The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-14


Center-Through at Last.
From the Chicago Chronicle.
The man who passes safely through a
/ cyclone is not likely 10 forget it, This is
I a true story OF a man VINO was between
/ two cyclones. If he did not see the terrors
I Of the atmospheric terror of the west
/ he saw the effects OF il. and in this way
I he saw what the actual witness of cy-
! clone sees-some humorous phases as well
/ as some of the serious sides of the effects
! He left st. Paul Sunday night At S o'clock
\ ON the night train of the Chicago Great
/ Western railway-the old Maple Leaf line
/ so called because the main line and its
/ southeastern and southwestern branches
| resemble the main stem and the branches
/ of a maple leaf. The stem is the line from
/ ST. Paul 10 Oelwein. Ia. The branches ex-
/ tend from Oelwein 10 Chicago and from
I Oelwein 10 Kansas City. 1t is 40 miles
| from st. Paul TO the junction at Oelwein,
/ and 80 miles from the latter place to
/ Chicago. The Chicago branch crosses the
| Mississippi river at Dubuque.
The man who travels much does not
/ have to be told, as he is doubled up like a
| jack-knife in a sleeping car BERTH that
something is wrong on the road when
there is a situation of that character. A
q
close touch with the engineer, although
they may never see one another When
an engineer knows that the roadbed ahead
Of him is uncertain, and ne has no other
orders than to run slow, ne feels his way
and this caution is recognized quickly by
the man who has been on the road many
times.
The man who left St. Paul last Sunday
night ticketed to Chicago knew after he
hau retired that the engineer was feeling
MS way. The train at times moved with
the sort Of stealth that is characteristic lie
or men and animals when they are uncer-
tam. Ihen there would be q stop. not
the sudden stop which trains often make,
buL the SLOW, almost lmperceptible stop
which the scout makes when ne stops to
llstea. Ihls caution and stop repeated
by the engineer of railroad train indf-
cate danger ahead, but the fact that the
engineer tOresaw danger rather tended
to make the man who is much of a tray
eler feel easier.
This traveller from St Paul dropped
asleep, but he awoke at intervale, ana
particularly when the train had a slow
stop. Those who travel much in sleeping
cars say mat this is invariably the case.
some time IN the morning, before day
ught there was quick flash of light
nlng' and one of those reports that seem
always 10 stun. And at that the train
again stood still. II did not move for 30
minutes. The sound Of the voices of men
are heard outside, as II the men were hur-
ana 1t quiveTed, heavy and Vestiblued a.
1t was. Soon after it resumed the eau
tious molten, and kept it up, with occa-
slonal stops, until o'clock, when it reach
ed Oelwein, where 1t stood as if it had
come TO stay. The rate of speed had been
an average of less than thirteen miles an
hour
The colored porter of the Pullman in
which the traveller from st. Paul had
lower" parted the curtains, thrust his
face in and asked:
DO YOU want any breakfa 20
The traveller said he was in that mood,
ana asked where the meal could be had.
The porter replied:
There's a hotel near the depot and
restaurant on the corner. You will hav e
an hour"
In reply to the travellers question as to
what had occasioned the delay, for at that
moment the train should have been within
sixty miles of Chicago, the porter said:
Cyclones. Two of 'em. one behind
us and one ahead of us. We was between
en- all night. Y gu ought to have seen
some of the road we passed over. You
wouldn't have slept much if you had.
The station at Valera, on the Kansas
City branch, was torn TO pieces and sew
eral people killed. The station at Du-
range between here and Dubuque, is in
ruins, and lot of people killed there.
And the track between here and Du-
range is all washed out"
During the delivery of the remarks
of the porter all the occupants of other
births had appeared, and within a few
minutes were dressed and out making
their way to the hotel and restaurant.
Wet-looking clouds hung low in the sky.
| They seemed threatening. The residents
/ of the town gathered about the train,
! the travellers, the depot and the hotei.
/ There was a sickening uncertainty in the
| atmosphere. Beyond the bare facts that
! there had been two cyclones, and thai
! there had been a loss of life and prop
| erty there was no information
| The telegraph office in the depot was IN
| a confused state. Every device known to
! operators was brought to bear, but each
| time the effort was in vain. The town
| was cur ~ from communication with the
| world. There We're men there who, per-
| haps, had never sent a telegraphic mes
| sage in their lives, but when they re-
/ allied that no communication could be
| had with the world without they looked
/ as forlOrn and pale as the people of Pom
| peii must have looked when they realized
! the situation which buried them alive.
| The division superintendent of the road
/ tried IN vain TO get connections that he
! might know how to move a train But he
| failed. There were men and women on
| the train VINO Were awe-S tricken at this
| information, because it meant that they
could send no tdings Of their condition
1t is wise provision that people are
/ so constructed that when they come face
to face with the inevitable they become
Drawer. An hour after the first sicken-
| ing sensation of the situation these peO-
! pie prepared to make the best of it. They
went to the hotel and the restaurant
lily prepared as were those places to feed
a multitude. When people can eat they
are not very seriously frightened.
The capacity of the eating house was
limited. There were 200 people at the
door; There was room for less than sixty
at the tables The landlord, a man OF
physique and big, soft hat, in mis- shirt
sleeves acted as host. waiter and stew
ard. He had three women to assist and
they We're more agitated than any of the
| travellers.
Two commercial gents, sometimes called
drummers gave the situation its first
grotesque appearance.
Bring US couple of those porter-house
steaks" sad one of them 10 girl who
found Il difficult to pass the house
She hestatod. and then finally said she
thoughr they had none. She said they
had ham and eggs and steak. What sort
of steak? Beef steak. She was told tc
bring on what she had. There was q
small plate of strawberries on the table
and orc Of the drummers said to his
partner; "Nll throw you dice to see who
has them" This caused other guests tc
look forlorn. The landlord came upon the
scene at that moment and said he had
just sent up town for some more straw
berries. and there would be plenty in a
few minutes.
There was a telephone in the dining
room. One of the help gave the box the
usual call and said. Send down q II the