The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1859-06-25
lffaw u,s Cleveland RsuswI
Incident in the Life Of nn Engineer.


~ returning from Philadelphia about tho
middle Of Agust, 1893, the cars we're very
/ crowded and my companion In the same seat
Win me found out % be- locomotive en-
/ gineer, aud IN the course Of our conyorsatinn,
| ig made the remark, he hoped he had run
/ HE last trip upoh q locomotive
L pan making bold 20 usi him his Teas0ns
! lie gave the following story, hieh sinae then
] have found out 90 be strictly true,-
90 i4ts sesfs stHee ssas stitrf,if,rr t1t1nr, tlrr
i New iefk ceRifsl railroad Nv run was
/ from H. % Il, II was the lightning
express train, and II was what its name de-
notes, for n was iast--a very fast run, and II
/ ! do say 10, the old Tornado could 90. have
seen her throw her VIA foot divers 80 a. 10 be-
almost invlsibie 10 the eye, And let me here
remark u IL supposed by many that railroad
/ engineers are hard-henrted set Of men,
/ Their lives are hard, 'tia true, but do claim
10 have m hne feeling, and a heart that can
sympathise with the unfortunate, hs any part
that breathea, hot 10 my story
About hall mile from the village uf B
-+', there ~ nire liltle cottage, but a few
feet lfog.the track, AZ that time Young
married couple lived there. They had one
child, little boy about four years old u
bright, black-eycd, ourly-headed little chap a.
you ever saw. I had taken great inie-
rest 10 the little fellow, aud had thrown can
| dy and oranges 10 him from the train, and !
was sure TO see MIN peeplng through the fence
when my train passed
One fine sunny afternoon we we're behind
Tine and running fact, nor did We stop NJ u
--' and was 10 make up one hour before
reaching It, When w0 came up al L
tremendous speed, and when sweeping around
the curve, my eye following the track, not
over two hundred yard ahead sat the little frl,
low playing with a kitten which be- held in
his lap. ~ the sound Of our approach he
looked up and laughed, elappng his little
hands in high glce AZ the nhrightcd Kitten ~
u ran from the track. Quicker than the
lightning that blasts the tall pine upon the
mountain top, | whis,led "down brakes" and
reversed my engine, but knew Il was impos-
siblc TO stop. Nobly did that old engine try
10 save him. The awful strain.ng aud wrth-
ing Of Ia iron drivers told me but too
plainly Of the terrific velocity we had attained.
! was out OF the cab window and down on
the cow-eatcher in a flash. The little fellow
stood stil | motioned him OF and shouted !,
bis little blue eyes opened wide with aston
ishment, and merry laugh vas upon his
lips held my breath as we rushed unon
him, made desperate attempt 10 catch him,
but missed, aud IA his little body passed
heard the feeble cry Of mother" and the
toward trucks crushed his body 10 atoms.
o God that moment may live, sir, 10
be an old man, but the agony Of that ..mo.
menroan never be erased from my memory.
The cars stopped some rods from the spot,
and | ran back as soon as possible Ills
mother saw the train stop, aud a fearful fore
budirg flashed upon her NJ once She came
rushing frnntirsiiy 20 the sT,ut whrrr We stood
Never shall forget the look she gave me as
she beheld her first borr shl lpclcss mass.
| would have gigen my whole existence 10
have avoided that momcn, have seen
death in all its forms on railroads hut that
little innocent boy az hc looked up in my
face, and was killed almost in my nrms-it
unncrvcd me, and from that day made a sol
cnn vow never 10 run a locomotive more.
That young mother is now in the Utica Lu.
matte Asylum. From the hour her boy was
killed reason had left her throne"
lie stopped, and wiped the tears from his
eyes and said, "You may think il weak in
Tuv tn shrri trurs, hut iuauuot hrj, is n,. Ma, =
replied, " but think II noble and sir would
to God every man had q heart as large as
yours"
have often thought since how few those
who give one passing thought Of the man Of
strong nerve and stout arm who guides them
through darkness and storms, with the speed
of the wind, safely to their journeys end
They do not for u moment turn their attcn-
ton 10 the iron monster that is dragging
them forward with fearful velocity to meet
friends or relations, or home and all its low
ed ones. They do not realize that the man
who guides the fiery monster, holds all their
precious lives at his command and that the
least negligence upon his part could cause
sorrow and mourning in athousand homes
that are now waiting the return Of absent
loved ones. a. Il. II.