Ottumwa weekly courier., 1878-05-15
A CLOSE SHAVE.

HOU engineer ONeN IOSSeG -Four
Horses Doom the Bank and lSaved
His Train.
II reckon you've hearn tell Of jim
ONiel, what was assassinated down
at Bloomington the other night 2" re-
marked Jack Reynolds to q reporter
on Saturday. The latter acknowl-
edged that he had heard a good deal
lately about the man referred to-
Jack Reynolds does the stoking on
one of the largest locomotives on the
Chicago and Alton railroad.
Just wait till toss in a couple of
shOvelfuls, cause times nearly up and
we'll be of soon, and I'll tell you
somethin' about Jim," said the fire.
man, as he pitched some chunks of
coal into the roaring furnace. They
don't make better engineers" he con-
tinued, than that Jim O'Niel was.
You see, you folks that ride back
there in them fine coaches, and play
poker, and read the newspapers, and
only look out when halt ia made,
and commence readi9' aud playin'
agin when the train darts away agin
with Q shrek, a 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'NieI stood for eighteen years, and
I'll bet your boots will raise up some-
times. But Jim didn't mind il 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 any minute. And do
YOU know, he would talk to his en-
gine just like man would talk to
woman. He would pet her, and say
sweet, sympathizin' things to her.
When she was leanin' out her level
best, rnnnin' maybe forty miles an
hour, Jim would look her all over
kind Of ahectionately and say to him
self, with shake of the head; She
Amt well to-day;I 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.
GU 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 csb) are doing now.
lie took me on when / was q green
hand, and in all the years we stuck
together he never spoke a cross word
TO me, and if he'd been q mind to he
might have pitched me ont of the cab
window any time, for he was pow
erful man. I'm got used to runnin'
now, and l don't ever bother my head
about what's goin' to happen; but
when Jim O'Niel took me on | was
awful scary, and often wished l was
one of them farmers what we saw
holdin the plow in the fields as we
passed."
"O'Niel had great many narrow
escapes, did he not Z" Interrupted the
reporter.
"You're right he had" replied Jack,
"apd the half of them amt been told
about in the newspapers. Jim al
ways knowed when anything was GO
ing to happen. Once he had nine
cars and big lot of people, and he
was runnin' to make up lost time. 1t
was just little afore dark, aud, tax
in his eye from off the track, jim
turned to me, and says. he; There's
trouble ahead feel it in my bones.
AT first l kinder suspected that he
was tryin' to frighten me, but after
bit he said to mo: On il. /
wish I could look round the big
curve and see if the bridge is ali
right. That scared me morn ever.
noticed that Jim had his eye set
right down the rails, but it was get
ting so dark that he couldn't see far.
The old locomotive was Just putin
in her best licks, and presently we shot
through the deep cut and out on the
high film that ran to the bridge. AS
we made the curve right to the north
of the cut, right in front Of us, and o,
more'n two hundred 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. If Jim hadn'i
looked so cool, guess I'd have toss
ed myself right through the window
but thought I'd stay ~ long as Jim
did. He took in the chance at a
glance. He know'd if them horses
ever got to that bridge they'd tumble
down 'twixt the stringers, and when
we struck 'em we'd jump the track
and 60 through the bridge into the
river, and God only knows wbethe,
anybody OF them hundreds Of people
would have lived to tell what I'm
telling now. So, quick as a flash-
for with locomotive runnin' fort,
miles an hour you must do your fig
urin in hurry-Jim slapped on the
steam. My God how she shot. Sh,
nearly jumped out from under me
In three seconds the old locomotive
just picked up that bunch Of beast
and tossed 'em down the banks. The,
didn't any of 'em live to see the hin;
; car pass by 'em.
"When my heart dropped hack t.
: it's place." added Jack, @iventured /,
say to Jim, That was close shave
wssntit Hbut Jim never took his ey,
from the track, and never said yes o
no and, though him and me run to
gether for years and years, he never
once spoke of how he scooped then
them critters into the ditch, and saw
! ! -