The Republican journal., 1870-01-06
AN ENGINE-ROOM STORY.

AN ENGINE-ROOM STORY.
On cold frosty Christmas, a few years
ago, 1 was a passenger on board the hne
steamer "Queen," from London to -. The
voyage is not a very long one but we were
several days at sea, and during that time l
struck up pretty much of an acquaintance
with the second engineer of the ship. | have
always had a taste, rather imaginative than
scientific, for watching the working of power
full machinery; the evenings were too cold
to allow of my remaining long on deck; and
l was often glad to exchange for a time the
saloon stove for the bright glow of the boiler
furnaces, and the company of the passengers
for chat in the engine-room with my friend
the engineer. Ten o'clock in the evening.
seated by his side on the platform that ran
around the tops of the cylinders, whence he
could in moment hear any word passed
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 chat
ting with me, could be constantly alive to
the smallest escape of steam, or the least
jarring or chipping sound which told to his
practiced eyes or ears that something about
the machinery required fabrication OF adjust
ment
There was nothing very remarkable about
my acquaintance, Angove; he was simply an
honest, straightforward, intelligent, self-edu-
Gated mechanic; one, in short, of a class
very numerous among our steamboat engi-
neers. 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 a Brazilian
stean-sloop; had nearly died from the intense
heat in the engine-room of Peninsula and
Oriental boat in the Red Sea; had been
wrecked in a West India mail steamer, and
smuggling transaction, with which he vowed
that he himself had really nothing to do; :;
was at the time the late war broke out serv-
ing ON board a Russian war steamer, which
of course he left as soon as possible; had
served ON board a river-boat on the MISSISSIPPI
pi, and another on the Hooghly; and had
seen many strange event in these and other
services, from the plain mattcr-ot-tact point
of view natural to his temperament and edu-
cation.
On Christmas eve 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 a good deal
We had but few passengers vn board, and Of
u
while the others We're i'll in their berths.
There was evidently not much Christmas
festivity to be expected in the saloon, so l
came shivering off the deck, where l had
been smoking cigar in the moonlight and
seated myself in my accustomed place on
the engine room platform, enjoying the
warm glow from the furnaces Angove had
just lit q cigar which l gave him, when a
slight escape of steam from one Of the valve
stutiing boxes arrested his attention. The
platform on which we had our seats was on
a level with the tops of the cylinders, with
railing nearly breast high between it and the
engines; and to get at the stuffing- boxes in
question it was necessary, in order to avoid
being struck by the bars of the parallel mo-
ton, to wait until the engine took her down
stroke, and then vault in over the rail to the
top of the cylinder cover, before she came
up again. Taking spanner, to screw down
the gland Angove awaited the proper mo-
ment, and vaulted over the rail but at that
instant the ship took heavier roll than ordi-
nary, his foot slipped ON the greasy, sloping
surface of the false cover, and he had the
narrowest escape possible from being pre-
cipitated headlong among the working parts
of the machinery. He saved himself just in
time by catching hold OF the cylinder cross
head; but this cross-head worked up to with
in 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 be crushed between them such
close work was it, indeed, that he actually
felt the squeeze, and the skin was red with
the pressure.
know | was terribly frightened, and
started up pale and horror-struck but An
COVE finished his work coolly, vaulted out
again over the rail, and seated himself at nv
side, Il little pale but perfectly calm and self
possessed, and smoked away his cigar as if
nothing had happened.
"Nly dear fellow" cried, ''what a mar
row escape! thought it was all over with
you"
eyes, indeed" he said, sit was close
work! But thank God, it's all right A
very small fraction of 4 second lOnger,n
looking at his hand, land my power of using
hammer and chisel wouldn't have been Of
much account"
We sat for some minutes without speaking;
both no doubt, mcditating on what had oc-
cured; and then, full of the subject, /
said
''1t must be very dangerous work, going
about the engines in really bad weather."
Yes, it is" he said, ESPECIALLY in some
chS Slle-roOmS nearly rs bad, L think, as 1t is
for the sailors to 90 aloft But have always
been very fortunate"
''Did you never meet with an accident %
asked.
mo" 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 then ?'' l asked
'sWell,'' he said, ''it is subject on which
don't much like to speak; and, indeed,
have never told the whole story to any one
but l think a sufficiently long time has now
elapsed, and may as well give it to you
since you are pleased to say you like hearing
my little adventures
"lt was many years ago-when the Cali
tornia gold-diggings were attracting every
body's attention-that | went out as third
engineer of 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 a short time pre-
viously he had several times come on board
a ship to which then belonged at New York,
to see the captain, who was friend of his
Once or twice he had brought off his wife
and little daughter with him-such a sweet
lady-like young woman, and such dear lit
tie girl recolect taking them down once