Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-03-24
ESCAPE FROM DEATH
Great Men Tell How They Came Through
Fires, Wrecks, and Accidents.
DIR. pEpEw IN A II. II. DISASTER.
One Jumps Astride q Runaway
Horse, and the other Leaps from
Burning Bniiding-Hummei'
Sage, and PnrIshurst-Dr. shrady.
Correspondence Of the Dispatch)

standing In the COrTluor oi the 'iO9e'
Waldorf. He was talking 10 a party oil
gentlemen, among whom / recognized
william Sumner Wyse. OF recent fame
In the divorce courts and an old-time chum
of Cleveland and Bissell. As / passed
the group heard the ex-Postmaster say:
'I've had many close call on land and
sea, but the closest one of all was In carry
ing the postmaster's portfolio; and nearly
lost my life and reason under its burdens.
In fact, my physician told me i would
die with nervous prosiration inside the
term unless / leid 1t down" All nodded
sympathetically, and passed on to ask
DIR. Chauncey N. Depew his narrowest
escape from death experience.
mo man can appreciate his own life
until II has once been nearly snatched
away from him." said Mr.. Depew, when
/ congratulated him upon his robust ap-
pearance as he sat at his desk In the
New York Central offices. land I've been
in peril often enough to be happy when
I'm well and hearty. You ask me my
closest call to death? Why. almost wish
you wouldn't, because my imagination has
never quite recovered from the shock or
a railway disaster in which once played
a star part: and even double role-aS
sufferer and spectator. 1t happened years
ago, yet l dream IL all over again now,
just as / tell it to you.
TROUBLOuS TIMES.
'It was during the civil war, In the
fall Of 1863, and the times were more
troublous then than they are now by
a great deal Therefore, when / received
a summons from the Secretary of War
to report at Washington on a certain
night 1 packed my gripsack with not a
few forebodnEs of evil. At that time L
held the office of Secretary of State OF
New York. and. being a person OF some
political importance and man OF
strongly-eXpressed opinions l feared that
something might be done to harm me.
And my death tust at that time would
have been a serious loss TO the State,
which needed then all Its councillors.
may say. also. that during the war rail-
way accidents were more frequent than
now, though whether from real accident
or the work of miscreants do not UNDER
take TO say.
However, / made the journey to Wash
ington all right and transacted some i'm
B'i tAnA aAdNt burlitscSs II WAS all 1fllSn-
ed in a day and next night l found my
self upon a sleeper bound for New York.
II was a comfortable section, and could,
thirty years ago. WOO and win sleep
without difficulty, but that night my
eyelids refused to stay closed. and I'm the
darkness OF the car ! conjured I'D strange
shapes and more than once | wished
myself and the packet of important papers
l carried safe home again.
SHOT THROUGH THE AIR.
Il must have fallen asleep after a
while, for suddenly I felt myself being
propelled violently toward one end of the
car. II was as II some one had taken
me by the feet and stuffed me In a can
ron's mouth, and then had applied a
match TO the big gun. Through the air |
shot' and-Bang! | came up against the
door all in a heap.
Terrible shouts reached me. and, climb
Ing out OF the window nearest me-a win.
dow all broken TO atoms-I saw the most
awful sight OF my life. The train. by
some mismanagement or rascality, har.
run OF the track and into a ditch, and
there we were. all piled UP together. and
the flames from the engine coming fast
upon us. Here and there an able-b bodied
person came crawling out OF the wreck,
and together We worked as fast as we
could getting the peopls out. 1t was a
ghastly task, and when morning dawnei
twenty lay dead upon the bank and fifty
others were fatally or seriously wounded
As for me, I was the only soul saved
in my car. And / was quite seriously hurt
internally. though / did not then realize
IT. but afterwards | felt IT, For weeks
/ could scarcely walk. My muscles and
sinewS seemed wrenched apart.
SAVED HIS LIFE
"The oldest feature that | can recall
OF that accident was the case Of wound
ed soldier. who was coming North on
furlouSh. The poor fellow was dragged
from the wreck with the blood spouting
from his jugular-vein. IL mad been badly
cut by a piece of broken glass. II LETT
alone he could hardly have lasted fifteen
minutes. But in the cars there happened
TO be a medical student. Get up he said.
as he saw me kneeling upon the grass
by the soldiers side trying to stop the
blood. I haven't any instruments with
me. but / know how to check it.
''Then he sat down beside the man
and gave a brutal clutch at the side OF
his neck. Immediately the blood stopped
like turning off a faucet Now. I'll sit
here and hold this till morning he said'
and YOU bring the first eurgeon you see
right here.
For four mortal hours that noble
vouno fellow held that llfe-yein, until his
Gppers we're cramped and blue and his
legs stiff from sitting on the grouhd' l
tried TO help him, but was powerless. IN
the morning the surgeons arrived from
PHILADELPHIA, and, you may be sure was
not slow i'm capturing one. Long SealS
afterwards / had the pleasure OF seells
the wounded soldier and the studeht-nON
Hnh
over a social dinner | do not know wnat
permanent shock they sustained put l
can saw for myself that ! am iike ChaIIes
Dickens. who never rested perfectly alIer
being In a railroad disaster T.
Dr George +. Shrady has douple IN
terest attending his narrowest escape
from death: The narrative lh'ereS'eu
both Grant and Garfield as they lay on
tbeir death beds. and ! tell it TO you now
ins, as | related II to both, says the
Doctor. - ,o,,
T was. YOU may know. city BOY
and. of course. proud OF beng sew
Yorker. and so when | went down East
on a holiday ] was not prepared 10 pc
laughed at, even by boys who knew the
woods and fields. But / soon fouhd 'ha'
my country cousins were preparing 70
,est nv knowledge In all directions. on
the very first day one OF them picked
up n big. powerful. ugly-looking gun that
stood in a corner and said: Here, George
load this gun and I'll take you out 10
shoot squirrels
'I looked at the gun cautiously, no:
sneered my cousin. He is afraid OF a gun.
Poor city boy
THAT taunt settled me. I boldly picked
I'D the gun. 'Taint loaded said my
cousin. Now, you blow down the muzzle
and I'll pull the trigger. That cleans II
out
Down the muzzle ] blew with all my
might. And snap went the trigger in
my cousins hands. Another minute and
he had snatched II away with an ex-
clamation OF horror. Why. IL Is loaded'
cried he, Lookr and away out Of the
open door he blaZed the gun. shooting
a squirrel that sat upon a fence MUNICH
ing a nut. The only explanation OF my
escape is that the gun had been so long
unused that IL missed fire the first time.
II was loaded with buckshot, and the
squirrel was in twenty pieces. My head
would have shared the same fate
General Garfield enjoyed this story. and
the accounts l gave him OF my boyish
pranks. But Grant was too tender
hearted and emotional for tales OF acci-
dent. and the night l told him this at
Mount McGregor he actually wept"
IL an accident that occurred at the
Bank Building of New York