The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1867-04-23
THE HEROES OF THE LOCOMOTIVES
BY PRESIDENT FUTILE, OF WABASH COLLEGE.

oi FnISiDENT FUTILE, OF WABASH CoLLESE.
A true manhood cannot be developed without
the discipline of responsibility. Let the nurse
carry the child, instead of teaching him to walk,
aud he will become an overgrown child, but
| never man. He is wise parent who lays a
proper and genuine responsibility on his child,
and incites him to meet it. Il, e,.-..-sy @
1t Is no new remark that persons are trans
formed by the responsibilities they have to dis
charge. A delicate and untried girl Suddenly
| rpens into an ex Extraordinary wonanhood, through
| the agency of sickness or death in the family
laying on her heavy burdens to be borne. 1t
may be that she is now the comforter of the
sick mother and as mother to the younger
children. Hence the change; little while ago
timid girl, but now courageous woman. In
1862 young man from Columbus, Ohio, was
commissioned as lieutenant 10 reg iment then
at Camp Chase. He was small in person and
almost effeminate in appearance; SO much so
that it affected me to see him go very much as
would the sight of boy of fifteen. He was
with his regiment in several severe engagements
in Kentucky, was at Cumberland Gap, retreated
under Morgan to the Ohio, and was afterward
in severe service on the Mississippi. He had
become a captain, and the remark was made by
those who were with him that he had become
man-not so much in stature as in mien, word,
and act. He lost his life at Polt Gibson, and
bis men kissed bis manly face as fondly as they
would a child's. 1t was responsibility that
wrought the change. ..+s r>.s..... ..r.-
1t may be an admission of weakness, and yet
l confess to a high admiration of class of mea
to whom vast burden of responsibility in the
G,atter of human life is constantly entrusted L
refer to our railroad engineers. The locomotive
in itself is marvel of ingenuity and power>-
Comp perfect in form and adaptation, indis
pensable to the wants of civilization, it is of
the finest instruments The man who controls
these thirty tons of organized iron which We call
locomotive must secure both self-respect aud
self confidence. [ have sometimes stood beside
the track when train has come flying along,
and have observed with boundess admiration
the man on whose vigilance, skill, and pluck the
safety of that train SO largely depended. His
left hand on the lever his right on the reversing
iever-if that be its name-hs body bent for
ward eagerly, and his eye keeDly scrutinizing
the track ahead, lest the tremendous momentum
of bis train, meeting with some obstacle, should
dash itself in an instant into horrible wreck
How, now, can man be weighed down with
such responsibility and not be stronger and
more self reliant man? ...'
Some years ago, with party, it was my for
tune to be on the Erie Railroad when the en-
gineers engaged in general strike. [ sided
with the engineers, believing them to be
wronged At the Susquehanna station we found
large body of engineers, more than | had ever
seen together at one time. They were not noisy,
nor braggart, nor tipsy; but then said, what
now believe, that they were the finest body of
operatives [ ever saw. Intelligent, bold, strong,
each the manager of such wonderful machine,
they found at least one ardent admrer that day
Some of the most remarkable exhibitions of
courage have been made by men of this class.
A few years ago my friend Orsbone, who has
driven the locomotive for the mail train on the
Morris & Essex Railroad for twenty years at
least, with faultless faithfulness, was once de-
layed by snow on the track for several hours,
but received explicit orders from the supern-
tendent-not that splendid officer who has lately
resigned his Office on that road-'to 60 ahead,
for the road was clear, no other train was on the
track. After satisfying himself that he bad not
misunderstood the order, he left the summit on
steep down grade, and in rounding sharp
curve, came on a train that was ascending the
safe grade under full head of steam. In an
instant he whistled down the brakes and re-
versed his engine. The noble thing, under such
a tremendous strain, sjf fully aware of the
danger, obeyed, and threw itself back to avert
the catastrophe Meanwhile the other engineer
bad done the same thing with his locomotive
but it was possible only to mod TIE shock.
Together rushed those two painting and reluctant
giants, their joint weight not less than sixty
tons, with the gathered momentum Of their fol-
lowing trains They rose like two furious ami
mails in fight, standing on end, and in trice the
two splendid machines were wreck. The cars
behind them were also badly crushed. Orsbone
did not leap from his engine; but never
moving bis hands from the levers which con-
Id bo n ;.
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 clearer proof of the finest courage
than that.
At the crossing of the Morris & Essex Rail
way and the Orange turnpike may be seen
Aagman with one leg The other he lost in the
wreck l have just described Had be had Ors-
bones nerve to face danger, he would have
escaped also unhurt. Poor fellow! the man
who issued the Presumptuous blunder that day
tried to buy him off from prosecuting the com
pany for the sum of one hundred dolldrs-an
offer which poor "Bob's" wife met with this
query: "Mr -, would you sell one OF your
legs for a hundred dollars?" .. /.
During the war an incident occurred on the
Pennsylvan Central, which was related TO me
by an eyewitness. My informant was with
regiment Of soldiers going from Pittsburgh to
Harrisburg in special train. Between John
stown and the summit they were delayed by
freight-train off the track, or part of its cars
off. This they learned at one of the stations,
and remained there until they should be liz
formed that the track was clear. II 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, become detached,
and heoan the descent of the heavy grade at