The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1897-08-26
tho whole north was lighted up with
= blood-red glare. flashing into sheets

- E0AOS>&TASu y Ao1S % - SA4Ae = 81 - 0aAS0sa
Of vivid yellow. s;ss 3 /
The angry hail 81 sparks damed
against the glass, and glowed threaten
ingiy upon the root, while here and
there little gray clouds Of smoke could
be seen twirling up il thin, spiral col
umns through the interstices Of the
doors and windows. rs.
Outside, the roar Of flames, the cries
Of wild animals; inside, the sobbing Of
frightened women and children, and
the choking cough Of some weak
chested individuals. 81 q,
The train was dashing along at .
furious rate, rocking from side to side
like q mad thing, and the conductor
remarked, in his hurried passage, that
the paintwork had caught fire.
The glass in the windows had grown
hot to the touch. We were rushing
through sea of flame. The crying
and coughing Of the women and chill
dren became heartrendering, while
the men stood about in anxious groups,
peering out into the yellow, lurid light.
Suddenly we were plunged into pro-
found darkness. It gradually cleared
away, but we were terrified afresh by
the strange grinding and jolting Of the
train. Had we run off the rails, and
were we to be left burning wreck in
the middle of this awful scene?
The suspense was great, but only
lasted for minute. The door opened
with bang, and the voice of the con-
ductor was heard above the din, say
ing: ..
"Jump out lively, lads! She's on fire
outside. Bring along your blankets and
rugs" it.. J., LIZ w.
We needed no second invitation for
this, and presently were standing out
side, beating at the light flames which
ran over the cars like will-o'- the-wisps,
for the patchwork was indeed on fire.
and blistered, blackened and scorched
in thousand places. -, , :-..-
In a few more minutes our blankets
would have been of no avail. AS it was
our handsome train was sadly-disfig-
ured object. We opened the windows
to let in the fresh air and bring out the
fainting women. All about us, and to
the northward, the ground was one
black, arid waste, marked here and
there by the half-burnt carcass of some
unfortunate animal, whose fight was
Intellectual. Southwark we saw an ever
rolling black cloud, broken at intervals
by spark or flash of fame; but the
luridness and glare were now concealed
from our view by black pail of smoke,
as was the pillar of light from the
Egyptians.
We thought we had escaped terrible,
danger, and were loud in our congratu-
lations; but the conductor only shook
his head good-humoredly, and seemed
rather disposed to make light of it. He
had been through a prairie fire before,
but admitted that it was not quite 30
close shave as this.
"The fire must have had a frontage of
20 miles," he said, taking it from first
to last, for we were 80 minutes getting
clear of it, and am certain the speed
was worked up to 20 miles an hour
We could but admire the conductors
courage and GOODNESS in moment of
such dreadful peril to every soul on
board of the train; and we told him
so with a heartiness and unanimitiy
that appeared to please him nightly,
though he modestly disclaimed all merit
for simply doing, as he said, what was
his duty. ~
An hour after our "great scare''' the
charred and blackened train was again
rushing forward into the darkness, with
u hundred restless brains becalmed in
sleep, and naught between them and the
dangers of the night save the mercy Of
Heaven and the watchful eye of the
engineer.-Golden Days.