The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1877-07-27

dlteIN Us uiat itcy cIOucucu uOWn III =
fur corner of the car, aimos' sweltered
with heat, expeGtin' grand crash every
second, an in danger o bein' trampled
TO death by tn hoses. Through the
broken end 9th car they could see tn
blazin' oil tanks roarin down after us
AN t seemed q them, they said, s il
they was gainin' on Us every second
%, Lord, what sight them oil cars was
Thousanls an thousans.o' gallons O. oil
with all tn combustiblest parts still in
ii, a burnin all at once, ,xn' rushin down
the mountain like fremenjis meteor
on a night s dark s pitch The blaze
was more n GO foot high, an lit up tn
crooked road an th' woods an noun
tains for miles around. The whole heav
ems was Illuminated, an from Brocton
they said tn sight O this great blaze
tearin' along like demon, now hid for
a second bya cut or piece of woods, an
then leapin' out agin an jumpin up t.
ward the sky like huge fountain O
tire-why, they said twas just grand and
4 gorgeous The light was so great I The
boys see us swoopin' along ahead o. the
mass O fyin' flames, an they knowed
what war up. They know'd there was a
race for life goin' on down that noun.
tain, and they knowd the chances was
agin the ones what was chased"
"o' course the whole thing commenc
ed an was over in good deal less time
n been tellin' lit. When I see the
lights o Brocton Junction, it struck me
all ofa sudden t the Cincinnati express
on tn Shore road must be bout due
there from, tn West. l looked at my
watch. IT only 1ack'd one second of the
express trains time at Brocton. We'd
been thinkin' all along to save 'rselves
tn switch at tn junction must be OPEN
ed t let us in on tn Shore track, where
the road was level, and we could git
away from the burpin' cars switch
of course; was closed, n now, even if the
switchman opened it on my signal, there
was tn danger O crashin' into tn ex-
press. T. add t. this fearful situation, /
see freight train from tn East, pullin'
like tn devil posset to get inter the
switch at Brocton out o. tn way o. the
due express"
Good God" says l, Jimmy, what Il
we do?"
This all took place in about five Sec
ond.
"Holler fr tn switch" SAYS Jimmy
That's our only chance,"
$50 | whistled for 'em to open the
switch. Lord, what shrek that engine
give, Seemed s if it knew our chances
was slim, an it's whistle was Just one
yell o'agony.
"Spose they won't open the switch,
Jimmy" said 1. Hot as twas, could
feel tn cold sweat stan on my forehead,
and ooze out all over me- know Twas
as pale as sheet, for l could feel it.
Jimmy d been married jes' week afore
an l knowd how much he thought O.
that little woman O his'n. had wife
n seven children. 1t was kinder an
ole thing to me, but there was Mt no spot
to me like that little home o mine an
its contents"
"If they do mt turn tn swith, Jack"
said Jimmy-"good-by!"
"He stuck out his hand. | know'd
what he meant. ketched hold n his
hand, and we bid each other good-by.
N all the time we was sweepin' like the
wind toward the station, with the blazin'
devil only ten feet behind me. N,
thank God. they did turn the switch, an
We shot in on tn Shore track, tore by
the depot like rocket, an on thro' the
town an on up the road. We knoxd
then that the express had been warned
of our approach. We soon outstripped
the burnin' cars, they losin the momen-
tum of the grade. We slowed our brave
old gal up by degrees, an stopped with
in, hLndred yards o the express that
lay on the track, wai,in for the upsho: u
the race. Jimmy II me got off bus III
mex We know'd we didn't know nothin'.
We tainted dead away, and when we
come TO, was both O us home, safe and
sound, but terribly shook up, now | tell
you. The two hoss keepers was both
unconscious in the box ear. If thevd
a knowed the other dangers we was in
aside from the burnin' cars dose me if
l don't think tined died. The HOSES
was badly cut up, and so unstrung that
/ guess they never got over t. After
all our escape from collision with the
express had been more luck than man.
agement. The express a minute late
The, engineer see tn blazin' O. the oil
cars tearin' down the mountains, and he
knowd what tn matter was t once
But he didn't cal'clat that We was tearin'
down with any such fearful speed, an
he thought he could git to the depot an
out o tn way fore we reached it. He
got within a mile O. the station n see he
couldn't make t, an stopped, an backed
away to give us room. fhed a been
on time-well, it amt tall likely Id be
tellin' you O. this-'n ther'd been
more widders n orphins in the country
today than there is. By bull headed
luck the engineer of the up freight train
made his sidin' in timet git out'n the
way"
The oil cars was left to burn up, O.
course. They burned three hours and
the express had to lay off till they got
through. The luckiest part O the whole
thing was the brakeman at the summit
havin' sense enough to cut off the pas
senger cars an stop 'em. Spose they'd
stayed with the oil cars They'd been
on fire in less than minute, and as they
tore down that hill at lightning speed,
hundreds of human beings d a been
roasted in that quarter ia mile O fire. "
I've been good while tellin' you
Of this cir'mstance, but how long d'you
s'pose it WAS happin'? Well, from the
time we left Mayville summit TO the
time Jimmy n me tainted b'yond Broc-
ton, was jes' 1eyen minutes n twenty
seconds, had the time we started and
one O. the boys looked at his watch when
we dropped. We had run over fifteen
miles"
at seems strange to me-" 1 ventured
to remark @that you didn't jump from
your engine, as you might have done at
| the start"
~What leave my engine. I'd as soon