Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1878-07-26

folks that ride back there in them fine
coaches, and play poker, and read the
newspapers, and only look out when n
halt is made, and commence readin'
and playin' agin when the train darts
away again with shrek, roar and q
rattle; you folks, | say, don't know
what danger Is. No, sir. just you
come ahead here and stand where Jim
O'Niel stood for eighteen years, and
I'll bet your back will raise up some
times. But Jim didn't mind it much
He was the coolest and most bravest
man what ever see in my life. He
acted all the while Just like he was
ready to die ut any minute. And do
you know, he would take to his engine
Just like a man would take to woman.
He would pet her, and say sweet, SYM
pathizin' things to her. When she was
leanin' out her level best, runnin' may
be forty miles an hour, Jim would look
her all over kind of affectionately and
say to himself, with a shake of the
head, 'She amt well to-day; dom t
know what ails her, but she ain t feelin'
Just right
Jack opened the furnace door again
and dropped in some fresh fuel on the
glowing Goals.
You see, he continued, ''Jim and
ME run an engine together five years,
Just as me and my boss here (pointing
to the engineer who had that moment
stepped into the cab) are doing now.
He took me on when l was a green
hand, and in all the years we stuck to-
gether he never spoke cross word to
me, and if he'd been a mind to he
might have pitched me out of the cab
window any time, for he was power
full man. I'm got used to runnin' now,
and don't ever bother my head about
what's goin' TO happen; but when jim
O'Niel first took me on | was awful
scary, and often wished | was one of
them farmers what we saw holdin' the
plow in the fields as we passed"
"O'Niel had q great many narrow
escapes, did he not?" interrupted the
reporter.
You are right he had replied
Jack, and the half of them amt been
told about in the newspapers. Jim al
ways know'd when anything was gOin'
to happen. Once he had nine cars and
big lot of people, and he was runnin'
to make up lost time. 1t was just n
little afore dark, and, takin' his eye
from off the track, Jim turned to me,
and SAYS he: There's trouble ahead;
| feel it in my bones AT first kinder
suspected that he was tryin' to frighten
me, but after bit he said to me: : l
| wish | could look round the big curve
and see if the bridge is all right That
scared me MORN ever. | noticed that
jim had his eye set right down on the
rail, but it was gettin' so dark that he
couldn't see far. The old locomotive
was putin in her best licks, and pres
emily we shot in through the deep cut
and out on the high film that ran to
the bridge. AS we made the curve at
the mouth of the cut, right there in
front of us, and not more'n two hun
dred feet away, was four horses what
was runnin' their best down the grade
toward the bridge. | felt my heart
thump agin the roof of my mouth. II
jim hadn't looked SO cool, guess I'd
have tossed myself right through the
window, but l thought I'd stay as long
as JIM did. He took in the chance a
a glance. He know'd if them horse!
ever got to that bridge they'd tumble
down 'twixt the stringers, and wheI
we struck 'em we'd jump the track
and go through the bridge into thu
river, and God only knows whethe
anybody of them hundreds of peOpl,
would have lived to tell what I'm tellin
now. So, quick as a flash-for with ;
locomotive runnin' forty miles an hou
you must do your tigurin' in hurry
Jim slapped on all the steam. My God
how she shot She nearly jumped on
from under me. In three seconds tn
old locomotive just picked up tina
bunch of beasts and tossed them dow
the banks. They didn't any of 'em liv
to see the hind car pass by 'em.
"When my heart dropped back to it
place. added Jack, ~ ventured t
say to Jim, That was close shave
wasn't itp' but Jim never took his ey
from the track, and never sed yes or ne
and, though him and me run togethe
for years and years, he never ono
, spoke of how he scooped them crittel
! into the ditch, and saved God onl
: knows how many lives. .",-MuScatis
Tribune.