The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-10-27

felt, but now it seems more like a dream than an actual happening.
 There we were, six men, the trains crew, all at our posts and absolutely powerless in anyway to stop the tre- mendous speed of those cars How did I feel? Great God, I cannot tell you. Now and then I glanced sideways. We must have been going at the rate of two miles a minute. The telegraph poles alongside looked like a picket fence. so rapidly did we pass them. The trees and the mountainous hills resembled a mixed mass of dark green and brown. In taking the curves ev- cry one of which I thought certainly would be the last, watched that string of cars. It looked like a rapidly moving snake trying to get away from threatening danger. Thoughts passed through my mind as never be- fore My brain seemed afire. could not help but think how helpless we half-dozen men were at tho time. Never before did I feel so utterly use- less. thought of jumping, but that would be suicide, and so l stuck to my post. 4
 "Wlth hands and feet 1t was all could do to hold my position on top of the car. The train was Jumping ana lunging forward, lodging from side to side and at times 1t would seem that everything had left the track and the train was fairly flying through the air
 "I couldn't keep my eyes off the en- gineer. l happened to be looking ahead when the engine took the Clawson curve. It seemed to me that the tender jumped the track first. Then there was bulge and every car | seemed to rise high in the air and crash into one another. This I real ized as the end of the wild ride. In a way was glad it was over.
 with the most terrifying sound ever heard in my life, or ever imag ined there was a sudden shock Then confusion. As the force of those heav- l ily-laden cars pushed themselves against the locomotive the compact was awful The box-cars were flat tened out like paper boxes under the hand of a giant. 1 "As I went down with the top of the ear l felt the other cars piling, one after the other upon me. Something struck me in the head My shoulder was twisted and pulled in every direc- tion. The claw of monster seemed to grab and scratch my face. All was darl1iess about me. And this is death! i thought. And then there was si- lence. All I could hear was the hiss l ing of escaping steam. And again l
 thought of theengineer at his post. |
 tried to free myself and found that the debris was all about me. couldn't see, but finally succeeded in eXtrica- | ting myself, l was safe at last! The sight that met my eyes was indescrib-
 able.
 "I thought of my fellow workmen, | and in half-dazed condition tried to
 walk toward the engine. I almost knew how Seiger had fared. but I
 wanted to help him if could. I found some water and stopped to bathe my
 face. Then the section men appeared. and 1 was too weak to help in the
 work of rescue. They took me to Ash land, then on to Portland, and here I am. I couldn't live through another experience as have just gone through"
 Wylie is badly cut and bruised about the face and head, his shoulder blade is bruised and in addition he is suffer ing from a broken arm. However, his condition is not considered serious. He has been in the railroad business seven years and has wife and child living at Ashland.-Portland Oregoni- an.