Evening star., 1897-05-08
Had Never Seen n Tunnel.

A correspondent of the Philadelphia
Times writes frc-u Colorado Springs as fol-
lows:
I'm from Missouri, and they'll have to
show met
That is what John Dufrer of Pike county,
Missouri, remarked this morning as he was
being patched up in the Office of Dr.
Creighton at Manitou. His face and hands
were badly scratched where they had come
in contact with the sharp gravel there
was bruise over one eye where his head
had struck against a fragment of Pixies
Peak, one elbow felt like tarnation Wild
cat had clawed it," and there was a gen.
eral feeling of soreness pretty much
everywhere" as he explained ii to the doc
tor, but he was alive and thankful.
John had jumped from the platform of
Colorado Midland passenger train, at the
entrance to the first tunnel above Mantou,
while laboring under mistake as to the
destination of the train, which appeared to
be plunging into the mountain side.
You don't catch me lettin 'em run me
into the ground with any of their gol darn
ed trains, when I've got a through ticket
to Cripple Creek in my pocket" he re-
marked. the doctor took another stitch
in his scalp and adjusted an artistic court
plaster shinSie on the swelling dome over
his right eye. I'm pretty badly peeled up.
but you bet I'm still on top, and that's
where I'm going TO stay" And John Duffer
took good-sized bite out of a mammoth
piece of navy plug which he dug out of his
pocket, and relapsed into momentary
silence, though his jaws worked faster than
ever.
You see, doc" said the Missourian, as he
deluged the gas log in the doctors fireplace
with the overflow from his lips, II was
agoing over to Cripple Creek to see what
those gold mines look like, where they
shovel up the stuff into a wagon and let
her go at that, and find chunks of gold in
the rocks L had my grip and a bucket of
grub in the car, ard just after the train
lett the depot went out on the platform to
lock at the mountains. Down on one side
was holler, and up on totner side was
NIL that couldn't see to the top of and
On all sides was mountains, and L couldn't
see how the train was ever going to dodge
them all The little shelf the train was
running on kept wiggling through them
hills like snake in a pillow field and then
L looked ahead and saw where a hill had
been split plumb down to the ground to let
the railroad through, and that was all
right, because l could see daylight on the
other side. And then when the train went
through that split in the hill 1t switched
around kinder to one side, and / could see
the track ahead Of the engine, and then L
saw a Dig White mountain all covered wit
snow sticking clear up into the clouds and
nobody knows how much farther, and the
next thing / knowed the engine give A
screen like she was most scared to death,
ana looked quick and the whole business
was going PUNK into hole in the ground
And then jumped Came near getting killed
but L fooled them that trip. You don't
eaten ME running up against any game
that l don't know nothing about, and |
amt gong into anything that | don't
know the way out of. Then l came down
town to get patched UP, and I'm going to
Cripple Creek some other way, even If 1
have to walk
And what became of the train?" asked
the doctor, who had been feeling of buffers
ribs TO see If they were all in place, didn't
they stop for your
Stop nothing. The last I saw of the
earned thing it was still going into the
hole, and l didn't care whether it ever
stopped or not. l wasn't on it, Saw do
you reckon 1 could get my bucket back if
they get them out?"
1t took considerable time and the testi-
mony of several witnesses to convince Mr
DuHer that the entire train and its con-
tents We're not hopelessly buried in the in
terror of Pixies Peak. and quite a LITTLE
crowd accompanied him to the station
where Agent Dunaway telegraphed 10 Cas-
cade to return one lunch pail and grin la
peied John Duffer, Pike county Missouri
And as he left the station to fill up on
free soda billing right out of the ground :"
MI Dufrer explained. once more: "When
the train went into that hole / Thought
we'd never see daylight again, and INV only
chance was to jump. and so jumped I'm
from Missouri, and you'n have to show