The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1878-08-08
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A&AAf Ai4AAAtANs AAa "a AAA ass NAi3N ~ .
bold, plAia hsBd, tied 8 red ribbon ia bis
baton hole, snd - he len the ban be
said
A. tbe Loid looks down npou me, rli
never toueh liquor again
Have you been a bard dnnker; qaericd
a man who walked beside the engineer
No. Fac. is, was never drunk iB my
life. I've swallowed considerable whis-
key, bat never went far enough to get
drunk. shouldn't miss II OF be the
worse Of for au hour II Ail the intoxicat-
/ ing drink 10 The world was drained into
I the ocean.
But you seemed eager TO sign the
pledge.
| So was, and III keep il through thick
and thin, and talk temperance to every
man on the road
You must have strong reasons.
We'll, ifyonll walk down to the depot
lll tell you . story on The way. II hasn't
been in the papers aud only few OF us
know the facts. You know | run the
night express on the B. Road. We
always have at least two sleepers and a
\ coach, and sometimes we bad as many as
two hundred passengers, It's a good
road, level as a floor aud pretty straight,
though there is bad spot or two. The
night express has the right o way, and
we make last time. It's no rare thing for
us to skim along at the rate OF fifty miles
an hour for thirty or forty miles, aud we
rarely 90 below thirty. One night lpull-
cd out OF Detroit with two sleepers, two
coaches, and the baggage aud mail car.
4 Nearly all the berths in both sleepers
were full, and most Of The seats in the
coaches were occupied. II was dark
night, threatening all the time TO rain,
and a lonesome wind whistled around
the cab as we left the city behind. We
were seventeen minutes late, and that
meant fast time all the way through.
| Well, be continued after a moment,
everything ran along all right up to mid.
night. The main track was kept clear
for us; the engine was in good spirit,
and we ran into D. as smooth as you
please. The express coming east should
meet us fifteen miles west of D., but
the operator at the station had failed to
receive his usual report from below
That was strange, and yet 1t was not, and
after a little consultation the conductor
sent me ahead. We were to keep the
main track, while the other train would
run in on the side track, Night after
night our time had been so close that we
did not keep them waiting over two min
utes, aud we were generally in sight
when they switched in,
When we left D we went ahead at
a rafting speed, fully believing that the
other train would be on time. Nine miles
from D. is the little village OF Porto.
There is a telegraph station there, but
the operator has no night work. lie
/ closed his office and went home about 8
O'Clock and any messages on the wire for
him were held above or below until next
morning. When sighted this station ]
saw red lantern swinging between the
rails. Greatly astonished, | pulled up
the heavy train and got a bit OF news that
almost lifted me ont OF my boots. II was
Gods mercy, as plain as this big depot.
1t was the operator who was swinging
the lantern. He had been reused from
sleep by the whistles of a locomotive,
when there wasn't one within ten miles
OF him. lie heard the toot! toot tootl
while be was dressing and all the way as
he ran to the station, thinking he had
been signaled. Lol there was no train
there. Everything was as quiet as the
grave. The man heard his instrument
clicking away, ,and eanin' his ear against
the window he caught these words as
they went through TO D;
For Gods sake, switch the Eastern ex-
press Off quickl Engineer on the Western
express crazy drunk, aud running a mile
a minule
The operator sgnaled us at once. We
+ had left D. nine miles away, aud the
message couldn't have caught us any
where except at Porto. Six miles fur
ther down was the long switch. II was
time wo were there lacking one minute.
We lost two or three minutes in under.
standing the situation and in consulting,
aud had just got ready TO switch In where
we were when the head light of the other
train came 10 view. Great Heavens but
how that train was flying. The bell was
ringing, sparks flying and the whistle
screaming, aud not man OF us could
raise a hand. We stood there on the
main track, spell-bound as il were. There
wouldn't be time, anyhow, either to have
switched in or got the passengers ont. II
wasn't over sixty seconds before that
train was upon us. prayed TO God for
a breath or two and then shut my eyes
aud waited for death, for ! hadn't the
strength to get ont Of the cab.
Well, Gods mercy was revealed again.
Forty rods above Us that locomotive
jumped The track and was piled into the
ditch in an awful mass. Some Of the
coaches were considerably smashed, and
some of the people badly bruised, bat no
one was Killed, and Of course our train
escaped entirely. Satan must have cared
for big Tom, the other engineer. iiC
didn't get bruise, bui was upAnd scros.
The Geld ike a deer, screaming and Shrek
Ing ike msd tiger. II took i've men tC
bind him alter be was run down, And To-
day be IL the worst lnnztic 10 ihe State.
Tom wGs a good fellow, continued iht