Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1863-01-23

And the men in the humber sphere Of
railroad life also are the subjects Of the a,-
thor's eulogium: h.aa ra7z@# aaa-
The firemaa--the engineers left hand
man, his trump, card, without whom il wo'd
be difficult for him to get over the roads
seen but little, and thought but little of. He
is usually dirty and greasy, wearing rag
ged pair of overalls, originally blue, but now
embroidered so with oil aud dust that they
are become a smutty brown. Just before the
| train leaves the station you will see his face,
down which streams the perspiration, look
ing back, watching for the signal to start !;
for this is one of his many duties. His head
is usually ornamented lin his opinion) with
some outlandish cap or hat, though others
regard it as a fittingly outrageous cap.sheaf
| to his general dirty and outre appearance
But little cares Mr.. Fireman; he runs the
| fre.box of that machine" He feels pride
| in the whole engine; and when he sees any
one admiring its polished surface, cleaning
SO brightly in the sun, flashing so quickly by
the farm houses on the road, Gin each OF
which Mr.. Fireman has acquaintances of the
opposite sex, to whom n must needs swing
his handkerchief) he feels a glow of honest
satisfaction and the really splendid manner
in which his efforts have caused it to shine
which is evidently one great reason for
the admiration bestowed upon it-so fills him
with self qualification that in his great mod
esty, which he fears will be overcome if he
stays there much longer watching people as
they admire his handiwork, and he be led to
tell them all about it, how he scrubbed and
secured to bring her to that pitch of perfec-
tion--he turns away, and begins to pitch the
wood about in the most reckless manner i'm
aginable, yet every stick goes just where he
wants it. tad .W .-t.m. 10
His duties are manifold and various but
long years Of attendance to them make then,
very monotonous and mksome, and he wo'd
soon weary of them did not the hope Of one
day being himself sole master of the "iron
horse" actuate him to renewed diligence and
continued efforts to excel. He is on duty
longer than any other man connected with
the train. He must be on hand before the
engine comes out Of the shop, to start the
fire and see that all is right about the engine.
Usually he brings it out upon the track and
then, when all is ready, he begins the labori-
Gus work of throwing wood, which amounts
to the handling Of from four to seven cords
per diem, while the engine and tender are
pitching and rolling SO that a " green horn "
would find il hard work to stand on his feet
let alone having, while so Standing to keep
that fiery furnace supplied with fuel. The
worse the day the more the snow or rain
blows, the harder bis work His hands be-
come calloused with the numerous wounds
he receives from splinters on The wood lie
it is who has to go out Oh the run-board and
oil the valves, while the engine is running at
full speed. No matter-how the wind may
blow, how rain, hail. slcet or snow, may
beat down upon him. covering everything
with ice, nor how dark the night, out there
he must 60 and crawl along the slippery
sides of the engine to do his work. At sta
tons he must take water, and when at last
the train arrives at its destination, and 9th
crs are ready to go home, he must stay. II
a little too much wood is in the fire-box, he
must take it out, and then go to work clean
ing and securing the dust and rust from of
the bright work, and from the boiler the
run board, the cylinders and steam chests
For performing these manifold duties he re-
ceves the magnificent sum Of (usually) thr-
ty dollars per month, and he knows no Sun
days, no holidays--on long roads he scarcely
knows sleep. He has not the responsibility
resting on him that there is on the epginer
but it is required Of him, when not other
wise engaged with his duty of firing, to as
sst the engineer in keeping a lookout ahead
His position is one of the most dangerous on
the train, as is proved by the frequent occur
renee of accidents where only the fireman is
killed; and his only obituary, no matter how
earnest he may have been, how faithful in
the performance of his duties, is an item in
the Geographic reports that fireman was
killed in such railroad smash.
TIE BRAKEMAN. r
A very humble class of railroad men, a
class that gets poorer pay in proportion to
the work they DO and the dangers they run
than any other upon road, are the brake.
men. Though perhaps less responsibility
rests upon them, they are placed in the most
dangerous position on the train they are
expected to he at their posts at all times
and to finch from no contingency which
may arise. The managers of railroad ex
pect and demand the brakesman 20 be as
prompt in answering the signals of the engi
neer as the throttle valve is obedient to his
touch 5I ..'t#
Reader, were you ever on train of cars
moving with the wings Of the wind, skim
ming over the ground as rapidly as the bird
flies, darting by Tree and house, through
cuttings and over embankments? and did
you ever feel a sudden jar that almost ierked
you from your seat And at the same time
did you hear a sharp, sudden blast of tn,
whistle ringing out ns If the hand that pulled
it was nerved by presence Of danger, braced
by terrible anxiety to avoid destruction p
1t frightened you did it not? But did you
notice the brakeman then? lie rushed
madly out as if he thought the train was 60
ing to destruction surely, and he wished be
fore the crash came, to be out of it. No tha,
was not his object He caught hold of tn.
brakes and with all the force and energy ht
was capable Of exerting applied them to swift
revolving wheels, and when you feel tn,
gradual reduction Of the speed under thu
pressure Of the brakes, you began to fee
easier. But what thought the brakeman al
the time.? Did he think that If the DANCE,
ahead was any one Of thousand which
might happen? If another train was com
ing towards them, and they should strike it
IF disabled engine was on the track, and
fool, to whom the task VAS entrusted, hat
neglected to give your train the signal r /
the driving rain had raised some little stream
or spark Of fire had lodged in bridge an,
the bridge was gone II some loosenet
rock had rolled down upon the track or /