The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1859-11-23
THE BRAVE ENa1NEER.

At the railroad station in ysacuse N. Y,
there Is assigned to Mr.. Glenn the duty of ar
ranging each day, to which the engines the
hour of departure for each one comes, the en-
yine will be ready to take its burden
He was for a number of years an engineer
IN active service, distin guished for courage and
prompt resolution. There are some instances
of this, which by their incidents ought not to
be omitted from the roll of the truly brave
deeds done bysmen: r'aI
He was at his bar, his engine cafeerIng on
with the speed that only steam's strength can
give; the road was clear; the huge drivers be-
meath his feet made swift eireling, and they
who in the cars were borne onward, knew no OBJ
stacle in their Journey. Everything moved on
according to the card, and they who were by
the roadside found the car marking, by its pas
sage, the moments as accurately as If it was the
hand of q great dial Suddenly he discovered
a small object near the rail The human Wis.,
ion grows sharp beyond the opticians art in
such an instant. The object moved, assumed
form, became only toe apparent 1t was a little
girl playing with the dirt between the rails.
One may in the race pull the blooded horse
20 his launches, and IN q brief space control
his movement; that spgInging muscle has but
q light weight to control; the backward paddle
soon changes the course of the steamer; but
this large engine, with its rather rush than roll,
pon1erous, powerful, so earnest in its motion
thatit must have great space for change-how
shall this stop before it shall crush out of all
form of life the feeble child? The play with
the dirt is of such Importance that the little one
does not hear the roar of the wheels, or if it
does, it is the child of cabin proximate to the
ran, and the sound is a familiar one-it con-
tinues its play, and nearer by an advance
that IS the very step ofdeath, the train comes
toward it. Mr., Glenn determined in a test of
accuracy of Judgment hat his train could not
stop in time! What if it was checked, and
the speed that it was measuring by the very
few minutes, diminished, tbs death-blow by the
swifter motion would be the more merciful-
destruction was certain-the little one must meet
the force thatwould crush it from the record Of
the living, and its play went on as if it were at
Its mothers feet.
The braTe4man read the realities of the scene
in al instant. He left the bar. The freman's
heart forgot to beat as for the passengers, they
were acting ont the every day scenes of a COM
mon plase peaceable journey; perhaps the check
ed speed caused somebody to lay down his news
ypaper-of the intense scene without he knew
nothing.
He left the bar and walked firmly over the
top of the locomotive, over the boiler, past the
he climbed over the front, and
down the steplike framework of the pilot, and
graspihgihat with a desperate strength, he lean
ed over. The bars of iron seemed to glide
away dizzily beneath him; and now the struggle
for the child was one between death and bravery,
and as ever in this mortal time, the King of
Terrors seemed to have all the might in his
skeleton hand. He leaned over! He reached
and at the instant, at that period of
time (moment is too long 4 word to express this)
that the cruel edge of the pilot was about to
crush the little one, he, and..not the locomotive,
struck the child; if ever there was a bold love-
touch this was one; and the child lay between
the ties and on the fest train darted.
Then dom went the brakes, the strong arm
of the brakeman strained the wheel lever to
crowd the delaying surface againstthe speed; the
toa halt, while neither station nor tank was near
then this brave man trod his locomotive top back
again, and as soon as the power Of the advance
could BIO subdued, jumped from its iron step
sad ron down the road the wander was what
limbs could move SO fast, and here
there was the child living; unarmed, not q
bone broken, not quite recovered from its as
constituent at the life-giving blow which had
turaed aside the dart of death. /
Restored to its parents, who thronged around
its delirerer, the little one, too young to realize
that it had quivercd on the very verge of anoth-
er world, was taken home; Mr.. Glenn returned
to his engine, and the locomotive careered on
Its grand progress with not q stain of blood up
on its Furnished metal. RI
Aa6 is not this the record of a deed of the
order of bravery, the courage that saves
life?-Erchanse-