Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-06-30


the grade, to the eastward, - fast a. his
stiff and clumsy legs, urged by, the whip
and spur. and the attraction ofgravi.ation,
could move. Clearer and clearer came
the humming noise; and heard, at
length, . short, sharp, whistle, - the
rushing train entered tunnel turned
. curve, and passed out OF tunnel II
could not be more than two miles, or
three 1t most, away. Jerky skaeed over
the ice-patches, and f1oundered through
the mail snow-drifts which had Uttered
In through the crevices in the shed work,
but, reckless Of danger to limbs alone in
presence of the greater danger to myself
and perhaps hundreds OF my fellow men,
whipped and spurred increasingly, and
drove him on at the height OF his speed.
Nearer and nearer came the train; could
already hear the cough, cough, cough OF
the locomotive behind me. At last l saw
an opening in the side of the shed not
many rods distant, and, with triumph.
ant yell, I urged my steed to put forth his
utmost effort Sixty seconds more and
would be saved, and the danger to the
train avoided. The seconds seemed
hours in the feverish excitement OF
the moment, but they were over at last,
and sprang of my horse on the instant
that he reached the opening, and rushed,
with the rein in my hand, through the
aperture. Old Jerky snorted and sprAng
backward, throwing me down and pulling
the rein from my hand. saw the trouble
ct glance. The opening was not OF suf-
ficient height to admit Of horse going
through it erect, and . heavy timber to
which the planks were nailed, ran across
the top. l sprang inside and took sur
vey of the situation in an instant. The
beam would have borne ten times the
strain that I could have brought to hear
upon it, and it was foot thick, sound,
and firmly placed. l threw all my
strength and weight against the plank.
ing little beyond the beam, and
fell back upon the icy ground; the
planks were imbedded in the frozen
ground at their lower ends, and l
could not start them in the slightest
degree. sprang up and ran to the other
side Of the shed, to try if the planking on
that side was less firmly secured. Through
the crevices l saw q precipice running
hundreds of feet, sheer down from the
side of the shed. / could not escape that
way, and if the train went of there, no
person on it would survive to tell the
tale.
/ fell on my knees to pray, but before I
had uttered q word, the thought passed
through my brain that might throw the
horse down, and pull him through the open
ing by main strength. had the rope from
the saddle In my hands In an instant, and
throwing it around his fore legs, sprang
to one side, and with my whole strength
attempted to trip him. The brute jumped
backward, and refused to fall, while the
rope ran through my hands, tearing the
skin, and soaring the flesh as If had
grasped red hot iron. I remembered, at
that moment, having seen Mexican
vaguero showing off bis skill at horse
manship, at San Jose, amid an admiring
throng, and making the sneering remark
to friend, "And he is nothing but bull
driver, after all I" In that time of su-
preme agony, would have sacrificed
eyery advantage of birth, education, tai
ent and professional skill, and changed
places with that uneducated, dcspised,
bull driving Greaser, merely to have re-
ceived in turn the gift of the ability to
perform the trick of throwing down q
horse NY foot struck stick OF wood,
such as is used for burning on the locomo-
tives, which was lying on the ground,
and instantly stopped to get 1t, deter
mined to beat the brains out of the brute
with it, or ct least stun him into insensi-
bility, and then pull him into the open.
ing. It was frozen fast in the ice, and /
could not tear it loose, though put
forth strength which seemed hercu
lean, in the frenzy of my excitement
It occurred to me that I had a pocket.
knife, and might cut his throat; but the
train was almost upon me, and there was
no time for him to bleed to death; this
reflection did not consume second and q
half. In my despair, I gave one long
drawn yell-Help! No answer came.
The train came on, as 1t seemed TO me,
with lightning speed, upon the down.
grsde, and the light of the locomotive
head-lamp already fell upon me. Ten
seconds more, and there would be q ter.
rife crash, and pile of broken cars; and
bleeding, and dying men would
burst through the side Of the shed, and
60 rolling down the mountain side. Dead
" faint, and convinced that all was nearly
over, staggered against the side Of the
shed, closed my eyes, and sank half down
to the ground. I heard Jerky give a sud-
den snort Of terror, and opened my eyes
ne Qhu Ql6COVcICu tuC udukcI ~ ld6t, duO
it all in an instant. The
train could not have been more than thir-
ty feet from him, when he made one ire
mendous jump, and went through the
opening. The beam caught the high
Mexican saddle, tore it into fragments,
and frightfully laoerated his back, but his
weight, and the strength which mortal
terror gave him, carried him through, and
he fell in the snow, outside. l sprang
after him, just as the locomotive came
abreast Of me, and fell, trembling and
fainting, beside him.
don't think the engineer saw us at all
I did not see him, SO far as I could re-
member, afterward. 1t was half an hour
before could gather strength enough to
regain my feet. When l did 30, got my ex-
hausted and bleeding horse upon his legs,
and replaced the wreck of the saddle upon
his lacerated back, securing it as well as I
could with some thongs cut from the edge
of the rein, and my pocket-handkerchief,
torn into strips, and prepared to resume
my journey. In . canon, filled with the
black shadow Of the mountain, saw what
appeared u be the dim outlines of several
cabins. That must be Camp No. -!
Pulling my limping steed after me by the
bride, ] made my way slowly and pain.
fully down to the nearest cabin, and
- - ~ L. 4 L.,