Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-11-23
A STRANGE STORY.
WROM ANNA DICKINs0N's 1.-THE RAGGED
REGISTER'

No-yes. One l remember, because II
was the most inexplicable affair that ever
befell memo, did not befall-but thai
has ever came to me "second-hand," al
most rs good as new.
I found myself one day at a certain
town with connection till six O'Clock
in the ;.fternoon--a train that might
make sixteen miles an hour, with ninety.
TX miles to get over. Due on the plat
form at half past seven o'clock That
wouldn't Go. SO of course | had to have
4 especially
Place and time-central Iowa some
years ago. Country just flat plain, not
the rolling prairie land lying further
west, no towns, few Villages, fenccless,
treclesS; d spcck Of anything easily seen
altar had any spcck existed,
Even the ties were without incident
One after another, one after another, all
allke-stme length, striking family re-
semblance, lying on the even ground
without so much as u ditch at the side to
BREAK mOnotony.
Nothing Ofntcrcst without SO turned
my eyes to inspect what might be found
within. They are generally wide open
when they are too look at machines or
l0aChiniStS.
[ have travelled behind engines, and
On them by thousands, and have walked
about and questioned and gazed and ex-
amlncd them pretty thoroughly but al
ways with fresh wonder and admiration.
Strong as Ttaus, obcdient as slaves
simple, complicated-helpful, merciless
-heautt.l yet terrible.
AAd | sevcr look at them without
wondering what manner of world this
VIII be when some one learns how to util-
lZe not one hundred, nor fifty. but even
fifteen per cent Of steam.
AS to their manipulators; fools don't
abound among them. 4 man needs log
&c and brains To be a good machinist /
IKE to watch a tirSt-class one listen to an
HTgumen: on subject with which he
may be ever so unfamiliar. He sees
flaws, an knows where the screws are
loose, and the sequence is broken, and
The point overlooked or bunglingly made
Dctter-I,Njt the time-than the combat
ants, though they be no mean ones.
II nl~u knows a machine he knows
now to argue from cause to effect step by
step OF the way, and he isn't easily ''bam-
hoozlcd,' and there's precious little mon
sense about him.
My engineer was one of the right sort
A clear eyed, intelligent. wide-awake
young fellow from New England the
last man in the world you would ever
suspect OF either drink or superstitious
Him- tiams.
He was explaining to me some of the
mechanism. when, with his right hand
on the lever, he suddenly paused, threw
himself half out of the little window, gaz-
eel moment up the track, then. turning
his head with his left hand thrust up be-
fore it as though shutting out some awful
vision, drove on.
There was no mlstaklng the attitude
and its meaning.
"lou have run over some one here
said /.
"Yes-no-I don't know he answer
ed
His fireman seemed to notice neither
action nor answer. | gazed at both with
amazement akin to horror. 'Am l rush
ing through space forty miles an hour IN
the keeping OF two madmen?' thought I.
Let US seen
you don't know?"
Il don't wonder you look" said he,
land ask too Will you kindly oblige
me by telling if you saw anything off at
the right?'
"Nothingg," said I, 'but open plain"
Nor ahead Of us?'
"Nothing but level track
"Nor behind us? Did you look?"
Yes looked back. There was moth
ING but track and plain
II knew It," said he; "kncw it Just as
well before | asked as afterward, but
couldn't help asking. Do you think that's
queer?'
Il think you are troubled. That is
more to the purpose. Do you mind my
asking what troubles you?"
"Do | mind? Didn't just want to tell
you and see what you can make out of
1t" and he drew his hand over his fore
head and across his clear eyes as though
1t were q nightmare that threatened to
unman him. 1T beats me-
II wouldn't let it, smiling to cheer
his distressed face. "You're too broad
shouldcred to stand that sort Of tfeat-
ment from anything,' at which he laugh
cd little, and the fireman remarked en-
couraglngly, "You just pitch in, Ned;'
and Ned pitched iE.
AS for 2 story-it isn't much of
Story, you'll say but-well. You see
was coming down the road the other day
"a good two weeks ago-a road I've
been over a hundred times, and knew
every foot Of it. | saw off there, at the
right, instead OF that pancake region,
regular hllly country, wild and green
looking, plenty of trees, and among them
on thc top OF q sort Of ridge, there was a
stumbling tavern painted red.
lit was growing dusk, and I could see
lights III the tavern and hear loud voices
laughing and rowing. Directly a fellow
came plunging out Of the door with his
hat off, a flannel shirt unbuttoned at the
throat and one sleeve loose and hanging.
holding q whisky bottle. He reeled
down the hill, stumbled and stumbled.
struck his foot against a log near the bot
tom, and pitched forward into the ditch
half way across the track.
Il saw what was coming, and had whis-
tied down brakes and reversed the enpine.
The man could have got on his feet easy
enough If it hadn't been for his cursed
whisky bottle, but he grabbed it and
llcl.t IL up 81 as 10 save II, ana COuldn t
get his balance, of course, without both
hands, and SO pitched forward again, and
this time Fat across the rails, and VIC went
over him.
It was all done in minute, you see,
and the train stopped, and I staring at
Jim here and he at me-
"What did you do that for?" said jim,
Jerking her up like that tor nothing'
"Nly God! run over human creature