The penny press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1859-1860, 1859-11-01
Life upon the Railroad.

to be true to lstter-but mind, l am not
saving that | have no enemies. l, un-
doubtedly, have few, and [ don't think
there is a man that lives, but has more or
less. A little kindness now and then,
to the many needy ones, conductor will
find almost every trip over his road, will
not be lost, and he will, in many cases,
find from his bread cast upon the
waters" return four-fold. Yet he must
use great deal Of judgment in bestow-
ing his charity upon even those he thinks
entirely worthy Of such bestowal. will,
in connection, relate little incident by
which little kindness saved my life, and
the lives Of all the passengers on board
my train.
The Western Division of our Road
runs through very mountainous part of
Virginia, and the stations were few and
far between. About three miles from
one of these stations, the road runs
through deep gorge Of the Blue Ridge,
and near the center is a small valley, and
there, hemmed in by the everlasting hills
stood small one-and-a-half story log
cabin. The few acres that surrounded
it were we'll cultivated as garden, and
upon the fruits hereof, lived a widow
and her three children, by the name of
Graft They were indeed, untutored in
the cold charities of an outside world
doubt much if they ever saw the sun
shine beyond their own native hills. In
the summer time the children brought
berries to the nearest station to sell, and
with the money thus earned they bought
a few of the necessities Of the outside
refinement
The eldest of these children | should
Judge to be about twelve years, and the
youngest about seven. They are all girls
and looked nice and clean, and their
healthful appearance and natural deli
cacy gave them ready welcome. They
appeared as if they had been brought up
to fear God, and love their humble home
and mother. had often stopped my
train and let them get off at their home
having found them at the station some
three miles from home, after disposing of
their berries.
had children at home, and | knew
their little feet would be tired in walking
three miles, and therefore felt that it
would be the same with those fatherless
little ones. They seemed 80 pleased to
ride, and thanked me with such hearty
thanks, after letting them off near home
They frequently offered me nice, tempt
ing baskets Of fruit for my kindness, yet
/ never accepted any without paying
their full value.
Now, if you remember, the winter of
"a was very cold in that part Of the
State and the snow was nearly three feet
deep upon the mountains.
On the night of the twenty-sixth Of
December of that year, it turned around
warm and the rain fell in torrents. A
terrible storm swept the mountain tops,
and almost filed the valleys with water.
Upon that night my train was winding
its way, at its usual speed, around the
hills and through the valleys, and as the
road bed was all solid rock, had no fear
Of the banks giving out The night was
intensely dark, and the wind moansd
piteously through the deep gorges of the
mountains. Some of my passengers were
trying to sleep, others were talking in a
low voice, to relieve the mOnotony of the
scene. Mothers had their little children
upon their knees, as if to shield them
from some unknown danger without
1t was near midnight, when sharp
whistle from the engine brought me to my
feet l knew there was danger by that
whistle, and sprang to the brakes at once,
but the brakesmen were all at their posts,
and soon brought the train to stop. |
seized my lantern and found my way for
ward as soon as possible, when what a
sight met my gaze A bright fire Of pine
logs illuminated the track for some dis
tance, and not over forty rods ahead of
our train horrible gulf had opened its
nav to receive us
The snow, together with the rain, had
torn the whole side of the mountain out,
and eternity itself seemed spread out be.
fore us. The widow Graf and her chill.
dren had found it out, and had brought
light brush from their home below and
built large fire to warn US of our danger.
They had been there more than two hours
watching beside that beacon of safety.
AS | went up where that old lady and
children stood drenched through by the
rain and sleet, she grasped me by the arm
and cried
Thank Godl Mr.. Sherbourn, we
stopped you in time. I would have lost
my life before one hair of your head
should have been hurt Oh, l prayed to
Heaven that we might stop the train, and
my God, | thank Theel"
The children were crying for joy.
confess, don't very often pray, but did
then and there. | kneeled down by the
side of that good old woman and offered
mp tAanks to an ALI Wise Being for our
safe deliverance from most terrible death
and called down blessings without num-
ber upon that good old woman and her
children. Near by stood the Engineer,
Fireman and Breaksmen, the tears stream.
ing down their bronzed cheeks.
Immediately prevailed upon Mrr Graf
and the children to 80 back into the cara