Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-01-13
THE MAIL AGENTS STORY.

The following account of transaction,
in which the narrator was one of the par
ties concerned, is given to show the terrific
dangers to which persons in the railroad
employ are subject, and also, as a remark
able instance of escape from what might
seem certain death. The story is related
as near as possible, in the words of the
Mail Agent himself:
was at one time in the employ of the
Government as Mail Agent, and on the
day in which the following event occurred.
which was of a Saturday, about the mid
die of May, 18-, I was running down
with one of the English mails from N
y to B. The dispatch of these
trains was irregular, and depended upon
the will of the chief postmaster, and they
have since, think, been entirely discon-
tinued.
At about 6 P. NJ, we reached S., that
busiest and pretticst of the inland New
England cities. The trees were just put
ting on their first garment of fresh green
leaves, the wide fields began to shine with
verdure, and every boy and girl seemed
to have just found some new sport and to
utter new kind of shout, as we dashed
into the old depot, with shrek from the
engine, Ia very powerful one of the first
class, called the Etna,) enough to take
ones hair off his head. All l had on the
train was just one car behind the tender,
carrying the great mails, some valuable
express. matter, and live brakeman. |
used to think myself great man in those
days, when | was entrusted with some
times half million of property, but !
had good reason to change my mind be-
fore was over with this special trip, that
I'll be bound. What is any amount Of
dollars and cents compared with the risks
that man must run who is at the Lead
Of an express mail train! We halted in
the S--depot just long enough to wood
and water, seize upon mug of piping hot
coffee, and bit of greasy paste concealing
a slab of dried apple sauce, and called, il
courtesy, a pie-when, springing on the
train, we left the station somewhat before
sunset, and were soon flying along at Q
headlong pace in the direction of the sea.
| board.
Now l doubt not, to you and other
gentlemen who are in the habit of sitting
in comfortable railroad car, on stuffed
seat, reading the last news of Europe, OF
the pages of some entertaining novel, tht
mode of travel and the various incidents
on the road, seem very delightful. Bu
the thing is very different when you art
perched on the seat of an engine, anG
going down the road at the rate of fifty
miles an hour, velocity not rarely at
tanned where the track is in good order
and getting over the ground the sole con
sideration in view.
l could not endure the solitude of tn
mail car, and almost uniformly sat for
ward, even when it was stormy, and
can conceive of few things more aston
ishing, and at the same time overpower
ing, to sensitive person, than that of
night trip, when you cannot see an incl
ahead, unless you are at the engineer
window, and sit swaying about after tn
engine, Tor machine, as it is invariabl!
called by employees) which seems ever
moment as if it would fling itself off th'
track, as it continually sags and lean
from one side to the other. In the pas
senger cars no idea whatever OF the spee'
of the momentum, can be obtained thi
can only be got by standing near tn
track as the train whizzes by, or beinl
upon the engine or tender. 4 IT ~
There is, in addition to the jerks an,
motion ahead, . universal compound hi