New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-07-27
NUMBER 1913.
g Amen !',.said tt,e red. .ahirted man, solernnIy

Amen said the red -shirted man, solemnIy. |
/" When emigrated to Ohio, two year@
since, continued Larkins, 81 carried my en-j
thusissm with me, and became pretty well |
known in the section of country about the vii
lage Of W., where I settled. You must re-
member, atleast all of you who read the news |
papers, that our last gubernatorisl election
was an unusually exciting one I belonged to-
one OF the State general committees and, as the
returns on election day came ia by express, Ee
began to grow fairly wild. Wehad beforehand
made all the necessary arrangements to hazel
the earliest authentic news of the result postetM
off to the New York papers, and had agreed |
to see that q certain budget Of returns which |
we expected to receive during the evening shoah !
be sent into the town Of B., some thirty miirs1
distant, by the railway, as soon as it arrive5 II
and had chartered an engine, which was to BAL
in readiness at eleven o'clock that night
"Well, the budget came promptly at the
time, and the news was quite as favorable as we
desired, and much more go than we expected.
suppose it was this fact that so suddenly de-
termined me to carry the intelligence on myself
At any rate, / hastily resolved to go on the lo-
comotive, and, seizing the returns. Iran down
to the depot, where the engine WAS fred up and
zwhistling its readiness OF start 1t was but
the work of o moment to persuade the engineer
to take me with him, for the fireman who was to-
accompany him was no where to be found, and
the engineer had resolved to run over the track
alone. volunteered at once to assist him as
we'll as could, and Immediately mounted the
engine. ..6 St4lr ..sa.s y55st "a.
It was dark and wild, though a warm
night, and every thing gave Indication Of an ap-
preaching storm. Fearfu11y black clouds were
rolling up in the sky, and, what was rather g
singular phenomenoa at that season of the
year, the lightning was flashing wildly, and the
thunder was muttering as grandly as IN sum-
mer shower. But the excitement of success
banished every sensation of fear from my mind.
We both knew that VIC had the right Of way,
and, go far as human ingenuity and foresight
could protect us, there was no danger Of running
at any rate of speed at which steam could driyes
u.s. Careful men had during the day been sent
forward to see that each switch was in its place;
the night train from B. was to wait for our
arrival; the road was reasonably straight iands
except the ordinary dangers from defective rails
| or axle-trees, We had nothing to apprehend.
e 1t was thirty miles, as said, to B..
What time can you make it in - said / to the
engineer, as got upon the platform with him.
{ / once ran over the road in three-quarters of
an hour with an engine replied he. Make it
half hour this time,' cried I, and willigiye
you twenty dollars. Every minute is worth a
fortune / must have been insane. The flush
of victory, after so many weeks of enthusiastic
struggle, had almost, if not quite, turned my
| brain. just at this moment the engineer dis
covered that the light in front of the enginewas
burning dimly, and threatening to expire!
With an anaehema upon the negligent fireman.
| he leaped down to examine it. The lamp had
not been filled For Gods sake,' shrieked l,
when learned the fact don't stop for that tri-
| fe; l can travel in the dark if you can. You
| are not afraid continued, tauntingly, as the
| engineer still hesitated | can ride to the de-
| vii as coolly as you cam, he reioined cheerily,
and resuming his post, started the machine.
| sAs we emerged from the station-h house, /
remember thinking had never seen a blaeker
night. The first motion of the engine had ex-
| tinguished our light; not star was to be seen
in the heavens, and the few lighted windows
which dotted the landscape here and there only
added to the general gloom of the scene
| Flushed and wild as was, | experienced thrill
of horror as the engine madly dashed into the
darkness. / strained my eyes until they aehed;
| | held my breath and contracted my muscles,
as if falling, SO fearfully rapid seemed the rate
| at which we were flying. ts@r
sBut a new and pleasanter sensation soon
| took the place of this terror None but those
who have actually experienced it can imagine
the maddening delight which excessively rapid
| motion produces. We were under full headway
and with no load to retard our speed. Nowand
| then a lighted window by the side of the track
i flew past US like meteor; while farther off in
| the gloom, solitary taper would sometimes
seem madly striving to emulate our pace-soon
distanced, however, and soon lost In less time
than have been talking, we had arrived at d
/ little village, where the street-lamps were burn
ing, and which I knew was just ten miles from
W. Istooped down and examined my watch
4 by the light of the engine fire. We had tray
eled the first ten miles in less than ten minutes.
" Faster !'' shouted madly to the engineer, as
I crammed another pine stick under the boiler.
But it was hardly possible to accelerate our
speed. The wheels actually leaped along the
rails. The few drops of rain which occasionally
fell, struck against my face like fine shot.
\ Sc The steam whistle kept up an endless shrek
as if the engine were some monstrous goblin
tortured beyond endurance by an inhuman
fend, while the deep base of the increasing
thunder mingled with the wild rattle of our
. wheels, and formed o chorus which the Furie.
might have enyied. As my ears were gradually
stunned by these complicated noises, and my
eyes wearied by their unnatural exertion,
fancied that heard other noises and saw othel
sights, which could have been only the product
of bewildered brain As we dashed into somt
gloomy gorge, | seemed to hear angry voices
warming and upbraiding me, as we few oyel
some lofty embankmant, saw dark spirits il
the air, who waved me on with wild gestures, o.
struck at me with airy blades: The lightning
became more vivid and frequent. Now the.
showed us the threatening crags that overhunl
our path, and now they lighted up raging tor
rent far beneath us. My companion, however
was as calm and composed as though his cradl
had been rocked by tempests. The flashes b
/ which | occasionally caught q glimpse of hi1
gave, it is true. an unnatural ehastlness to hi
face, but his manner was as cool and collects
as had always known it. could feel him mar
> aging the engine as quietly and carefully as if