Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-15
GIRL BLOWS OFF FAST TRAIN
Goes Twenty Feet Into the Air and Light
Comfortably in 0ornheld.
SKIRTS SERVE PURPOSE OF PARACHUTE
what Appeared 90 lie Necessarily
Fatal Accident Turns out 20 lie
Only Unusual and ANUS
ing Circumstance.

To be blown from e train running forty
miles an hour by a wind travelling forty-hve
miles an hour into a Nebraska cornfeld
with grain promising fifty bushels
90 the acre. and left sitting without the
slightest injury, is an experience OF a lte-
time and one which even few such periods
will reveal. This strange, almost super
natural incident dragged itself across the
otherwise uneventful career Of Miss Marie
Karous, who lives on South Second street,
near Poppleton avenue, Sunday night.
Mise Karous was on the Burlington ex-
cursion train returning from the Bohemian
picnic at WILDER and the accident occurred
about three miles this side Of Ashland.
The fact that the young woman was not
killed or mortally Injured Is attributed to
three elements, remarkable utility OF
woman's dress. the weather and the
cushionlike fexibility Of Nebraska soil. OF
the three probably the weather. which it
will be emembered has been especially
''copious" for the last few weeks, had more
TO do with the salvation OF Miss Karous
than anything else. The rains had left
the ground perfectly soft and the young
woman was let down upon it, her clothes
serving as a parachute, without even being
severity jostled.
VIM LAINh hfF lFOm IEhlns
Miss Karous had stepped out Of one car
and was about to enter another when the
terrific storm, the aftermath OF which was
felt in Omaha, came up. The young woman
had a basket on her arm and she and the
basket were suddenly lifted from the plat
form Of the car, which was whizzing along
at the rate of forty miles an hour, carried
about twenty feet into the air and dropped
in a ornfeld out a few yards from the
track.
One or two of Miss Karous' friends we're
on the platform with her at the time Of the
kidnapping and their screams at what they
naturally supposed was their friends end
ing soon brought others out and the train
men were informed Of what had occurred.
"The wind has taken one Of our party
and l guess she is dead by now" piteously
cried one of the women who had seen the
form Of Miss Karous fade away in the jet
blackness of night like an apparition.
The train was stopped as quickly as pos
sible and a telegram sent back to Ashland
for the next train, which happened to be a
freight, 10 look out for the lost pleasure
seeker, or rather for her body, for every
body feared she must have been killed.
Freight Picks Her Up.
Approaching the scene Of Miss Karous'
WONDERFUL experience the men on the
freight train, as the big headlight of the
engine lit up the way, saw a person stand
ing In the middle of the track, frantically
waving something in her hand and crying
at the top of her voice. 1t was Miss Karous,
using her basket for a signal lantern. The
train stopped, took the young woman with
the remarkable experience on board and
rushed on to the excursion train, which was
awaiting developments. DR.. Breuer, who
was on the latter train, examined the
young woman and found her uninjured.
70 friends Miss Karous related her thrill
tng experience as one not to be coveted at
all, but very pleasant-after it was over.
She described her circuit through the air
as most fascinating and said her skirts
served excellently the purpose Of a para
chute when she and the wind decided the
time had come for making the descent.
She says she struck the ground with very
little force and was placed In a sitting
posture. which she retained for some mo-
ments after her return to earth, meditating
over the brief but thrilling past.
Not Mt all Excited.
Miss Karous insists that she never lost
her self-control at any stage Of the pro-
oeedings and friends are perfectly willing
TO accord full credence to her word. for
those who first saw her when she was taken
aboard the excursion train declare she was
not the least excited and in fact appeared
laaa cannarnad nuar the gpotdo,4 ,h,. 49,.