Litchfield enquirer., 1857-02-05

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 ForR AND HALF DAYS IN THE SNowTEIp 1f RAIL ROAD, HARTFORD TO ePRov1DEScE, THROUGH IN FOUR AND HALF DAYs-SLow BUT suRr.-At o'clock on Wednesday morning Jan 2l, 1851, three Locomotives, baggage cars, and one passenger car attached. with some thirty men with the necessary materials aai means for any emergency, left Hartford with instructions t" go through to Providence The conductor of the train was John McManas, who was backed up by three faithful engineers and trusty set of men. The train started oa Wednesday and arrived in Providence on Sun day noon, and was thus on the road, night aud day, for four and a half days. The Engineers stuck to their engines, night and day, and tho men with one exception spent their nights. when not at work, in the cars. Every provision was made to prevent accident men were constant ly on the look out prevent collision The plan adopted was, to send two men on ahead Of the train, and after they had had time to get some considerable distance to move ol the train and orertake the men, take thcC on board and then start two other men on ill the same way,-every mile of the read was gone oyer in that way. Provisions were laid in ct Willimantic and Plainfeld. In some cases the men had to go through the snow half q m;le to get provisions in some cases they were literally dealt by, aud in other cases they got poorfare at full prices Wednesday night the train reached Manchester, and at 10 o'clock they had been unable to get any accommola- tieas for the night. Mr. White who keeps a millinery establishment, hearing of their s;t,l-- ation, offered the use of his store to tie men for the night the offer was gladly accepted. Mr. W. then sent cold meat, 6c fer the men, and provided shawls, blankets, dc,, to make them comfortable, and in the morning cooked breakfast for part of them and supplied the whole albcralIy with hot coffee He was inde- fatigable in his exertions to relieve the wants of the men, for which he refused any compea- sation, although freely offered. The men of course felt very grateful for the kindness shown them.
 In many places on the road the snow was very deep, requiring an immense deal of labor with the hand-shovels to clear the track The whole of the time the train was on the road the weather was intensely cold, and required constant vigilance to keep the Locomotives from freezing up. A good part of the dis tance the boilers were kept supplied with water by melting snowsand by getting water from brooks in pails. The tr>in arrived at Cranston at la o'clock Saturday night, (4 miles from Providence, where they found the
 Providence train frozen up and standing upon the track, those having charge of it not sup posing it possible for the Hartford train to dig through long and deep. drift before reaching tbat point. A collision was ouy prevented at this point by therale which had been strict y adhered to over the whole route, of sending men ahead of the train. The Hartford train reached Providence on Sunday noon, taking with them the frozen mp Providence train, without having met single accident of any kind, not even the breaking of bolt. A train left Providence on the same morning for Hartford, and had they carried out the instruc- tions of Ar. Ashburner, ought to have met the Hartford train half way. Instead of working their way through, after getting twenty-five miles, they put back, and were found as stated above, l-2 miles from Proyi dence, frozen up. The extreme ecld at Stcr ling, (36 below zero,,) and all things consider cd, the trip was a remarkable one, and shows in its results good degree of skill and energy on the part of conductors of thc train, The party stuck to it's job, with unhinching courage and pertiuacity, although the cold was So ia- tense that no man conld be trusted alone. One tough fellow was so bcnumbed that he lay down and would have died if his companion hsd not forced him to move on. These engi- peers and men are of the staff out of which heroes are made. Sach protracted yigils and labors, ins such intense ceid, are very well worthy of public conlmemeration.
 P. S.-There were two lawyers on the train, passengers, who stuck to it till they got to dence-Hartford Tim.s.
 
 TaB CONSTITUENTS OF CENTRAL AMERI- CA. The five Central American States in which our ffbusters mean < to extend the area offreedom," cover 155, GOO square miles. and have an aggregate population of over two millions. Costa Rica, the Feast