Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-09-16

and his clerk is to start on the twelve
o'clock boat from c. to Canada II we
don't have that money on Monday morning
to make some payments with, tho road goes
into other hands; and if you put me down
in c. at the right time, so that save
the money, you shall have FIVE thousand
dollars. Understand it, Harry2 Five
thousand dollarsP
"0f course l understood il. saw now
the reason why the wages had been cut
down; l understood it all, and my blood
boiled. felt that would save the road if
l lived, and told Roberts so.
"'See that you do it, Harry he replied,
as he climbed up the steps of the coach
which was coupled to my engine.
0I sprang up into the foot-board, got up
the switch-tender to help my fireman, opened
the throttle, and, just as she commenced
moving, looked at my watch. 1t was just
eleven o'clock, so that l had one hour to |
make my seventy-fve miles in.
"From Y to c. there were few
curves in the road; but there were several
heavy grades. 1 was perfectly acquainted
with every rod Of it, so that knew exactly
what had to encounter and when saw
how the engine was moving, l had very lit
tie fear Of the result.
1.-THE road, for the first few miles, was an
air line, and so smooth that my engine flew
along with scarcely a perceptible jar.
was so busy posting myself up as to the
amount of wood and water aboard, ETC., that
we danced by the first station almost before
was aware Of it, having been five minutes
out, and having five miles accomplished.
"tYou are losing time ? yelled q voice
| from the coach. looked around, and there
stood Roberts with his watch in his hand
81 knew very well that we would have to
increase our speed by some means, if we
carried out our plans of reaching c. by
midnight and looked anxiously around to
see what could do to accomplish that pur-
pose. She was blowing off steam feroely
at one hundred and ten pounds, so l turned
down the valve to two hundred, for knew
| she needed it all to make some of the heavy
| grades which lay between us and c..
at was three miles to the next station.
| With the exception of few curves, the
| track was as good as the last AS we darted
around what commonly seemed to be q
rather long curve, at the citation, but which
was, at our high speed, short enough, l
looked at my watch, and we had done it in
two minutes and half.
"'Gaining' shouted back to Roberts,
who was standing outside, on the platform
| of the coach.
"'Look out for the heavy grades" he re-
piled, and went inside the car.
HIhe next six miles rose gradually from q
level, the first, to ten and half feet grade,
the last, which lay between us and the next
station. My fireman kept her full; and
now she began to get hot. The furnace
door was red, and the steam raised continu-
ally; so that she kept her speed, and passed
the station like streak of lightning, in five
minutes.
"Now came nine miles like the last, ovel
which she kept pace with her time, and
passed the station in seven minutes.
tHere, for ten miles, we had twenty
foot grade to encounter; but the worst of il
all was at this place we would be obliged
to stop for wood. was just going to speal
to Roberts about it, when l looked arount
and saw him filling the tender from thu
coach, with wood which had been placed
there before starting, while he was gone
after me.
~ believe he would have made his ten
miles at the same speed as before; but
through the carelessness of the fireman, the
fountain valve, on the left hand side of the
engine, got open, and the water rose in the
boiler, so far as to run the steam down tt
one hundred pounds, before 1 discovered
where the difficulty lay.
"At first Roberts didn't appear to notice
the decrease of speed, and kept at work a.
the wood as if for dear life. But presently
he looked up and seeing that the speed
had decreased, he shouted
"'Harry, we are stopping!
y "And then, coming over to where 1 was
he said:
"'Why, here we have been ten minutes
on the last ten miles, and | believe we viii
come to dead stand if something is no
done. The speed is continually slackening
What is the matter?'
II explained the cause. He was appa
rently satisfied with my explanation and
after having tied down the safety-valve, h
climbed back over the tender, exhorting m
to put her through, for Gods sake, or W
are beggars togetherl
"Just then we passed the next station
having taken nine minutes for eight miles
We were now more than half over the road
and we had lost nearly ten minutes tim
: and had left only twenty-seven minutes
d. do thirty-four miles in.
C 81 had shut the water off both my pum1
: a little back, when l discovered what WI
n the matter, and she was now making stea
}. finely down slight grade. From less tina
: one hundred, with which we started ovt
o that ten mile stretch, she had two hundrC
8 before we finished it; and as the gage ind
: Gated no higher than that, and the val1
!. was tied down, could not tell how muC
s over two hundred pounds she carried; br
she certainly carried none less the rest
,, the journey. And we'll might she carr
e such an enormous head of steam; for aft
5. passing over that ten miles in eight mil
n utes, there lay ten miles of a five feet l
y grade, and fourteen miles of twenty-to-th
: mile depression between US and C, an
it was now eleven o'clock and forty-seye
I minutes.
snow the engine was hot in earnes
The furnace door, smoke-arch and chimney
} all were red; while she seemed to fly OF
ward, as if the very evil one himself opel
g ated her machinery.
l "Six minutes carried us over that te
4 miles; and we darted by the last static
: that had lain between us and C. No
: we had fourteen miles to go, and my tin
: showed eleven o'clock and ffty-three mil
o utes.
e "Tf live, said to myself Il will NAL
y it," and we plunged down the twenty fe
d grade with all steam on. Persons who 50
the train on that Wild run, say that it W
8, so soon after they heard the first sound
e, her approach when the strange obje
a which looked as if it was fame of fl
darted by, and then the sound of its trav