Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1878-02-07
A Close Shave.
How Engineer O'Neil Tossed Four
Horses Down the Banks and
Saved His Train


81 reckon you've hearn tell
of Jim O'Ncil, what was 'sas-
sinated down at Bloomington
the other night?" remarked
Jack Reynolds to a reporter on
Saturday. The latter acknowl-
edged that he had heard a good
deal lately about the man re-
ferred to- Jack Reynolds does
the stoking on one of the lar
gest locomotives on the Chica-
60 and Alton Railroad.
"Just wait till / toss in a
couple of shovelfuls, cause
time is nearly up, and we'll be
off soon, and I'll tell you some
thin about Jim," said the fire.
man, as he pitched some chunks
Of coal into the roaring furnace.
"They don't make better en-
gineers," he continued, than
Jim O'Neil was. You see. you
folks what ride back there in
them fine coaches and play po-
ker, and read the newspapers,
and only look out when a halt
is made, and commence readin'
and playin' agin when the train
darts away with a shriek, roar
and a rattle; you folks, l say,
don't know what danger is.
No, sir. just you come ahead
here, and stand where Jim o.
Neil stood for eighteen years,
and I'll bet your back will raise
up sometimes. BIT BIT Jim didn't
mind it much. He was the cool
est and most bravest man what
I ever see in my life. He acted
all the while just like he was
ready to die any minute. And
do you know, he would talk to
his engine just like man would
talk TO a woman. He would
pet her, and say sweet, sympa-
thizing things to her. When
she was leanin' out her best,
runnin' maybe forty miles an
hour, Jim would look her all o.
yer kind of affectionately, and
say to himself, with shake OF
his head: She amt we'll to-
day; / don't know what ails her,
but she amt 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 rnn an engine to-
gether 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 j
was a green hand, and in all the
years we stuck together he new
er spoke a cross word to me,
and if he'd been a mind to he
might have pitched me out of
the cab window at any. time,
for he was a powerful man. I'm
got used to runnin' now, and ]
don't ever bother my head a
bout what's goin' to happen
but when Jim O'Neil first took
me on / was awful scarey, and
often wished / was. one Of them
farmers what we saw holdin
the plow in the fields as VIC
passed" !"
"O'Neil had a great many
narrow escapes, did be not?'
interrupted the reporter.
"You are right be had," re-
Piled Jack, "and the half of
them amt been told about in
the newspapers. Jim always
knowed when any thing was
goin' to happen. Once we had
nine cars and a big lot of peo-
pie and was runnin' TO make uT
lost time. 1t was just a 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 sus
pectel that he was tryin' t.
brighten me, but after bit HI
said TO me: 'D-n it, / 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 ey'
set right down the rails, but j
was getting SO dark that III
couldn't sec fur. The old locomo
tive was j'.st putin in her bes
Hicks, and presently we sho
through the deep cut and on
on the high film that ran f
t the bridge. As we made tn
curve at the mouth of the cut
right there in front of lis, am
not more'n two hundred feet a
way, was four horses what wa
: running their best down tn
s grade toward the bridge. | fel
my heart thump agin the roo
of my mouth. If Jim hadn'
looked SO cool, / guess I'd hay
tossed myself through the win
dow; but / thought I'd stay q
lone as Jim did. He took ]
the chances at a glance. IL
- l1.c0c oxYnr. rrf