Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-02-22
Ran a Race with Death.

icethy ol'uho ohO NuiiSy VI oi"ht i''S's
east of Painesville, Ohio. The bridge
is little wider than the distance be-
tween the rails, and the ties are
placed eight or ten inches apart, the
space between being open to the river
below.
A young man who crossed rec.Itly
had a thrilling experience on the
bridge. He had just passed the centre
when fast train rounded the curve
behind him. AS the engine whistled
he quickened his pace. With every
step the train was rushing nearer and
there was not moment to lose.
Once the young man stumbled and
seemed about to fall, but quickly re-
gained his balance and hurried on.
As he reached the place for which he
had started the train was close behind
and he had just time to swing himself
over the side of the bridge as the To-
comotive thnndered by. The ends of
the ties wete slippery with grease
from dripping axle boxes and his foot
slipped wide as he left the track. His
right hand. stretched blinaly out be-
fore him, touched round iron bar,
bracing two parts of the bridge, and
with grip like that of a drowning
man his fingers clasped around it.
For moment he swung in empty air.
In another his left hand had found
place beside his right and his feet
touched the welcome edge of brace
below. With bleeding fingers clutch
ing the slender iron bar that vibrated
widely from side to side moments
seemed hours. v
At last the train passed, and the
young man was able to climb slowly
to the track above. Unnerved by the
trying experience, he lay for mo-
ment stretched ACROSS the rails, and
then rising to his feet, with blanched
face and unsteady limbs, made his
way to firm ground.
Two Tussles with Bridges.
Alfred Pilkington owes his life to
the strength of the fabric of which his
coat is made. Pilkington is carpen-
ter employed in the Pennsylvania
Railroads repair department. He
was sent to do some work on the high
bridge which spans the Schuylkill
River at Manayunk.
Late in the afternoon, as he was
hammcring away, with no fear for his
safety, shifting engine backed rap
idly down the track and started across
the bridge, with hardly any noise to
give warning of its approach. Pix
ington saw it, but too late. AS he
hurried to get off the track, it struck
him a glancing blow, which lifted him
off his feet and sent him toward the
side of the bridge. A hundred feet
below flowed the turbid waters. a fall
into which meant almost certain death.
On the engine was a shifting crew,
and as soon as possible the members
hurried back to pick up what they
supposed would be dead body, for
the bridge is guarded by picket fenco
on each side, and they never thought
of the man being hurled over it,
But he was. The engine had lifted
him over the fence, and he began to
fall, with one hundred feet of space
between him and the water. But
here strange thing saved his life.
His coat caught on picket of the
fence, and there he hung suspended,
fearing to move lest the garment give
way and allow him to take the fatal
plunge.
There the shifting crew found him
calmly facing whatever might be in
store for him. They brought him
back to safety and hurried him to st.
Timothy's Hospital The physicians
found that the engine had bruised
him, but that he was suffering more
from shock than from anything else.
Pilkington resides at Norristown,
Penn, and is thirty eight years old.
Eighteen months ago he fell through
the Pencoyd treste bridge at West
Manayunk aud was severely injured.
Ascribes His Escape to Prayer.
@. HI. Amberman is suffering from a
badly strained neck as the result of
hanging in the belfry of the Methodist
Episcopal Church at Hampstead, Long
Island. Mr.. Amberman, who is sex
ton want 70 tho lnIf,r ..I.