Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 March 1890 — A KNIGHT OF SUSPENCE. [ARTICLE]

A KNIGHT OF SUSPENCE.

Some of the Pleasures of Being a; Brakesman. Getting caught between the bumpers' of cars while coupling them together iB-the commonest of mishaps ; to railroad men; but J unes McCann, . : a brakemun in the employ of the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad at Olean, was m;ide the victim of - the bumpers recently, says.the New : York bun..in,, a maauer wkioh is unparalleled in the history of railroad mishaps. He was coupling cars in the i yard at Orlean at about 9 o’clock in j the evening. The weather was intenj sely cold. In coupling the cans togeth- •| er, he missed his CfflciiTations, and as t the engine - hacked one car down

| against the other, McCann’s hand was caught between the bumpers. The engineer, not knowing anything v/as wrong, pulled aw iy his loeomotive, ' being a switch engine and ita-work be- ! ing finished with the backing down of 1 the cars to the one McCann was to • couple to. The c»r3 were on the outskirts of the yard, where they were to remain until the next morning. McCann was pinned fast between the two bumpers,and to extricate his hand, 1 which was crushed to a pulp,, was im- ' possible. He sbopted for help, but noone heard him. The agony he suffered l from his mangled hand was indescrib- . able. For three hours he was held between the cars, when he became unconscious from the effects of his injury and exposur® to the cold. Soon after midnight a night track laborer, who was returning home from his work, passed near the car where.McCann was a prisoner, and hearing moans, discov* , ered the injured and freezing train - man. The laborer summoned help,and , the cars were pried apart and McCann was removed to the station. He was badly frozoiH and his hand was so ter ribly mangled it had to be amputated. - McCann is not expected to recover from. the effects of his terrible night’s experience.

Rosso tonkiinif’s Ideal Lore. The recent publication of “The.* Life of ltoscoe Conk ling” reminds one. of an interesting and romantic story told me by. the editor of a prominent New York State journal, who was - a close friend of Senator Conkling, and. which has. never been published. The editor was sitting late- at night with Mr. Conkling, after tho- latter hadvdelivered one of his greatest speeches during an exciting campaign. They sat for a. long time iKTStlence, before a brightly glowing fire,, into which Conkling gazed intently. At last he'sppke. Sion the theme of. all themes -r-love. e spoke with the saffie eloquence and: brilliancy that had. distinguished his. effort o.f the evening. “Im my boyhood*.” he said, “I.fell in i love. In love with an ideal—in love with that glorious character, Mary i Queen ot Scots. What a woman! What grace, what.beauty, what magnetisms what power! I have loved her all sny life.” The editor listened to his rhapsody and thought it a graceful fancy ©f a ) gneat man. “I should never have thought of it,” said he, in concluding the story, “had it not been for the circumstance of a i few months later. I was calling on a I beautiful andi famous woman, whose ; name for many years had been associated with that of Senator Conkling. As I rose to go I passed, the mantel and a handsomely framed cabinet-siz-ed photograph caught my eye. I beot my head and saw that it was a picture i of the lady upon whom I was calling, ! taken in the costume of Mary Queen | of Scots/ 1 _