The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1872-04-25

prevent 1t. Ihey haTDeSSe0 couplo OK
horses and half dozen donkeys to the
other end of the engine. tar bar
rels they had brought with them were
set alight. land blazed furiously, affording
plenty of light. / warned my men not
to have recourse to violence, and in this
Twas seconded by the leader of the oppo-
site side, who was in fact, the purchaser
of the engine.
"It shall be fair eight" he said. Let
us see who can pull the hardest now, and
you take your chance in law afterward."
By mutual consent we unsolicited the
wheels, and the tournament began. First
one party gained a few yards, the: the
other. The animals Rugged their very
hardest, aided by the men. The Epg-
lishmen were the strongest, although the
fewest in number. but the incline was in
favor of the Wclshmen, and at first it
seemed as if they would triumph and
drag the engine back to where the rails
were broken up. No blows passed be-
tween US, and the good humor shown by
everyone surprised me very much. l
felt that / was losing patience, and must
have some hand in it, 80 [ took up a
lever, and. inserting it behind wheel.
strove to urge it onward. My friend. the
commander-in-chiefo of the enemy, did
the same, but in an: opposite direction.
What was to be done Things must
rapidly end in free fight. Nobody's
patience could stand it no longer, The
sons of Cambria in particular were be-
coming excited, and one or two stones
had already struck the engine, thrown
by some outsider in the darkness. The
mail train had passed some time, and
the luggage train was nearly due. If
che struggle continued much longer, the
neigh borhood would be aroused, and we
should stand no chance At all risks
the engine must be carried away before
daylight. AS soon as one side gained an
advantage the wheels were scotched By
the other, and dead lock seemed ine-
vitable A bright idea struck me. and
abandoning my lever, went up to the
overseer of the mine, vino was working
as hard as any of them. and aeked him
who was the best runner among the
men.
There will be none as good as you,
sir; and they be all tired with this pull
ley hauley work"
''Well. then, I'm off to Nantygolyn
station and LII come back with the en-
CINE of the luggage train. Do you see?
Look to the points at the junction.
Capital, sirl' exclaimed he. as I
turned and dashed over the bank and
into the narrow road. I had scarcely
got out of the glare of the fire when
was roughly collared by somebody. As
he was evidently not friend, and there
was no time for explanation, even if I
wished to give any, I placed my hand
over his shoulder and my arm under his
chin, and. with a sudden wrench taught
me by Welsh collier, forced his head
back, and left him half iuseusible on the
ground.
That was run !-along rutty, stony
road, and the night, or rather morning
pitch dark. It was tolerably good run
ming that covered the two miles in a
quarter of an hour, and was thoroughly
pulled as got into the station. The
train had been waiting few minutes,
and, although was exceeding my pow
er, l took the responsibility on myself of
detaching the engine, and going forward
along the line. The junction was soon
reached, and lantern held up showed us
that all was clear, and we steamed slow
ly up to the engine. Both parties had
drawn off their forces, and sitting and
standing in groups, a little apart, while
rude chaff was freely interchanged. The
freight cast long and wavering shadows
around, and made the outer darkness look
blacker and more inpenetrable than ever
The rain still came steadily down and
hissed on the blazing fires, while the wet
ground was trodden ankle deep in mud.
Such a yell arose, after the first aston
ished silence, from our opponents, an
swered by ringing cheer from my men.
The cattle we're quickly Embossed, and
ridden off out of the way by three men.
The ropes were quickly transferred to the
big engine and in the midst of general
melee the two locomotives moved slowl y
off. dragging their horses and donkeys
backward. Seeing the uselessness ofem-
ploying brute force against steam, they
cut their ropes, and we moved triumph
antly off, followed by volly Of oaths and
stones. One of the latter struck me on
the cheek. laying it open. and knocking
me back on the Goals 10 the tender. 1t
was as much as could do to restrain my
men from jumping off and charging
them.
Well, that is how / fought for and won
the locomotive. I do not know, good
reader, if you will want to know any
more. In case you do, may say that
my salary was raised considerably. Mary
decided to take the risks of a married life
on still small income and, SO far, we
have had no reason to repent taking such
an important step.-She and l. and the
baby, wish you adieu.
upon to prescribe for a somewhat litter.
ate old lady, and as cod liver oil was in
his opinion the best remedy for her com-