The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1897-07-22

Apry OF why John Duffer
44.S I'd For His Life.
Missouri, and they II
BEL
W. rs wfsf John Duffer of Pike
Mo-, remarked one morning
AN3e was being patched up in the
ne of DR.. Creighton at Manitou,
~ Colorado Springs correspond-
ht of the Philadelphia Times. His
bee and hands were badly scratch4a
here they had come in contac1
fifth the sharp gravel, there wa d
3ruise over one eye where his head
Had struck against fragment of
Mixes peak, one elbow felt like a
Farnation wildcat had clawed it, I"
land there was general feeling of
soreness pretty much every
where, : as he explained to the doc
tor, but he was alive and thankful.
John had jumped from the plat
form Of Colorado Midland passen-
ger train, at the entrance to the first
tunnel above Manitou, while labor
ing under mistake. as to the desti-
nation 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 darned trains, when I've got
a through ticket to Cripple Creek in
my pocket" he remarked as the
doctor took another stitch in his
scalp and adjusted an artistic court
plaster single on the swelling dome
over his right eye.
"You see, doc" said the Missou-
rian, 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 90 at
that, and find chunks of gold in the
rocks. I had my grip and a bucket
of grub in the car, and just after
the train left the depot went out
on the platform to look at the
Down on one side was
q boiler, and up on t'other side was
a hill that couldn't see to the top
of, and on all sides was mountains,
and ! couldn't see how the train was
ever going to dodge them all.
1.-THE little shelf the train was
running on kept wiggling through
them hills like snake in q plow
field, and then I 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 I could see daylight
on the other side. And then when
the train went through that split
in the hill it switched around kinder
to one side, and then could see the
tracks ahead of the engine, and saw
big white mountain all covered with
snow, sticking clear up into the
clouds, and nobody knows how
much farther, and the next thing
knowed the engine give a screech
like she was most scared to death,
and I looked quick and the whole
business was going PUNK into hole
in the ground. And then I jumped.
Came near getting killed, but I
fooled them that trip. You don't
catch me running up against any
game that I don't know nothing
about, and I amt going into any
thing that I don't know the way :
out of. Then / came down to town
to get patched up, and I'm going to
Cripple Creek some other way, even
if I have to walk"
And what became of the train9"
asked the doctor, who had been
feeling of Duffer's ribs to see if they
were all in place. Didn't they stop
for you2"
stop nothing. The last I saw
of the darned thing it was still
going into the hole, and l didn't
care whether it ever stopped or not.
wasn't on it. Say, do you reckon
could get my bucket back if they
get them out2"
1t took considerable time and the
of several witnesses to
Mr.. Duffer that the entire
train and its contents were not hope
lessly buried in the interior of Pixies
peak, and quito little crowd ac-
companied him to the station,
where Agent Dunaway telegraphed
to Cascade to return one lunch pail
and grip labeled John Duffer, Pike
County, Mo.
And as he left the station to fill
up on free soda billing right out of
the ground" Mr.. Duffer explained
once more: when the train went
into that hole, 1 thought we'd never