The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1878-06-15
THE ENGINEERS STORY.
EBEN E. RExFoRp.

WY
Well, sir, because I saw one.
Tell you about it? Well, [ will
j if you'll sit down aD6 listen. It
isn't muuch to tell, hut it was a
good deal to see, you can just bet
your lite. and / never go by. the
place when / see it without ftel>
ing klad o scary.
Lem m e see. Twas in 1860.
I was jist beg,nnin my work on
this road that year. I'd been on
a road out west, but a friend got
me the position here that | have
KEEP ever sence.
It was rainy, disagreeable day
when the affair I'm goln to tell
you about happened. Jest one o
them days that makes feller
feel blue. in spite OF himself, an
lie can't tell why neither, less he
lays it all to the weather.
| I don't know what made me
fce!. so but it seemed as there was
danger ahead ever after we left
Woods station. And what made
1t seem so curious was that the
feelin of danger came on me all
at once. 1t was jest 4 clock, as
near as can tell. Anyway, jest
about the time when the down
express must have got safely by
the place where what am goin
to tell you about happened, was
a>standin with one hand on the
lever a~lookin ahead through the
drizzlin RAIN, feelin chilly an
kinder down. heated, as [ have
said, when all OF a sudden the
idea came ever me that somethin
was wrong somewhere. 1t took
hold of me ali [ couldn't git rid
OF 1t, nohow. | knew that all was
right with the engine. But that
feelin that there was danger
ahead never let up once after /,
got into my head. Queer,- WASH,
lit? But twas SO. [ could't &c,
account for it after | tonBd oul
there was danger, just as | feit
| an | h. mt never been able to ac
count for it since.
| 1t got dark early, on account
of the fog an rain; 1t was dark al
pitch atore we left Holbrook
which was the last station We
passed afore we come to the
place where I see the ghost.
I never felt go queer in my llts
atore, said Jimmy, the fireman te
| me, all of a sudden.
AS I was feelin queer myself, b,
kinder startled ne, sayln what ht
did.
! Why. what do you mean? sale
I without letting on that | was
, uneasy.
Do know, only I feel as :
j something was goin to happen
I said Jimmy.
That was Just as | felt an I toid
him so, and We talked about il
till we both got figetty.
There's o pretty sharp curv,
about twenty miles from Hol
brook. The road makes curv,
round mountain an the rive
3 rnps below you, about iorty foot
or sich matter. It's pokerlsi
lookin place when you happen t,
be going over 1t and think wha
would come it the train shoult
pitch over the bluff into, tn,
river.
We got to the foot of th,
mountain, and all at once | saw
suthin right ahead In the brigh
light Of the enAi1e. We Away
run slow round the cure an coulo
see distinctly. My hair rlz rlghr
ur, | tell ye, fer what | see was /
g.an a-standln right in the mid
die of the track. wavin his hands
and [ grabbed hold of the lever
and whistled down breaks, an
stopped the train as fast as ever
can, tor ye see thought il was
a live man. Jimmy he see it toa
and turned round to me with 9
scarf face, for he thought he'd be
run over.
l But | began to see it wasn't
| flesh and blood man afore the
train came II stop, ter it seem.
ed TO glide right along over the
track, keepln jlst 50 fer ahead Of
US.
My God it's a ghost, cried
Jimmy, a grabbin me by tile arm.
You can see right through him.
And we could!
| Yes, sir, we could. When ]
come to note 1t, the fgger
ahead OF us was a kind OF foagv-
lookin thing land only halt hid
anything that was behind II. Bnl