Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1867-03-28

| chimes were wreck. The cars behind
them were also badly crushed. Osborne
did not leap from his engine; but, never
moving his hands from the levers which
controlled IL, he stood as resolute rs
rock at his post until the shock came, and
then, quick as thought, adjusted his valves
| to allow the steam to escape without an
explosion. Our war can furnish no clear
| er proof of the finest courage than that.
|. At the crossing of the Morris 4 Essex
! Railway and the Orange turnpike may
be seen ,flagman with one leg. The
other he lost In the wreck have Just de-
scribed. Had he had Osborne's nerve to
face danger,, he, would have escaped also
unhurt Peor;fellewl the man who is
sued the prcsumptuous blunder that day
tried to buy him off from prosecuting the
company for the sum of one hundred dot
Lnrs--an Offet which poor "Bobs" wife
met with this query: "Mr. -, would
you sell one of your legs for hundred
dollars2" $.-H,..
During the war ON incident occurred
on the Pennsylvania Central, which was
related to me by an eyewitness. My
informant was with regiment of SOL
diers going from Pittsburgh to Harris
burg in special train. Between Johns
town and the summit they were dalayed
by freight train off the track, or O part
of its cars off. This they learned at one
of the stations, and remained there until
they should be informed that the track
was clear. It was in the night, and
most of the thousand men on the train
were asleep, unconscious of their danger.
Four heavily-loaded coal-cars belonging
to the train ahead had, by accident, be-
come detached, and began the descent of
the heavy grade at a speed which soon
became terrible. The engineer of the
special train, heard the roar of the de-
scending cars and surmised what was
the matter. In an instant he ordered
his engineto be detached from the train,
and put on steam to meet the runaway
cars If possible, to break their force and
save his train. His locomotive was
large freight, and he had moved several
rods ahead. when the. coal-cars struck
him like thuuderbolt, and crushed his
engine back on the train but his heroic
courage had saved many lives. His
engine was utterly demolished, and
many of his cars were also crushed; but
so had he broken the force of the shock
that no lives were lost. The mans name
was Story, and his grateful benefciaries
presented him some elegant silver-plate,
with the deed itself and their names
engraved on them. When asked why
he did not abandon his train, he replied,
"Quick as lightning, thought / had
better die than to have those runaway
cars cut through my train, destroying
hundreds!'' It was heroic answer.
Let me relate one more incident in the
same line. The part of the Marietta &
Cincinnati Railroad between Athens and
the Ohio river was formerly made fa-
nous by the1fumbef of its long and high
trestle-bridges.o % With few exceptions,
these are nowsfilled up, and the road is
becoming one Of the best. AT one time
the company We're in great straits, and
many of their operatives were unpaid
Some of the men were desperate, and,
as the fact proved, dangerous. On
certain evening, a train was approaching
one of these high trestle-bridges. 1t was
known that the, directors of the road
were aboard, and some villain had de-
termined to throw the whole train from
that bridge. The engineer, letting his
train move at ordinary speed, suddenly
discovered that rail had been displaced
on the bridge. He seemed to know In
stinctively that the momentum was too
great to save the whole train; and he
signaled the brakes down and reversed
his engine, to stop, If possible, the cars
before reaching the chasm. Then, OPEN
ing the throttle-valve, his engine sprang
forward so violently as to break the con-
nection with the train, and dashed to the
u
going on, ran out of his window on the
engine. and opened his scape-valve.--
Whilst standing there the engine went
over with him |; and marvellous to relate,
he, falling under the huge weight, was
preserved from being crushed by the
engine-bell at his side. The train, for
the rescue of which he had exhibited
such incredible pluck, stopped just soon
enough to escape the horrible leap after
the engine. This bold mans name l
have not heard; but he recovered from
his wounds, and is still an hOnored en-
plOye of the company. ..
We glorify our heroes of the battle
field and the sea; we stand all agog with
amazed admiration If some foolish man
or more foolish woman ascends Mt. Blanc
just for the name of the feat; we talk
about Alexander and Bucephalus, and
Cesar in the boat in the tempest; why
may not my humble pen glorify the
exhibited as noble and praiseworthy a
daring as any heroes in other fields?--
And they do this-in the constant service
of the Thousand of families who every
hour of the t@enty-f9ur are represented
on the railways Of the world. All honor
to the heroes Of the engine, and ten
thousands times ten thousand, If they
could, would respond Amen"
Macaulay has a stanza in his "HOra-
titus" which shows what Rome did for
one of its humble but bold benefactors: I:
"They gave him Of the corn-land.
That was Of the public right,
AS much ms two strong oxen
Could pillow rom morn till night;
And they made him molten image,
And set II up on high.
To witness If lie"