Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1895-02-01

tho two supporting cords at the hcal Of
my hammock, I saw, with q feoling Of
extreme horror, that through friction
with part OF the radial axle frame il
had bcen cut more than hale throughl 1
was hanging hya moro nlamentl If that
broke, death was certain. ] must either
be thrown between the wheels Of the
carriage and frightfully mangled OF
dashed to pieces on tho permanent way.
] Immediately sought some means Of
escape from tho doom that stared me in
the face. / could find none. To hang ON
by the remaining cord ct tho head Of
the hammock was impossible, as direct
" the other was cut through there would
be no support to my feet, which could
not place over the side Of tho sacking
without their coming in contact with the
mechanism Of the coach. Tor the same
reason / could not grasp any Of the
framework above, as the only parts ON
which ] could lay hold wero tho levers,
which woze constantly moving from
side to side and would infalhbly crush
my hands to pieces.
The cord was wearing thinner and
thinner, and 1 knew hat a fow minutes
must put an end to my existence. There
was absolutely nothing to be done but
await my fate, which / did, not with
thai calm composure that is supposed to
mark the hero, but in unspeakable ter
ror. My life was literally hanging on a
thread, and 1 could only lie there trem-
bling, in q cold sweat, watching until
my fragile support should give way.
Suddenly the engine whistle gave q
long scream, and / knew that the brake
was being applied and that our speed
was rapidly slackening. What could it
mean? A distance signal must be against
us If only the train would come to a
standstill, 1 could escaped
We were fast reducing our speed,
and 1 was greatly excited with the hope
that lay in this providential occurrence
when another short whistle told me
that the line was now clear. 1 felt the
brake removed.
Now was the time or neverl l knew
that the train would not move any slow
er during the tine that I could hope to.
continue in NY position. We were go,
ing 10 to 20 miles an hour.
Whipping out my pocketknifc, [
reached up one hand and cut through
the thin strand that supported one side
of my hammock. At the same moment
l closed my eyes and let myself 60, di-
recting all my efforts to tho end that
my fall should be in the center Of the
track. Twas conscious of a fearful blow
on the back of the head and remember
ON more until my senses returned.
When l opened my eyes, 1 was lying
between the lines with no train in sight.
l found that l had received anumber Of
severe Commissions, that my left shoulder
was dislocated, and that 1 had sprained
my right ankle. This seemed to be the
extent of my injuries. In great pain l
managed to limp to cottage a few hun
dred yards from the line, where an agri-
cultural laborer's wife was extremely
kind and attentive. She sent her boy
to fetch the local surgeon, who soon put
my shoulder right and plastered and
bandaged me all over. He then drove
me to tho nearest station, where l tele-
graphed the news of my safety, and
awaited the next train back to New
York.
When I reached town, a great many
of the officials Of the line were on the
platform to condole with me ON my acct
dent and congratulate me IN having es-
capped with MY life. There had been
great excitement and apprehension.
When the train had arrived at Boston
and it was seen that M accident had
happened and that l was missing, q
search for my body han been made along
the whole line. My disappearance had
been considered very mysterious.
My engineer friend, who had been ex-
tremely anxious about me, helped me
into a carriage that he had in waiting
to drive me to my home.
"How, in the name Of heaven, did
you escape with your life?''he asked as
we drove out of the station.
"I'n tell you all about it when VIC
get home, " 1 replied; but, first of all,
1 was right and you were wrongp'
my dear fellow, a" he said laughing
ly, but in all sincerity, 81 am extremely
glad that you have at least that satisfac-
ton out Of the melancholy business. I
congratulate you heartily. "-Exchange.