AN INSANE FIREMAN.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2088, 21 August 1890, Page 3

AN INSANE FIREMAN.

A, Janesville telegram to the Alta California, dated July 12th, gives the fallowing wciting story:—A passenger train thundered toward death on the Chicago and North-weßtern through express, north of this city, to-day, over switches shut barely in time to keep the train from destruction. Along the track the train flew, while other trains were rushed into side-tracks and out of danger by the frightened trainmen. On the floor of the looe- : motive lay the engineer, Steve Hotelhng, a man of massive build, but powerless in the grasp of a maniac. The madman brandished a wrench, which he had clutched from the engineer's toolbox. Both his arms were in the grasp of the almost despairing man beneath him, but the men on the depet platform at Clyman, one of the towns through which the train passed, eeuld see that he had nearly freed himself, and in another moment, unless help came, the murderous wretch would fall. The maniao was Engineer Hotelling'a fireman, 0. L. Hastings. Near Watertown he stepped from the cab to the tender to coal up, He did not return and Engineer Hotelling reached back from his seat and pulled aside ths cab curtain and looked out. As the curtain moved aside Hastings bounded in from the the tender. He clutched the engineer about the neck and threw him headlong to the swaying footboard. There the two struggled as the train dashed along under a full head of steam. At one time the engineer all bvt dropped to the rails beneath, The engine, left without fresh fuel, was slowly losing steam, but still rushed on at a rate that could mean nothing less than a fearful tragedy at the first switch left unturned. As the train gwent past Clyman without stopping, the passengers and the train crew realised , that something was wrong, and a party hurried forward. Writhing and struggling among the blocks of coal on the tender they saw the engineer and his maniac assailant, Hastings was overpowered and taken to the baggage car. A moment later he fainted, and consciousness did not return until twelve hours later. The intensely hot weather, made more trying by the temperature of the cab, i is given as the cause of bis insanity, I and there are fears that he cannot recover,