Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1893-03-25
ON THE ALEGAZAM.
A GRAPHIC STORY or A THRILLING
RAILROAD WRECK.

f.ftf - 49, - - - - - -
The Road Was Slow and Horse Car
Line Might Have Made Better Time.
but tho Speed Of Its Trains Was Appre-
ciated in One Case Here 1t Is.
eve were sitting in the smoking car
Of the sleeper and the conversation un-
pleasantly enough, drifted into the ques-
ton of railroad wrecks. It was strange,
too, that this should be, for we were all
old hands at travelling. That sort of
people seldom talk about wrecks, but we
were soon in the thick of it, every man
Of us telling his experiences" So spoke
James A. Hart, to whose mind this story
was brought by the occurrence of sew
travelling from one town to another
won't say wherein road will call
the Alegazam, because / don't want to
make bad friends of the railroad people.
But the experience is worth telling, for
I'll never forget it if live to be thou
sand years and day old. There was
one big fellow in the smoker-a drum
mer who evidently was kicker. At all
events he dp not like the Alegazam
road. why, said he, it wouldn't sur
prise me bit if we. were to go smash
before the night is over. / never ride
on this road without buying ten dollars
worth Of accident policy. Oh, this Ale
gazam is beauty. IF there was a
horse car line alongside of it would
take that The big drummer was get
ting to be nuisance in the conversa-
ton.
cat the end of every horrible tale he
would brighten up and say: That isn't
a marker to what will happen some day
on the Alegazam. Mark my words.
This road is a hoodoo if there ever was
one. Our cigars were smoked out az
cigars will be smoked out, and we re-
tired for the night The drummer's
berth was only few numbers from
mine, and as he got into bed he poked
his head out between the curtains and
said in hoarse whisper, Let your body
hang half out the window SO you'll be
on hand when it strikes and then turned
in, and, / don't doubt, went sound to
sleep, never looking for an accident, not
withstanding all his talk.
'sNow, railroad wreck is funny
thing" continued Mr.. Hart. every
body thinks he's the last man out and
the last to hear the shock, and conse-
quently thinks there's no hope for him.
People don't stop to consider that in
ninety-nine out of hundred wrecks the
damage is all done at once or not at all.
And this case is good exemplar. I
sleep soundly but lightly when travel,
and am ready walker when there is
any unusual noise-that is, noise not
caused by the travel of the train over
the rails. This night turned in
with smile at my drummer's fears and
was fast asleep in ten minutes. The
rub-a-dub-dub of the wheels sung me
into sound slumber, and I'm sure
don't know how long it lasted until
was awakened by combination of three
things, and pretty thoroughly awakened
at that. First, the train had stopped
and there was no rattle. Then / heard
a voice cry out in the night outside:
For Gods sake stop that enginer
Sand then following that up almost
mstantaneously there was great crash
ing sound Of breaking glass. That was
all. Following this there was silence
so profound that could hear my watch
ticking under my pillow. What did it
mean? A thousand questions rushed
into my head in the second of time that
followed the breaking of the glass. But
before had time to get out of the berth
voice rang through the car in tone
the like of which / never heard before
and hope never to hear again.
"'Jump for your livesl
Il have heard and seen some queer
things in my day, but before / heard
that voice | never knew what horror
meant. The feeling of mans whole
life was concentrated into that voice,
and it struck into my nerves as might
streak of lightning that had no power to
kill.
"As | jumped to the ground and
rushed up the track / saw approaching
our train on the same track, coming to
meet our engine, the headlight of an
other locomotive. That headlight and
the dark outlines of the engine behind
it looked to me like some horrible mon
ster from another world. 1t was more
than simple piece of machinery. The
thing was alive, and seemed to be about
ten times as large as it really was. The
impression had of it then was the most
singular feeling l ever knew, and can't
describe it. Everything had been done
so quickly, and was SO terribly excited
that it was not for some seconds that /
noticed / was the first man in the train
that had got out. The strange engine
slid along the rails until it was within
few feet of ours and stopped. Then the
people began coming out.
"Why, in the interval that elapsed be-
tween the cry of Jump for your iyesr
and the time the passengers were alarmed
and had begun to come out, thou
sand trains might have been wrecked.
Nearly all the passengers were now out
side inquiring into the cause of the
trouble. In my inquiries discovered
the. cause of the crashing glass. The
man in the berth next mine had heard
the brakes put on, had heard the Erst
outcry and, thinking that trouble was
ahead, simply bolted through his win
dow, carrying the glass with him. He
was not even scratched. We learned
that, through an error in switching at
station up the road, the strange engine
had slid down our track just in time to
see our headlight and fox both engines
to stop twenty feet short of a collision.
"But the funniest part is to come.
Long after the first rush was o-er win
dow of our sleeper was broken through,
and our friend the drummer dived
through it head first to the ground. He
had just learned that we were going to
be wrecked, and he didn't want to take
any chances. And in his fight from the
window to the ground heard him say,
in anything but pleasant tone of voice,
oh, this is the Alegazam, this isl"
Chicago Post.
Mollie was telling an absurd dream