The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1892-04-16
+ UNDER A MOVING GAR.
Sensations Experienced When Face to Facs
with Deith.


To fall under running railroad
train; to lie on the rail and see death in
the shape of big wheels approaching
one at the rate of fifteen miles or so an
hour and only few feet distant, is an
experience not given to many to be
able to relate To drap off slippery
step and tumble onto the rail between
the wheels of a sleeping car and yet
escape with only the loss of the flesh of
ones he ellis a feat OF often success
fully accomplished. Yet this was what
happened to Chicago man recently.
"How did it happen? What were you
thinking about?" he was asked tho
other day.
"Wel]," he replied, 81 had no time to
find out how it happened. but do re-
mem Der a good many things that I
thought OF while it was happening.
Now it seems utterly impossib G to me
that such food of thoughts could
flash through my brain and leave their
individual and distincs imp cssions, as
did in the almost immeasurably short
space of time that 1 lay on tn, rail in
front of those wheels. 1t is said that
just at the moment of ones death the
whole doings of lifetime are held up
for review in less tin tt an it takes to
wink ones eye. can readily believe
It. In less than a second / thought
OF the many railroad accidents of
which had read. 1t flashed through
my mind that had often seen men
credited with wilful negligence or reck-
less intention in allowing themselves
to be killed or manned, and there was
on the track ready to furnish another
Illustration. Yes, sir; there 1 lay, fat
on my back on the rail, ard saw the
wheels of the after truck OF the car
come rolling along, and only few feet
away. 1t almost seemed as if felt
them crushing and grinding my bones,
yet had, it seems, time TO think also
of how easily a fellow gets killed.
IL thought how foolish it was to ac-
cuse others of foolhardiness in getting
run over while I myself was about to
become horrible example. thought
of how often I had let up lightly en-
gineers and conductors and had helped
to take the blame from them and put
it on the fellow who got killed. But
my greatest regret, in the time had
to think, was that had SO often ad-
versely criticised the man who got run
over.
Strange as it may seem, however,
these were not half my thoughts.
realized that was yet alive, in the best
of good health. every bone and linn b
sound, so to ospeak, and the next instant
1 would, I felt be ground into pieces,
and my flesh and bones scattered
over the railroad track. There was no
power in the world to help me, SO it
seemed; not all that the engineers or
conductors or brakemen could do would
be Of any avail. Then it flashed
through my mind that 1 was on the
brink of the other world and l had not
even chance to make one repentant
prayer. l wondered what it would
mean for me.
''While these ideas were lying
through my mind l must have made
some sort of an effort to escape.
l have no knowledge of how 1 did
it nor the least notion of how I
accomplished it, but I did roll off the
rail outward. The wheel caught my
heel, though at first it seemed as il nv
foot was cut off above the anhle and I
was poweriess to move it l managed
to get on to my right foot and balance
myself on that for a second, to get nv
thoughts together as to what should
next do. 1t has taken me ten or fifteen
minutes to tell this thing, but it did
not should judge, from the rate the
train was going, take anything like a
second of time for it all to happen"
"But you did not tell how you came
to fall under the train?"
THAT happened in this way. I was
going to Grand Crossing to meet a
special train of press delegates, who
were to be met by delegation of
worlds fair people and shown over the
grounds at jackson park. I was on
time; the train was not 1t was nearly
four hours late. A snow-stoIm spoiled
the arrangements that had been
made to receive the easterners, and
the worlds fair delegation failed to
appear. The train did stop, l think,
away below the crossing, but on ac-
count of the snowstorm was not sure.
At all events, the first glance caught
OF it showed me it was moving up
pretty rapidly, and by the time it
reached where was it was pounding
along at the rate of between fifteen and
twenty miles an hour. 1 was deter
mined not to be left. I've had lots of
practice on fast cable and electric cars,
and on trains also. 1t took second to
get ready for the jump. / waited for
the rear steps of the second coach from
the rear and made the spring. l land.
ed on the step all right, but it was
covered with ice, the brass hand rail
was also sheathed with it. For an in.
slant I did not know whether l had
got mixed up with a family of acrobats
or was being used as football by
someone. Next thing knew was on
the rail, right under the car
When gained my feet, or rather nv
foot, I wondered why some men, who
had been standing not far away when
made the jump, did not come to nv