Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-02
IT WAS A NARROW ESCAPE

A party of newspaper men were talking
the other evening of the shooting of Ed
ward Marshall, the New York CORRESPOND
ent, In that Spanish ambuscade Of the
rough riders and regulars near Santiago,
and the conversation drifted into the mar
ration of narrow squeaks that some of the
men present had had In the the course of
their newspaper careers.
Il was about seventy miles from the
point at which 1 came the nearest to Drop
ping out for keeps, said a Chicago man,
and Yet l was less than sixty seconds
from death at that. 1t happened this way:
The city editor Of my paper-the hveIiest
paper in Chicago at the time-wanted a
Sunday story written about a midnight
ride on the engine Of an express train He
wanted page of 1t, with illustrations. As
l was regarded as the Observation-Disclosures
OF the reportorial staff, the city editor
picked me out for the job. He detailed one
OF the papers artists to go along with me
10 make the sketches. 1 didn't particular
dicted to the desire to occasionally get in
as much as four hours sleep in the twenty
four, but was detailed to make the engine
r T and there was no use kicking about it.
so went to an official of the Big 4 rail-
road whom l knew, and made arrange
ments with him for the trip The artist
ana myself were to board the engine of the
through express for the east about l1:3O
one summer night, and ride about 100
miles Then We were to drop OF and re-
turn to town to fix up the story
On the night that We were to start on
the trip, was working away down at the
once Keeling OF my hotel interviews. 1
was the hotel reporter at the time. About
1880, when was about ready to dig up my
aaIiss s ana start Tor the station. telephone
call from the Grand Pacific Hotel notified
me that Secretary of the Treasury Charley
roster nad Just arrived at that hosiery
from washington, and the hotel clerk who
n hof
get beat in my hotel column I'd better
chase down and have talk with the Sec
retary, who was at that moment corralled
oy haf a dozen of the hotel reporters Of
01ner papers. There was lot going on
lust then in the nations finances, and I
didn't want to get beat on an interview
win the Secretary Of the Treasury. So 1
told the city editor that Foster was at the
Grand Pacific. and that I'd better nab him.
he agreed with me, and away 1 went to the
MOTEL got good talk out of the Secre-
tary-one OF the three-minute variety that
ne was so fond of giving out when he was
nailed and had to-and was back at the
once, writing 1t, within half an hour after
left 1t; L wrote that copy with cyclonic
me on the engine trip standing at INV
shoulder all the while, telling me TO chop
IL on and run for the train. l needn't have
hurried for, when | was nearly through
editor came in and told me that he had
sent another writer and another artist to
take the midnight engine ride. Although
oion want to go on the trip. l didn't
particularly relish this thing of being sup-
planted by another man. and told the CITY
editor SO. WV 'AAe lily
Well,' said he, you've got six minutes
II you can catch the train, go ahead. and
SEND the other man back
started on hope for the Big station
just as L got up to the gate, the gateman
was closing 1t, and the train was already
moving pretty swiftly. 1 made a run for
IL, all the samee, but wasn't as good as
steam, and lost 90
went back to the office to stand a trick
OF emergency duty-which meant staying in
the ONCE until 3 in the morning-and 7
1elt bit sore, because l knew that the
man who had taken my place on the en-
g1ne trip would write a swell story of ir
rival " oi ioooie
AT O'Clock in the morning a messenger
boy crept sleepily into the office and handed
me dispatch-for was on the desk. read
Ing copy The dispatch announced that the
Big express had gone through an open
switch about seventy miles from Chicago.
right smack into a round house. and that
the engine had been smashed to bits in q
turn-table pit. killing the engineer. fireman.
the man who had taken my place and the
young artist, and inturing a score of the
passengers" $500