Riding Over An Earthquake

Ruling on a train over ground shaken by earthquake is the novel experience of a Constantinople correspondent of the Cincinnati Tribune. He thus describes it: "All at once the air grew still, an oppressivo silence seemed to hang on vale and hill and all the people stopped short. It seemed to me that we, ran into a bad piece of track or that our train had suddenly quickened lts pace. I saw a Servían woman with a child in her arms stagger, stop, take the water jug from her head and hug her frightened baby to her naked breast. Hundreds of yoke cattle were lowing, burros were braying and the whole flocks of sheep were crymg on the distant downs. Meantime tne curves seemed to increa. and, althnns-h we were not making more than forty miles an hour, we appeared to fairly fly. Men stood still ana stared at the heavens. A Mobammedan slid down from a pack muie, spread vat his prayer rug, set nis tace toward Meoca and prayed. Chnsüans crossed themselves and as often as i stole a glance at the driver I found him looking at me. Till now I had attributed the actioy of these wild people to childish wonder at seemg tlie train swe%p by, but when I looked at the almost pale face of the sunbrowned driver I was bewildered. The ltl. t i,oV,oiH wre all so unnatural that I feit my head swimming. Glancing ahead I saw the straight track take on curves and shake them out again, resemïling a running snake. The valley had become a narrow gulch, and from the near bilis aróse great clouds oí smoke, as from a quarry when the shots go off. J fireman, who hal been busy at the furnace door, stood up now and gazed at the driver. who pressed his lea hand over his eyes, then took ït off ana tried to see, but made no attempt to check the speed of the flying train. As a drunken cowbby dashing down ji straight street sways in his saddle aa a wnnnded bird reels through the air- did this mad monster oL a locomotlve swing and swim over the writhing rail. Suddenly a great curvo appeared in front of us. This time the stoker, who had left off firing, saw it, and wade the aign of the cross Agiin the driver hid his eyes, and again I feit my brain growing dizzy trying to understand. We could hear and feel the engine wheels rise and fall on the twisting rail wit.h a deafening sound. At last she settled down and began ta glide away as a boat glidea down a running stream. 'What is it? [ asked of tüe Prench fireman. 'Tremblement de terre,' he said, shaking himsfilf violentlv and fainting to the Boor, and then I understood that we had been riding over an earthquake. The drïver was either too proud and brave to stop, or too frightened to be able to shut off steam; I don't know which."