East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1863-09-16
RUNNING IN A FOG.

In the year 1S-I was running an
engine on the - road. My en-.
ginc was named the Racer, and 'ra-
GER she was too, and she. could turn
wheels about as fast as was necessary
| can assure you. My regular train
was the Morning Express, leaving
the upper terminus OF the road at half
past four, running siXty-nine miles i'll
an hour and forty-fivo minutes, which
as | had To make three stops, might
with justice be considered pretty fast
travelling.
There were on the line numerous
draw bridges, Which were liable 10
Ul,v.a s.vssa,', -rs.s --------.
at daybreak. To be sure there were
men stationed at every bridge, and in
fact every half mile along the road,
whose special duty it was to warn APP
preaching trains of danger from
open draw bridges, Instructions on the
track; &c, but the class of men en-
ployed in such duty was not noted for
sobriety, and the wages paid were not
sufficient to secure n peculiarly inteli-
gent or careful class. So the conf
dence / was compelled TO- place in
them was necessarily burdened with
much distrust.
These men were provided with
white and red signal lanterns, detona-
ting torpedoes and colored flags, and
the rules of the road requiredthom To
place a torpedo on the rail and show
red signal, both on the bridge and
at ''fog station" distant half u mile
from the bridge, before they open the
draw. At all times when the draw
was closed, they were to show white
light or flag at this fog station. -
This explanation will, / trust, be sulii-
cicnt to enable every reader to under
stand the position in which | found
myself in the gray of one September
morning.
i left the starting point Of my route
ten minutes behind time. The fog
was more dense than l had ever seen
it. 1t envcloped everything. / could
not SEQ the end of my train, which
consisted of five cars filed with pas
sengers. The head light which i ear
ricd on my engine illuminated the
Aeecy cloud only few feet so that /
was running into the most utter dark
ness. j 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 monthInen
who were the agents along the road, l
dartcd headlong into and through the
thick, and to all mortal vision, impen-
etrable fog. The Racer behaved no.
bly, that morning; she seemed gifted
with the wings of the wind, and rush
ed thunderingly on, making such time
as astonished even me, almost "native
to the manor born. Everything
passed of all right. ! had made NJ
seven minutes of my time; and was
within ten miles Of my journeys end
The speed at which l had been rush
ing had cxhilinratcd aud excited me.
That pitching into darkness, blindly
trusting III mon that had ut best but
weak faith in, had given my nerves
an unnatural tension, 80 | resolved te
run the remaining ten miles a
whatever rate of speed the Racer was
capable of making. / gave her steam
and away we flew. The fog was S,
thick that i could not toll by passing
objects how fast we ran, but the dull
heavy and oppressive roar, as we sho
through rock cuttings and tunnels, thu
rocking and straining of my engine
and the almost ipconccivable velocit,
at which the driving wheels reyolyec
told me that my speed was absolutel,
. awful. i did not care though. Iva
used to that, and the rules bore M
out; besides, | wanted to win for m.
engine the title of the fastest engin
! on the road, which L knew she de
served. So | cried, "Onl Onw
/ had TO cross one draw bridg
which, owing 10 the intervention of
high hill, could not be seen from tn
, time we passed the fog station unit
[ we were within three or four rods {
it. j watched closely for the " 70
station, IL was white. "All righ
go ahead my beauty" shouted /, gi'
v ing at the same time another jerk