The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1878-11-29

! to 90 good Geal Sundays and Mary
I would read the Bible to- us aud sing. She
was good singer, Mary was We used
! to call lie place Devils Run" 1t was a
/ sort of creel. but didn't have any water
! i'm il. 'cept after hard rain. 1t came
! down between two high mountains, where
/ it was s.eep as could be. Wen a storm
! came MP i've known it in half an hour to
have six eet of water in it. An then it
I would brng down big logs, trunks Of trees,
! and greet stones. roaring that way you
! could bear it for miles.
/ 1t on it's name because it was such an
infeInh place. Often I've been woke up at
night by a heavy shower, aud I'd hear
| Devils Run bowling as though it would
tear vcIyIhing to pieces. There conldn't
be 90 worse place fixed for the road, if
they had hunted the whole country thro',
I tlan right there. There was a sharp
] drve, aud on the outside of it was a
straight up-and down precipice for hun
ldreds of feet, so that If train went off it
would be smashed into kiudlin' wood and
tenpenny nails. DEVILS Run went under
meath the track, Eear the point of the
curve, through barrel culvert. and once
there came a hard storm, IN the trees IN
stones, and so on, checked up the cnlvert,
which wasn't large enough, N the water
damned up the rose, till by'n by the whole
embankmeut gave way, and twenty feet
of the road went rippn' down the moun-
tain. They found ont the break before
any accident happened, and the culvert
was rebuilt, n good Ceal larger than before.
But that place the whole road was afeared
of.
As was telin', If it hadn't been sich
a wicked place DEVILS Run was the pref
tieSt one ON the whole mountain. The
bed Of the stream was deep down, and full
Of ferns III grasses that Mary was alters
gatherin', and we could set there in the
! hottest day II the sun could never find his
[ way through the trees overhead.
/ As l was tellin', Charley was born to be
an engineer. BY the time he had got to
/ be six years old he knew the name of nigh
/ all the parts of machine. He'd learnt
! all the signals that was used on the road.
| He knew that n red flag or a red light
meant danger. That a lantern, at night,
swung backwards N forwards. slowly
| across the track would bring train up all
standin. Al that sort % thing he'd Jest
! picked up himself. He knew the sound of
every whistle and bell OH the road, II
could tell what ingine they belonged to.
! aud | believe he knew the tread of No. %
| whenever she weut by, night or day. No.
| %, that WAS my engine, | run her about
: three years, and there wasn't nOthin' in
/ Gods world couldn't git out of her wen
| she was in good humor. We sort %
| understood one another, and she hardly
ever went back on me. Once in a while
! she did, aud then she was \ perfect cuss.
| Yes lie was seven that winter. Just
seven years old few days before Christ
mas. After Charley got year or two old
| | alters made much Of Christmas. Mostly
! / consrived to lay of that day so as to be at
/ home with my little pard. Some of the
boys was alters ready N wilin' to- take my
run that day-them as didn't hev no wives
or children. They'd come aud say, Now,
! Latham there's your little pard, he'll be
| a wautin' of you to morrow, which is
! Christmas. So III Jest take your run
down. An this 'ere basket, why, the
| boys, you know, they sqs. we amt got no
| chick nor child. and we u send this along
to Latham's little Charley.
The frs: time they did that l was took
back that way | stood and gaped, n lOokiu'
around like a natural fool, and couldn't
say word. Aud the things they seni
Charley was astonishin' 4; toys aud so on.
Why, one Christmas they sent i'm rea
silver mug. Oh stranger them days was
such times as | We never he'd since. There
wasn't no other children around for Char
ley to play with, but me N his mother was
all he seemed t. care for, u we'd carry on
together all day just as if none of US was
more IN seven years old.
! Charley he'd li;ilP room by hisself
where lie slept, which had n window that
looked down the track | gave him rail
road lauteIn, which he trimmed aud filled
hisself after | showed him how, II wen i
was my night down bed light his lanIeu
II put it in the window at the head of his
bed. | could see IL a long way before
got 20 the house, N you don know, stran.
ger, what Comfort it was wen l was comm
down TO see that light and know my boy is
lynn there fast asleep and dreanIin' that
the roar of the train was the footsteps o
his old pard flying at forty mile an hour.
I 1t was my run down Thanksgiving eve
| was goir' to stop off in the morning, and
| Bill Walker was to take my train gOin
back. We started from Altoona late il
the evening and a good deal behind. Ii
had been bad day. The weather had
been warm for some time back, and il be
gan TO rain in the mornin', and he'd raine6
all day. By night the wind chopped round
to the north'n it began tO turn cold, St
that when we started ii was raininf and
sleetin' with an outlook for a heavy storm
A darker night | never saw, IN wen the
conductor pulled the bell | ses to my fire
man, Crazy, this is gOin' 10 be an ugly
run" My fireman was wild, haTum
scarum soIt of a boy, and they baC
nickuamed i'm Crazy Jake But they
soon dropped the Jake N left him Crazy
and thet's the name he alters went by. -
>
right there Crazy was one of then
boys .het never was afraid q nnthiu'. Ivt
seen him IN desperate tight places, bu
never knowd m to show the white feather
| don't believe man or devil could scar
i'm. but this night be seemed To be sorte
uneasy Ike.
Sometimes there's something makes yo
think beforehand that something IS goiI
to happen-a kind of-of-presentment
Yes thaI's it. Presentimen'. You can
tell xactly how it is but if there is sperrIt
in accidents or disasters, seems like the
was tIyin' some way To let folks know !
time, and couldn't quite do it. EveIytni
seemed to go wrong with us that nigh
, The passengers was all growlin' cos W
hurried 'em up at supper and wen pul
ed out the machine had ihevery Did boy
1 her. No %, as | was teilin' ye. was on
{ of the surest engines ON the road, but we
D / she did git into her dido. she was more ol
Y streperous N government mule. lngin'
i is like these sewin' machines or pianner
1 and them things. They git out % kilt
without no reason. and yet yer can't te
2 wars the matter with 'em, only they je
I won't, and that's all there is about it. 81
/ H. md 20