Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-12-31
Herolsm on the Rail.

There is not day passes withor.
act OF genuine heroism being nerso sone
by those engaged in running ,;med
the different railroads of the ca.nn On
Locomotive drivers and conduetouy
very often considered as men ,,tta.,a are
mindful of their own as well as ~ 10
Of passengers, and from the cr; s nyes
with which these people are asss;l Ia
one would Judge that they are =
class, reckless set of dare-devils' resss
to plunge into eternity, as Indifferent y
they run into depot. This il rrss ~
mistake-a Misrepresentation of the raa,
character of the men alluded - Ia
cause, as class, it is hard to find y
equal number of men, engaged in on ON
business, more prudent, sober. tho,ss;!
full and vigilant in the Performance ~
their duties than locomotive drivers "a
train conductors 1t is a mistaken an; Sau
that their familiarity with danaaa
renders them needless of lite oss
sequences Here is case in point, 4,
the fall of bridge on the Northern "a
trail Railroad, near Cockeysville. las.
week, there was a display of courage and and
presence of mind in a moment ot
great peril which evinced how constan.
is the vigilance of the locomotive engine,
At the scene referred to the enginee,
Jack Purdy, discovered, when on Il.
bridge, that the structure was givins
way. An ordinary man would have Il.
stantly become panic-stricken, and prob.
ably sprung from the locomotive to save
his own life, leaving the engine to fan
back upon the passenger it was
drawing, to crush many people in the
water below. But Jack Purdy is No
ordinary man. He is eminently great IN
his own business, and on this occasion
proved his capacity to comprehend and
conquer a great danger. Instantly he
understood the necessity of getting bis
engine off the bridge before it went down
and quick as thought he opened the
Unbelievable as wide as it could be
pulled, when the engine, like a gosded
steed, sprang forward, breaking from the
coupling by which the train was al.
tached to it, the powerful machine being
thrown forward from the rail with mo,
mentum producing a shock sufficient to
close the valve, and thus stop the
locomotive, when it was out Of
danger, as suddenly as it had been
started. But the moment of immi.
nent peril was over. The brave engi.
neer, firmly grasping his ,throttle-valve
was found bleeding profusely from cuts
received by the crash, yet not seriously
wounded. He had saved the lives Of
many people by this prompt act Of hero
ism; and as he stood on his "foot- board"
his position was as noble as that ever oc
cupied by Farragut when dashed to the
top of a mast, Sheridan rolling back a
column of fire, or Sherman contending
with storm of lead. We love to honor
brave men like Jack Purdy. They are
on the rail every day and night, ridingin
the jaws of death, unmindful of them.
selves SO that they insure the safety Of
the lives intrusted to their care. We may
never see or speak to Jack Purdy, but
his act of bravery, in thus risking his
own life to rescue others from danger,
deserves this passing notice at our hands,
because we delight in doing honor to
brave men. There ought to be some pub
lie way of rewarding such men. The
people who can lavish thousands Of
dollars on prima donna for an evenings
singing, or cast their gifts at the feet OF
a great actor, should certainly be able to
do something fifty to reward valor like
that of John Purdy. - Ph5L9deipissG Press.