The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-07-04
NOCeL Method Of Collecting Pay for
a. COIe.

Some years ago n widow living on
the line of the Ohio and Mississippi
Railroad, owned a Young COW, of
which she was particularly proud
One day the express train came thun-
dering along and struck and killed the
widows COW as it stood ruminating
on the track. The widow applied to
the station agent for pay for the ami
nal, and was told to send in bill to
the general Office of the road She
did so, but received no reply, and after
writing several times without effect,
called on the paymaster the next time
he went through the town to pay the
section hands. With this oflici Il she
fared no better. Little attention was
paid to her threats until about week
after, when the morning passenger
train, bound West, came along. The
station house of Flora is situated at
the top of a gentle slope, about half q
a mile in length, and which the pas
senger trains always run up at the
regular speed of twenty miles an hour
1t was fine frosty morning, and the
sun was just rising, and the engineer
noticed what he supposed to be frost
plainly gtistening on the rails. He
sounded his whistle for the station,
and putting on more steam, started
up the slope. The speed at which the
train was approaching carried it about
half way up the rise, but the driving
wheels of the locomotive spun around
on the rails without pulling an ounce
The train came to a dead stop and
then began to slide backward The
engineer whistled down brakes and
got off to inspect the rails. He found,
as he expected, that they were artisti-
callY covered with soft-soap, and as
he had had some previous experience of
that kind, knew exactly what to do
He backed down the track about half
n mile, and putting the full head of
steam on, charged at the rise with fun
speed. When he found the speed slack
ening he opened the sand valves and
allowed the sand in the boxes to glide
through the pipes and on the rails i'll
front OF The driving wheels. This, to
some extent, cOuntcracted the effect of
the soap, and the train got nearly fifty
wards further than it did before 1t
finally stopped again, and the engineer
again backed out and again Charged
the rise. The process was repeated
several times, and would have finally
been successful had not tie sand given
out. The soil in the ncighborhood
was Il soft, dark loan, and where the
railroad cut was made stiff, yellow
clay was turned up. No sand, how
ever, could be procured anywhere, and
finally the whole force of train men
went TO work to remove the soap
This they succeeded in doing after half
an hours hard work, and nearly an
hour behind time the train reached
the station A few days after a SINH
lar difficulty was experienced, and the
road officials began to get decidedly
angry. An attorney was sent out
there to discover and prosecute the
perpetrator, but soon after his arrival
was conlidentially informed that the
road would have no trouble in future
if the widow was paid for her COW
He took the hint, telegraphed to the
President, and received the necessary
authority, paid for the animal and left
the place The track was never soap
ell afterward and the widow got an
OUner Cow.-ict- LOUIS DeH3ocTdt