The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-01-11


then LIE took note of the shocks as they
affected the member, and thus once
more made excellent progress. In this
way he soon brought matters to sat.
isfactory conclusion.
Meanwhile the conductor was trudg.
ing his lonely way along, but before he
had gone half the distance to the sta
ton he was met by the locomotive
hurrying to the rescue. He was ut
terly COMPOUNDED and not little ter
rified to see the monster booming
along, and made frantic efforts to
bring it to halt by placing himself
directly in its path on the track and
swinging his arms fol dear life. He
succeeded in attracting the engineer s
attention, and as soon as he came
within speaking distance he wanted to
know "what he was doing on the
track on his (the conductor time.
"Been called" was tie answer.
Who called you?' Been tele-
graphed for by a broken-down train
some five miles along here. The
Superintendent himself sent the or
der" The conductor now found him
self in regular fog, but got on the To-
connective, and when he reached the
train lost no time in seeking light.
Col. Wilson, the local superinten-
dent. is also capital story-teller, and
his fund of anecdote and Geographic
"reminiscences is nigh inexhaustible.
He maintains that the method of read
ing by sound is sort OF Western in
stitution, and came into general use
here quite period before it was adopt
ed in the East. This assertion, which
sounds rather strange when we con-
slider the primitiveness of the West
twenty or twenty-five years ago, is yet
in measure due to that very fact. 1t
is generally understood that rules and
precedent sit far more lightly on the
cOnsciences Of men in a wilderness
waging war against nature than where
nature is already subdued, and since,
as has already been indicated, it was
early discovered that reading by sound
was feasible, but not deemed reliable,
and therefore prohibited, it is but fair
to assume that the innovation would
first take place where precedent and
the mere letter of the law had least
potency. 1t thus happened that when
the Prince of Wales visited this coun-
try, sound reading was thing entirely
new to him, and he and his escort never
ceased commenting on the fact that
they should come to the wilds of the
Mississippi Valley to become familiar
with one of the marvels of the world.
Col. Wilson was the telegrapher ac-
companying the Prince and his suite
while travelling in the West, and he
has a rich fund of anecdotes concern
ing his experiences during that pc
Rod. While travelling through Illinois
the party took frequent occasion to
indulge in hunting excursions. To
this end the most sparsely-settled re-
gions were selected. At one time,
after protracted hunt, the party had
occasion to cross a railway track, and
the sight of the telegraph poles and
wire excited in the Prince and several
members of the suite desire TO place
themselves in communication with
civilization once more. The Colonel
accordingly adjusted his pocket in
strument, but soon found that in one
direction the wires were down, and
casting his eye along the track he no.
ticed the source of the trouble, by
means of a field telescope, about a
half a mile beyond.
81 guess I'll mend that break"
said the Colonel, in the presence of
the Duke of Newcastle.
"Have you the wire to do it with ?"
inquired his Grace.
NO." answered the Colonel, "but
l guess I'll send for some"
"But, SIR" said the Duke, some
what alarmed, 1--WE can't do without
you, and I'm sure we can't wait here
a day or two while you send to the
nearest station, which l understand is
ten miles away, for the repairing ma
terial."
.Pll repair the break and not de-
tain you longer than the time you will
require to dispatch your lunch" re-
turned the imperturable Colonel, and
while he was still talking to the credu-
lous Duke-tO whom, however, he had
given no hint how the repair was to
be effected-a train came in sight, in a
twinkling it was upon them, and as it
passed the spot where the party was
at tremendous burst of
speed, coil of wire was thrown from
the baggage-car, and in half an hour
the break was repaired. ,.-
The Duke referred to the fact as
a most striking example Of what
was known as fast America, and
even after the simple explanation of
the "trick," he still thought it mar
Vicious, and could only have been per-
formed in America. The case was
simply this. AS soon as Col. Wilson
found the wire broken, and while in
communication with the nearest sta
ton in the direction in which the wire
was not broken, he had given orders
to pat a coil of wire on the next train,
with instructions to throw it off at the
point where the company would be
found making a halt. Even while he
was giving this order, the answer was
returned: "The train is now in
sight" and hence he could calculate
that it would reach the point at which |
they were camped in less than half an
hour. 1t was about twenty minutes
ater that he had the conversation with
The Duke, and hence it was that while
they were still talking over the matter
she train came in sight.
At one time, in the early winter
one of the company's cables,
crossing the Mississippi. was broken.
As bad-luck never comes singly, it so
at the time that the river
was wild with floating ice, and it was
literally impossible for those on one
side to communicate with those on the |
,ther by the ordinary methods. In
his dilemma it occurred to Col. Will
ION to bring locomotive into requisi-
ion. As quickly as possible he sub