Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-03-01
DEATH ON THE RAIL.
But The Victims Escape Through the
HeFOiSm Of a Section Hand.
DANGEROUS RIDE 10 WASHINGTON.
A Train Full of Merry Passengers Cams
Near Being Prcciplta,ed Into
Gorge 100 Feet Deep.

WASHINGTON, March /. - Wha.
Rurely would have been bad, and
what might have been terrible acci-
dent, was narrowly averted from the
Baltimore d Ohio train, which brought
Cav. TaDner and his staff into Wash
| ington. IL was by the merest chance
the train was not thrown down into a
gorge 100 feet deep, and had such u
catastrophe happened it is difiicult to
sec how any OF the many passengers
on board could have escaped instant
death. On the train, in addition to
Gov. Tan ner end his stad were Con-
| gresHmeu Belknap and Lorimer,
Senator Littler of Spring field and
| considerable number OF other psssen-
gers on their way to Washington.
This governors train had been late
ever since 1t left Chicago and was an
hour and a half behind time and whsn
| 1t crossed the Ohio river at Beliaire.
| There the train was cut in two anu the
section carrying Gov. Tanner and his
staff starteu Tor Washington in the
| hope o! making up some OF the lost
| time. The engine in charge made
all the time they could and soon the
train, pulled by two engines was
climbing mountains, swinging around
| cliff, and dashing through tunnels.
| a little alter two o'clock IN the
morning just beyond MOundsvilie, a
| little station seven miles west OF Ben
wood, while the train was going forty
miles an hour rounding u sharp cliff,
the engineer in front saw small
bonfte on tho track and in front of IL
| man waving frantic directions at
him to stop. He obeyed at once, re-
versng his engine, rs did the engi-
neer behind, put on all bmkea, aud
both strova by every meaus in their
power to bring the train to halt. For
n moment which seemed au hour the
effort WINS truitless. The heavy train
dashed through the fire, anu would
have run over the man had he lot
stepped aside. He went forward
seemingly without any diminution of
epeed tor y while aud then the brakes
caught, the train slowed up and finniiy
stopped with the nest OF the cow
catcher buried among lot OF
, bpultezR spine ots,Asm vcighing tcss2
which had slid down from the cliff
above and completely covered tho
truck. Had the train struck them
with any force at all 1t must have
been dersiled, ana that, in that place,
meant horrible accident. The road
bed there is nothing but a ledge cut III
the lace OF the bluff. To the lett the
cliff lowered up hundred feet with
hardly room between it and the
tracks for the man who gave
the warning to squeeze himself
as the train went by. To the right
was sheer descent OF another hun.
| dreeu feet or moro into narrow gorge
at the bottom OF which rushed
mountain stream, swollen out of its
banks by melting SHOWS. Had the
train beeu preclpitated into the gorge
the fatalities which would have ro-
suited would have been frightiul to
contemplate. 1t would have been
almost impossiblv for any one on board
to havs escaped alive.
When the train stopped the man
who had given tho warning had IA
strangs story to tell. His name is
John fitzpatrick, aud he was the Sec
tion hanu whose duty II was ito patrol
that stretch OF track. He had come
out without his lantern as he had
neglected to procure any oil for II
yesterday. While walking along the
track in the darkness there was o sud-
den noise up the cliff TO his left and
with quick rush huge bouiders came
down upon him, any one Of which,
! had IL hit him, woulu have swept him
Into the gorge below. For moment
he was too scared to even think, then
he awoke to n realization OF what had
happened and the fact that a fast pas
| senger train was due at any moment.
| Clambering back over the high
bouldeIs In the darkness he started to
run down the track to meet the ex.
pecIed train. He had no lantern
to signal II with and 60 going
az lar as he dared, for the
train was ihun M hour overdue,
he built fire on the tracks with sticks
ho pulled of the bushes in the cliff at
the side OF the track and used it for a
danger signal. Tue road Is all curves
here, In and around the cliff, 80 the
light could not be seen ut any
considerable distance. 30 he put him.
self In front OF 1t, and when tho train
came as it cid ten minutts Afterwards,
John Fitzpatrick stood there before
the beacon fire and yelled and danced
like demon, until the engineer saw
him and sought to stop the train.
AZ 1t was, they succeeded. II is
doubtful II another ten feet OF head
| way would not have resulted In fear
ful accident which might have cost
Illinois & governor ana certainly would
have resulted n many deaths. When
the passengers saw what had hap.
pened they gave attention TO the old
trackwalker ami his "lhank you, sir,"
was puDctuRted by the jingle OF some-
thing that fell merrily into the recesses
o ( the bluest pair Of overaIls any West
| Virginia traokwalker ever yet wore.
Many OF the women passengers
bEaved the cold and came TO the scene
and they alau said things TO old Eits.
| patrick.
Thus, by the narrowest OF margins
the only mau that could have saved
| tue train nverted death,
Had he been killed or even rendered
unconscious no power on earth could
have prevented frigbtful dis
aster. 1t took Fitzpatrick fully
ten minutes to Chamber over the
pile OF earth 10 reSch the tracks on the
other side. His hands were cut and
bis clothes torn when he at last accom-.
| Pitched 1t.
One OF the train hands was sent
away to Moundsville TO secure aid in
clearing away the obstruction. In an
hour he returned and in two hours