St. Landry democrat., 1893-06-10
HELD UP BY HORNETS.
A Swarm Of These Pests DemoraliZe
Trainload of People.


| have had just one experience of
being held up by train robbers. 1t was
at the hands of some Texas gentlemen,
and in company with good sized train
load of fiery Sou:hrons and mild Eastern
folk, and / we'll remember how the sand
sfted out of the boot heels of the whole
crowd, and we sat or stood or crouched
and cowed like helpless, scared infants
under cover of two medium sized Win
chesters. But l was aboard a train in
Mexico, that was held up and gone
through under circumstances of horror
and terror that were beyond anything
have heard of or imagined.
|. We were running along smoothly
through the State of Coahulla one
wretchedly warm day last fall, when just
as we entered a patch of woods the
brakes were clapped tight on and the
train stopped with a jerk that shook us
up considerably. The idea of train
robbers seemed instantly to strike every
one, and there was hurried secreting
of valuables. But it wasn't to be that
kind of an invasion. The decayed trunk
of big tree had fallen squarely across
tho track. 1t was too big to take
chances on thrusting it aside by charg-
ing it with the pilot, SO the train hands
and some of the passengers started with
a rope to drag it out of the way. The
rope was fastened round the stump,
there was a long pull all together, and
then a frightened howl and wild break
by everybody for the cars, every man
threshing his arms in the air like a
windmill.
"Hornets!" howled the burly brake,
man who headed the rush, as he-hurled
himself into the first car, incontinently
slammed the door In the face of the
others, and dived under q seat. I
happened to be on the platform of this
car, and got in just ahead of him.
Probably half a dozen passengers were
in the cars, the rest having stepped off
to investigate the trouble. All the win
dows were open, and in few seconds
the train was in possession of several
hundred big Mexican hornets, the
wickedest thing on wings, with business
ends like dose of future punishment
administered with a live wire. There
were at least three hornets nests in the
decaycd tree, and the hauling of the
train hands brought out the inhabitants.
There was moment of gaping surprise,
then a chorus of howls, and every man
and woman left in the cars tried to crawl
beneath the seats, pullings coats, cloaks,
anything over their heads. Not forty
train robbers, nor whole tribe of hostile
Apaches, could have inspired such de-
moralized terror. The conductor, with
rare presence of mind, headed the crowd
who had hauled on the tree, shouting.
''Break for the baggage car" and, as
only the one door of that car was open,
the score or SO of passengers, once
bundled in, were comparatively safe, al
though hopelessly prisoners. The hornets
buzzed angrily, or maybe gleefully, out
side and about the smothered passengers
in the coaches, and all was burning
blank.
But we couldn't stay there, yet we
darent turn out and fight them. Finally,
so I heard later, the fireman volunteered
to face the horror for us. Tying his
blouse around his head he ran forward,
tied the rope still fast to the tree, to the
pilot, jumped on the engine, and started
her back with lively jolt. The tree
was dragged almost clear, and the rope
broke. But the fireman was having too
warm time to try further experiments,
SO he kept her running back at mighty
gait. The hornets either flew out or
blew out of the windows, and, after
running back couple of miles, he
stopped the train and coaxed us out, a
sore and sorry crowd. ~
But we couldn't go back; and we
couldn't stay there; and we were loath
to take further chances with the hornets,
which we imagined to be lying in wait
for us up the track. Finally all the
windows and doors were closed tight,
the engineer shut himself in his cab, and
we went plunging ahead. He said the
pilot struck the old tree and sent it fly
ing skyward, enveloped in cloud of
hornets thus dislodged fron smashed
nests. But we were out of range and
sight in few seconds, and slid past the
next way station at pace that brought
the sleepy Mexicans to the platform in
amazement. An occasional howl during
vet another hour or two told the dis
covery of lingering hornet in the cars,
and when we reached the next village
we bought up the entire stock of ONT
ments, oils, and soothing salves in the
single drug store, and the train was a
surgery for the remainder of the day.
ISt I,0uis Globe Democrat.