Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1861-01-25
NO.1,4G'
Life Upon a Railroad. !
From the Lancaster Inteiliyenref


There is an old saying, that the friendship
Of dog, is better than his ill;will, and for
many years, in my capacity as railroad cor.
ductor, have found the above ftruc to the
letter--but mind, am not saying that haye
no enemies. undoubtedly have a few, and
I do not think there is man that lives but
has more or less. A little Kindness now ma
then to the many needy ones; a conductor
not be lost, and he will in many cases, find.
from his "bread cast upon the waters,"a 4
return four fold. Yet he must use pr, at
deal of Judgment in bcstowing his charity
upon even those he thinks entirely woythy
OF its bestowal. will, in connection, relate
little incident by which a little kindness
saved my life, and the lives Of all the passei..
gers on board my train. ~ ~ is3niGaE
The western division Of our road runs
through very mountainous part Of Virginia,
and the stations We're 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 centre is small
valley, and there, hcmmed in by the ever.
lasting hills, stood small one and a!lmlf
story cabin. The few acres that surrounded
it were well cultivated as garden, and upon
thereof lived widow and her three chiloitn
by the name Of Graft. They were, indeed.
untutored in the cold charities Of an outside
world. doubt much if they ever saw the
sunshine beyond their own native hills. In
the summer time the children brought berries
to the nearest station TO sell, md with the
money they earned they bought few Of the
necessities of the outside refinement.
The Oldest of these children should Judge
to be about twelv" years, and the youngest
nice and clean, and their healthful appearance
and natural delicacy gave them ready wcl.
come. They appeared rs il they Ind been
brought up to God, and to love their humble
home and mother. had often stopped my
train and let them get Off at their homes,
having found them at the station some three
miles from home after disposing Of their bcs.'
ries. + -H'@t ~ q" EsSo'
had children at home, and knew their
little feet would be tired in walking thrce,
miles, and therefore fe't that il would be the
same with these fathercss little ones They
seemed so pleased to ride and thanked mo
with such very hearty thanks, after letting
them off near home. They frequently offer
cd me nice, tempting baskets Of fruit for my
kindness, yet Inevcr accepted any without
paying their fun value 'sa foi
Now, if you remember, the winter ofls54a
was very cold in that part Of the STATE, and
the snow was nearly three feet deep upon the
mountains "s E' t' -'S A1"
On the night of the Goth Of December Of
that year it turned rcund warm and the rain
fell in torrents. A terrible storm swept the
mountain tops, and almost filed the vallcys
with water. Upon that night my train was
winding its way at its usual speed around the
hills and through the valleys and ms the read
I. I. n ~
banks giving out The night was intensely
dark. and the wind inoancd piteously through
the deep gorges OF the mountains. Some Of
the passengers were trying to sleep, others
were talking in low voice, to relieve the
monotony of the scene. Mothers had their
children upon their knees, as if to shield
them from some unknown danger without. n
1t was near midnight, when II sharp whis-
tie from the engine brought me to my feettS
knew there was danger by that whistle,
and sprang to the brakes at once, but the
brakesrnen were all at their posts and soonls
brought the train to a stop. Il seized my
lantern and found my way forward as soon
as possible, when what sight met my gaze! \
A bright fire Of pine logs illuminated tho
track for some distance, aud not over forty q
rods ahead of our train q horrible gulf had !,
opened its nav TO receive US. assisslg i.gfeIEgf
The snow, together with the rain had torn !,
the whole side Of the mountain out, and cter-.
nifty itself seemed spread out before IT'S. The =
widow Graft and her children had found Il !,
out and had brought light brush from their
house, and built large fires to warn us OF our 3
danger. They had been there more than two Il
hours, watching that beacon Of safety. aAsIs,
went up where the old lady and her children &
stood, drenched through by the rein aud !.
slect, she grasped me by the arm and cried !: !
THANK God Mr.. Shcrbourn, we stopped i
you in time. would have lost my life be- }
fore one hair Of your head should have been
hurt Oh, prayed to heaven that we might
stop the train, and my God, thank thee r
The children were crying for Joy. ! coii-..
fass, don't very often pray, but did then
that good old woman, and offered up thanks
from most terrible death, and called down
blessings without number upon that good 1
old woman and her children. Near by stood
engineer, fireman aud brakesmcn, the tears
streaming down their bronzed cheeks.
Immediately prevailed upon Mrs.. Graft
and the children to go back into the cars out
Of the storm and cold. After reaching the
cars related our ir-breadthcscapc, and to
whom We were indebted for cur lives, aud
begged the men passengers to 60 forward
and see for themselves They needed no >
further urging, and great many ladies went
ALSO regardless of the storm. They soon
returned and their pale faces gave full cyisa
dence of the friahtful death we had escaped. q
The ladies' and gcntlcmcn We'd with each
other in their thanks and heartfelt gratitude
towards Mrs Graft and her children, and as
sured her that they would never, never for. 3.
get her; and before the widow left the train
she was presented with purse Of four hun.
dred and sixty dollars, the voluntary offering
| Of whole train Of greatful passengers. She
refused the proftered gift for sonic time, and
said she had only done her duty. and tho
knowledge Of having done SO was all she
asked However, she finally accepted tho
money, and said it should go to educate her
children rs ngasts -
The railroad company built her a new
house. gave her and her children a life pas:
over the road. and ordered all trains to stop
and let her off at home when she wished
| But the employees needed no such orders,