The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-10
DEAD AT THE THROTTLE.
And the Train Flying at Fifty Miles
an Hour.
From the New York World.


Chicago, March 29.-Unguided and I'M
checked, with the speed and force of
comet, great steam engine, attached to
a train bearing three hundred passengers.
eaped the other night through ten-mie
tangle of city and suburban switches, and
its iron muscles charged with some safe
ty-seeking instinct, plunged into the lit
lie station at Hawthorne. H.
A dead man was at the throttle; had sat
there since the Freeport Express steamed
out Of the Central Station at Chicago For
ten miles, with the engine screwed up to
a fifty mile-an-hour speed, his limp. dead
hand had lain poWerless to avert disaster
his dead eyes had looked blankly out at
the appalling danger ahead. Not one of
the passengers or employees aboard the
train suspected his own real peril
The real story of the frightful trip and
of how Engineer Joseph f. Hoffman, one
of the oldest men in point of service in
the employ of the Illinois Central Road,
died at his post is here told in full by
Fireman Henry Murphy, who fed the big
furnace while the dead man sat at the
lever.
The Fireman's story.
Keep the steam in the second SOs,
Hank" said Hoffman to me as we We're
pulling out of the Central station that
night i've got a little one sick at home
and l want to get in on time
We had started at 1895 p. M, five min
utes late.
"All right, joe" said Wen get in
on time if we have slippery rail and
five minutes the worst of it."
In a minute the big engine was quitting
and screaming on the 1SO-mile run to
Freeport.
Il am convinced that Joe died directly
we pulled out. Before we had gone
two miles we were running fifty miles an
hour, double our usual speed | could not
see the engineer, for the boiler was be-
tween us. | thought he wanted to make
up the lost time, and that the little one"
was en- his mind. On we went, humping
and swayng around the curves and ignor-
ing red lights.
What in the devil has got into the old
MANI" I said 10 myself. Il never saw
him so reckless before"
You see, we'd get on a signal block with
the danger Light up ahead of us, but never
a slow down. In fact, we were increas-
ing speed all the time. Fortunately,
about the time we'd reach the signal it
would flash Clear" l grew terrified at
these close shaves and shouted
Joe, we'll get reported for this We're
running fifty miles, sure"
I got no answer, and 1 supposed he was
thinking OF the little one.
Away we went, past Jackson Park,
Hyde Park, Woodlawn, with no let-up in
speed. l saw the danger and got sick
with fright But 1 knew that Hoffman
knew his business if anybody did. We
ran past freight trains and past stations
where we ought to stop. AZ last | stood
up and looked over. Joe sat in his seat,
his head out the window, but his hand
was not on the lever. l thought the man
had gone daft, but 1 said, as calmly as l
could
eve are running too fast, old man.
He never noticed me, and I went back
to my seat convinced he was crazy. AS
we drew near Hawthorne a red light
cleaned on the main line a thousand
yards ahead Joe paid no attention to the
signal. We had run 200 yards when
yelled: "Shut her down! There is a
freight aheadr
Joe did not move. I ran from my seat
shut off the steam, gave. her. the air and
sand and brought the big train to stand
| still not 100 feet from long freight train
| pulling in off our track on 10 a side
track. I was as white as a sheet, my
heart was humping and 1 was all a-trem-
BILE I turned to Joe. His head was still
out the window 1 put my hand on his
shoulder and said Are you sick, old
man?'' He was limp. l sat him up,
and one look in his face told the truth
he was ueau anu colu. Helu d ldnterH
up close and took another look. There
was no mistake. Poor fellow, he did not
see the 'Gittle one" They called 1t heart
disease.
I took the train up to the Hawthorne
Station, where his body was left. In five
minutes another engineer was in the cab
and we left on time. Few of the passen-
| gers knew of the narrow escape they had
As for me. I shall never forget that
ride nor the fright had. 1t was the most
horrible experience of my life.