The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-03-01
An Engine-Room Story.

ILL h15lAO O4oOoh
On cold frosty December, few
years ago, was passenger on board
the fine steamer "Queen," from London
to . The voyage is not o very
long one; but we were several days nc
ses, and during that time struck up
pretty much of an acquaintance with
the second engineer of the ship. have
always had taste, rather imaginative
than scientific, for watching the work
ing of powerful machinery; the even
ines were too cold to allow of my re-
naming long on deck; and / was often
glad to exchange for time the saloon
stove for the bright glow of the boiler
furnaces, and the company of the pass
engers for chat in the engine-room
with nv friend the engineer. Ten
o'clock in the evening, when it was his
watch, generally found me seated by
his side on the platform that ran around
the tops of the cylinders, whence he
could in moment hear any word pass
ed from the deck, had immediate access
to the handles of the engines, could see
the fire-doors and stoke-hole, with the
glass gauges in front Of the boilers; and
even whilst chatting with me, could'be
constantly alive to the smallest escape
of steam, or the least jarring or chirp.
ing sound which told to his practised
eyes OF ears that something about the
machinery required fabrication or ad-
justment
There was nothing very remarkable
about my acquaintance, Angoye: lie
was simply an honest, straightforward,
intelligent, self-educated mechanic; one,
in short, of o class very numerous
among our steamboat engineers. He
was about forty years of age, and had
spent nearly half that time at sea, IN
many services and in all parts OF the
world. He had been in action on board
of Brazilian steam-sloop; had nearly
died from the intense heat in the engine
room of Peninsular and Oriental boat
in the Red Sea; had been wrecked In a
West India mail-steamer, and after
wards discharged from the service for a
smuggling transaction, with which he
vowed that he himself had really moth
ing to do; was at the time the late war
broke out serving on board Russian
war-steamer, which Of course he left as
soon as possible; had served on board q
river-boat on the Mississippi, and an
other on the Hooghly; and had seen
many q strange event in these ana 9TH
er services, fpom the plain matter-ot-
fact point of view natural to his tenn
permanent and education. ..
One evening we were slipping along
fast under steam and canvas, with the
wind and sea on the beam; and the
ship, though not pitching much, was
rolling n good deal. came shiverlng
of the deck, where l had been smoking
cigar in the moonlight, and seatedm
self in my accustomed place on the en-
gine-room platform, enjoying the warm
glow from the furnaces. Angove had
Just lit cigar which gave him, when
slight escape of steam from one of the
valve stuffing-boxes arrested his atten-
ton. The platform on which we had
our seat was on q level with the tops of
the cylinders, with a railing nearly
breast high between it and the engines;
and to get at the stufing-bOx In ques-
ton it was necessary, in order to avoid
being struck by the bars Of the parallel
motion, to wait until the engine took
her down-stroke, and then vault in over
to the top of the cylinder-cover, be-
fore she came up again. Taking a span
ner, to screw down the gland, Angove
awaited the proper moment, and vault
ed over the rail; but at that instant
the ship took heavier roll than ordin-
airy, his foot slipped on the greasy, slop-
ing surface of the false cover, and he
had the narrowest escape possible from
being precipitated headlong among tho
working parts of the machinery. He
sayed himself just in time by catching
hold of the cylinder cross-head; but
this cross-head worked up to within
half an inch of one of the deck-beams,
and before he could withdraw his hand
the two were nearly close together; the
smallest conceivable space of time
longer, and his hand would have been
crushed between them; such close work
was it, indeed, that he actually felt the
squeeze, and the skin was red with the
pressure.
Iknow was terribly frightened, and
started up pale and horror-struck; but
Angove finished his work coolly, vault
ed out again over the rail, and seated
himself at my side, little pale, but
perfectly calm and self-possessed, and
smoked away his cigar as if nothing had
happened.
"My dear fellow,"I cried, "what a
narrow escape! 1 thought it was all
over with you.'
"Yes, indeed" he said, 1t was close
work! But, thank God, it is all right:
A very small fraction of a second
longer'-looking at his hand-"and my
power of using hammer and chisel
wouldn't have been Of much account"
We sat for some minutes without
speaking; BOTH. no doubt, meditating
ON what had occurred; and then, full of
the subject, said,-
at must be dangerous work, going
about the engines in really bad wealth
eri"
"Yes it is, he said, "especia ly in some
engine-rooms; nearly as bad, l.think,
as It is for the sailors to 60 aloft. But
Ihave always been very Fortunate
"Did you never meet with an acci-
dentr I asked.
"No," he replied; but was very near
one once,-a worse one perhaps than
even this would have been,--and yet it
was not exactly an accident either"
"what was it, thenr / asked.
"Well," he said, "h is q subject on
which don't much like to speak; and,
indeed i have never told the whole
story to any one; but think sufficient
" long time has now elapsed, and /
may as well give it to you since You are
pleased to say You like hearing my lit
tie adventures.
cit was many years ago, when the
Californian gold-diggings were attract
ing everybody's attention, that / went
out rs third engineer Of a steamer from
Panama to San FRANCISCO. / liked the
captain very much, And had known
him by sight before, though he didn't
know me; for q short time previously,
he had several times como on board a
ship to which i then belonged at New
York, to see the captain, who was q
friend of his. Once or twice, he had
brought.off his wife and little daughter
with him,-such q sweet, lady-like
vouno woman. and such n dear little