Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1859-08-30
AN Incident i'm tllf eof an Em,
glaIe4ss


a m Incident i'm tllt. eof an Ell-
In returning from I''aaphia about
the middle OF August, he cars were
very crowded, and my ltnion in the
same seat with me / idNN1 4o be a loco
motive engineer, and j. purse OF our
conversation he made III remark, he
hoped that he had mads RiaRst trip on a
locomotive.
Upon making bold u aS kim the rea-
son, he gave me The folIo eg brief story
which since then / hsy end to be true.
Five years since "A ]fning upon the
New York Central ssY run was
lightning express train, and II was what
its name denotes, for it was fast--a very
fast run, and if do say It, the old Tor
nado could 60. l have seen her throw her
SIX feet drivers so as to be almost invisible
to The eye.
And let me here remark it is supposed
by many that railroad Engineers are a
hard hearted set Of men. Their lives are
hard, tits true, but do claim to have as
fine feeling, and heart that can sym
pathize with the unfortunate, as any man
that breathes. But to my story. About
halt mile from the village Of b
there is neat little cottage but few feet
from the track. At that time young
couple lived there. They had one child.
boy four years old, bright, black-eyed,
curly y-headed little chap, as you ever saw.
| had taken great deal O. interest 10 the
little fellow, and had thrown candy and
oranges to him on the train, and l was
sure to see him peeping through the fence
when my train passed.
One fine Saturday afternoon we were
behind time and running asst, nor did we
stop at B, and l was to make up
one hour before reaching b. We
came upat a tremendous speed, aud sweep
ing around the curve. my eye followed the
track, and over two hundred feet ahead sat
the little boy playing with kitten he had
in his lap. At the sound four approach
he looked up and laughed, clapping his
little hands in high glee at the attrlghted
kitten as it ran from the track. Quicker
than the lightning that blasts the tall pine
upon the mountain top whlstled "down
the breaks, and reversed my engine. but
knew it was impossible to stop. Nobly
did the old engine try to save him. The
awful straining and writhing OF its iron
drivers told but plainly Of the terrific velo-
city we had attained. was out OF the
| cab window and down on the COW catcher
in a flash. The little fellow stood still;
motioned nm on and sssss ms iittie
blue eyes opened wide with astonishment,
and merry laugh was on his lips. l held
my breath as we rushed upon him, made
desperate attempt to catch him, but
missed him, and as his body passed.
heard the feeble cry of 'mother!" and the
forward trucks crushed him TO atoms.
o God! that moment! Imay live, sir,
to be an old man, but the agony of that
moment can never be erased flom my
memory. The cars stopped some rods
from the spot, and ! ran back as soon as
possible. His mother saw the train stop,
and fearful foreboding flashed upon hel
at once. She came running. frantically to
the spot where we stood she beheld hel
frst-born shapeless mass. l would have
given my whole existence to have avoided
that moment.
have seen death in all its forms on rail,
roads; and killed. have seen all this, but
that, little innocent boy, as he looked uE
in my face, and was killed almost in my
arms-it unnerved me, and fron that day
l made a solemn vow never to run To-
comotive more.
| That young mother is now in the Utica
Lunatic Asylum. From the very hour he
boy was killed reason left her throne.
He stopped, and wiped the tears from
his eyes, and said, "you may think it veal
in me to shed tears, but cannot helpt it,
"No," I replied, "but think it noble
and, sir, would to God every man had {
heart as large as yours"
l had often thought since how few o
those who gave one passing thought of thu
man of nerve and stout arm, who guides
them through darkness and storm will
the speed of the wind, safely to their jour
ney's end. They do not. for one moment
turn their attention to the iron monste
that is dragging them forward with fearfu
velocity to meet friends or relations o
home and all its loved ones. They do no
realize that the man who guides the fer.
monster, holds all their lives at his com
mand, and that the least negligence upol
his part could cause sorrow and mourning
10 thousand homes that are now waiting
the return of absent loved ones.
Physical Benefit OF the Sabbath
| ILL., Cahna4L 10 GodIn cxao;nl rrnnnnt A.