The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-06
WINGED ROAD AGENTS.
A Train Load of Passengers in Mexico
Held Tp' by Hornets.
From the Kansas CITY journal.

AeAu Ap Dy dOrneL6s
From the Kansas City Journal.
have had just one experience Of being
held up by train robbers. 1t was at the
hands Of some Texas gentlemen, and in
the company of a good-sized train load of
fiery soUthrons and mild eastern folks,
and ! well remember how the sand sifted
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 Wiuchesters1
But | was aboard a train in Mexico that
was held up and gone through under cir
cumstances of horror and terror that
We're beyond anything have heard of or
imagined
We were running along smoothly
through the state Of Coahuila one wretch
eddy warm day last fall, when Just as we
entered patch of woods, the brakes were
clapped tight on and the train stopped
with jerk that shook us up considerably
The idea of train robbers seemed instant
ly to strike every one and there was a
hurried secreting of valuables But it
wasn't to be that kind of an invasion
The decayed trunk of big treehad fallen
squarely across the track 1t was too big
to take chances on thrusting it aside by
charging 1t with pilot, so the train hands
and some of the passengers Started with
a rope to drag il out of the way. The
rope was fastened round the stump, there
was long pull altogether and then a
frightened howl and a wild break by
everybody for the cars, every man thr6sh-
ing his arms in the air like windmill
Hornets" howled the burly brake
man who headed the rush, as he hurled
himself in the first car, incontinently
slammed the door in the face of the
others and dived under a seat. I hap
pened to be on the platform of this car
and got in Just ahead of him Probably
half dozen passengers were in the cars,
the rest having stepped of to investigate
the trouble. All the windows were open
and in few seconds the train was in pos
session of several hundred big Mexican
hornets, the wickedest thing on wings,
with business ends like a dose of future
punishment administered with a live
wire. There were at least three hornets
nests in the decayed tree, and the
hauling of the train hands brought
out the inhabitants. There was u
moment of gaping surprise, then a chorus
of bowls, and every man and woman left
in the cars tried to crawl beneath the
seats, pulling coats, dresses, anything
over their heads with shocking disregard
of the proprieties, Not forty train rob
bers, nor a whole tribe of hostile Apaches,
could have inspired such demoralized ter
ror The conductor, with rare presence
of mind, who headed the crowd who had
Hauled on the tree, shouted, 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 COM
paratively safe, although hOpelessly pris-
oners. The hornets buzzed angrily, or
maybe gleefully, outside and about the
smothered passengers in the coaches, and
all was burning blank.
But we couldn't stay there, yet we
daren't turn out and fight them. Finally.
so l 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 a lively JOLT. The tree was
dragged almost clear, and the rope broke
But the fireman was having too warm a
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 a
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 10th to
take further chances with the hornets,
which we imagined to be lying in wait
for us up the track. Finally all the win
dows and doors were closed tight, the en-
gineer shut himself in his cab and we
went plunging ahead. He said the pilot
struck the old tree and sent il flying sky
ward, enveloped in cloud of hornets
thus dislodged from smashed nests. But
we were out of range and sight in a few
seconds and slid past the next way sta
tion at pace that brought the sleepy
Mexicans to the platform in amazement
An occasional howl during yet another
hour or two told of the discovery of a
lingering hornet in the cars, and when
we reached the next villag" we bought up
the entire stock of ointment, oils and
soothing salves in the single drug store
and the train was a surgery for the re-
mainder of the day,