronicle