Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1898-07-27
RACE WITH A WATERSPOUT.
Passengers on n Mexican Train Have
a Thrilling Exnerieuce.

| WI - VS. w
| Passengers on n Mexican Train Have
Thrilling Experience.
Recently there was race run be
| tween a passenger train ON the Inter
! oceanic and waterspOut. The race
| was declared draw, as the train es
capped from the immediate effects OF
the waterspout, which burst against
| the crest of mountain, but the i'm
| mense volume of water poured down
the mountain side along the roadbed
and finally caught up with the train
| and inundated it so that the passen
| gers had to be taken off In handcars.
The particulars of this unique race
are highly interesting. 1t was the daily
passenger train from Pucbla TO this
city, and large number of passengers
| were aboard. About 4:3o o'clock the
sky became suddenly covered with
masses of black clouds. An inky water
spout culebra, as it is called by reason
of it's resemblance to a writing ser.
| pent, hung from the heavens and adj
| vapced rapidly in the track of the NOV
ing train, There was great excitement
among the passengers. The people in
| the thiPd-class coach, who had the best
view Of the phenomenon, went down on
their knees in prayers for deliverance
One lady had nervous attack and
| tainted. When the engineer learned OF
| the panic aboard his train he decided to
| show the culebra his heels. Then be-
| gan the prettiest race on record, with
the lives of a load of passengers as the
| stakes. Upgrade, downgrade, around
sharp curves, across bridges and over
| the levels flew that passenger train
with the waterspout just behind and
gaining just n little,
The train entered n canyon, turned
curve. and Mt the same moment the
chasing culebra came to grief high up
| the mountain side The water poured
down the slope in raging torrents, and
rs the train emerged from the other
side of the gorge vast sheet of water,
| bearing trees, rcks and all kinds OF
debris on Its bosom, threatened to en-.
| gulf 1t. Wider the engineer threw the
| throttle, endeayoring to escape this
new danger, and all would have been
| safe, but another sharp curve inter
VI ned and the engine jumped the track.
| The engineer saw the danger AMI re-
versed the lever and applied the brakes.
| The engine rolled down the embark.
ment. but the rest of the train, inc.ud-
| ing the tender, remained on the track.
The next moment the mass of water
struck the now stationary train and
| flooded it to the level of the platforms.
The passengers and crew were help
less TO do more than look out to see
what had become of the engineer and
| fireman. supposing them killed. But
they both scrambled, or rather swan,
out of the window of the overturned
cab rnd clambered back on the train.
This happened in the vicinity of San
Antonio Capulalpam, state of Tlaxcala.
A relief train was dispatched to point
as near as it could get and the passen-
gers and crew of the shipwrecked train
were transported III bandcars and
brought on to Mexico, arriving here
| only four and onehaif hours late, and
with an experience which none of them
will ever live long enough to forget,
and which, had it not been for the
presence of mind of n nervy engineer.
none of them would in all probability
have lived to remember.-Me Mexican Her
aid.