Litchfield enquirer., 1863-06-11


 HFIELD, CONN. THURS lI RUsN1sa IN Foa.-I In the Year Is- I va, running an engine on the road. II, ] lengine was named the Racer, and racer \ she was too and she could turn wheels abou
 as fast as was necessary can assure you.- My regular train was the Morning Express. leaving the upper terminus of the road at hal past four. running sixty-nine miles in an keul
 three st.ps, might with justice be considered There were on .he limo numerous draw
 bridges which were liable to open at all hours
 but nor. especially at daybreak. To be sure ithere were men stationed at every bridge, and l in fact every half mile along the road, whose
 special duty it was to warn approaching trains
 of danger from open sdraw-bridges, obstruc-
 tions on the track, &c, but the class of men employed in such duty was not noted for sobri. | lety. a.d the wages paid were not sufficient to
 secure peculiarly intelligent or careful class. So ths confidence was compelled to place in them was necessarily burdened with mach dis l t,nst
 These men were provided with white and red signal lanterns, detoaating torpedoes and c0lored flags, and the rules of the road requi- red them to place a torpedo on the rail and show a red signal both on the bridge and at a log station,' distant half mile from the
 bridge, before they open tue draw. At all
 times when the draw was closed they were to show a white light or flag at this log sta tion.' This explanation will, trust. be sufi- cient to enable every reader to understand the
 position iu which found myself in the gray
 of one September morning.
 lleft the starting point of my route ten
 minutes behind time. The fog was more dense
 than had ever seen it. It envel0ped every
 thing. could not see the end of my train, 1 which consisted of five cars filled with passen- gers. The headlight which carried on my engine illumined the aeecy cloud only few
 feet, so that was running into the most utter
 darkness. did not like the look of things at
 all, but my orders were positive to use all due exertions to make time. So blindly putting my trust in the miserable twenty dollars a
 month men, who were the agents along the
 road. darted headlong into and through the thick, and, to all mortal vision, impenetrable fog. The Racer behaved nobly that morning ; i she seemed gifted with the wings of the wind,
 and rushed thunderingiy on, making such time
 as astonished even me, almost native and to
 the manoe born Everything passed of right. I had made up seven minutes of my time. and
 was within ten miles of my journeys end.- l The speed at which l had been rushing, had
 exhilerated and excited me. That pitching into darkness, blindly trusting in men that l
 had at best but weak faith in, had given my
 nerves an unnatural tension, so l resolved to 1 run tho remaining ten miles at whatever rate of speed the Racer was capable of making.- ! I gave her steam and away we flew. The fog
 was so thick that could not tell by passing
 objects how fast we ran, but theAdull, heavy
 aud oppressive roar. as we shot through rock ! cuttings and tunnels. the rocking and straining
 of iay engine. and the almost inc0nccivable
 velocity at which the driving wheels revolved l told me that my speed was absolutely awfni-- I did not care though. was used to that and the rules bore me out besiles. wanted to win for my engine the title of the fast. st en zine I'll the road, which Lknew she deserved. So cried, On On!
 f--I knd to cross one dram-bridxe which ow- ing to tho intervention ofa high hill. could not
 bs seen from the time we passed the fog sta tioa' until we were within three or four rods of 1 it. I watched closely for the fog station. =
 It was white. Alright go ahead my beau ty r shouted I, giving ut the same time another jerk at the throttle, and we shot into the cut In less time than it takss me to write 1t we
 were through and there on the top of the
 draw, dimly seen through rift in the fog,
 slimmered with to me actunl ghastliness. the
 danger signal--a red light. It seemed to glare at me with almost iendish malignity l- Stopping was out of the question. even had
 been running at quarter my actual speed.-
 As was running. l had not even time to grasp the whistle curd be.ore we would be in. So giving one longing, lingering thought to the bright world, whose duration to me could not be reckoned in seconds eyen, I shut T J eyes and waited my death. which seemed as absolute and inevitable as inglorious. It was but an instant of time. but m age of thought and drsad-and then, ! was over the bridge. A drunken bridge tender had, with accursed stu- pidity, hoisted the wrong light. and my adven- turs waa but scare, but half dozen such were as bad as death. It was three weeks before Iran again. and l never after made up time in . fog.
 Trip istte Life fu Locomotive E'a9inesr. IxsrLrED rHs WRexa GoosE. "A bash- sul gentleman of Holly Springs, Mississippi, took violent '.hankering" after fair seams stress of the town and after great deal oi