The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-09-02

Gardening the wild as forocRsting the crude
FroSie%s Of labor. disSursemcnt ssm c and s fsod.
High noon of toll, and tho dinnerhorn sound
Health for tho spirit, and Drawn for the arm!
Day after day slowly, point by point. round
Life, hope and Joy on the lone prairie farm,
-.Nothdn d Urssr. ~ N. L. Sun.
SEYENTY-FIVE MILES AN HOUR.
81 am a railroad engineer. Away
along in '57, during the great panic, 1
was running on the F. & c. Railroad.
The railroad companies were going un-
der IN all directions. Every day we
hoard of new failures and quite often in
a quarter where we least expected it.
Our road-was generally looked upon as
one OF the most substantial in the ma
ton; nobody seemed to have any fears
that it would fail to survive the general
mash-up; but yet did not fully share
in the general confidence. Wages were
cut down, arrearagos collected, and n
great many other little matters seemed
to indicate to me that the road had got
into rather deeper water than was
agreeable all around. Among other
things, the master mechanic had told
me in the, spring that the company had
ordered four first quality engines for
the tall passenger business. The road
was put in the very best condition and
other preparations were made to cut
down the time and put the trains
through quicker than was ever known
before, when tho new engines should
come. Well, there was but one of the
engines came.
i said there was but one engine
came; but she was, in my opinion, al
together the best ever turned out of the
works; and that is saying as much as
can be said in praise OF any engine.
She was put in my charge Immediately,
with the understanding. that she was
mine.
at was Saturday when she came out
of the shop, and 1 was to take special
train up TO =. The train was to
carry up the President and several OF
the officers Of the road to meet some of.
ficcrs Of another road, which crossed
ours there. and arrange some important
business with them. - -
II had no trouble at all in making
my forty miles an hour going out. The
engine handled herself most beautiful.
y. We were just holding up at Y.
when Aldrich, the Treasurer, who had
come outon the platform to put the
brake on. slipped and fell. As we were
still under good headway he was much
injured and was carried off TO the hotel
insensible. ..
According to the Presidents di.
rection l switched off my train, turned
my engine and stood ready to start back
to c. at a moments notice.
"Aldrich's presence was of so much
importance that the business could not
be transacted without him: so all those
l had brought out, except the President
and Aldrich, went back to c. on the
three o'clock express train. This wat
the last regular train which was to pas:
over the road until next Monday.
Early in the evening left the ma
chine in charge of my fireman and went
over to an eating house to see il coult
not spend the time more pleasantly
than on my engine. The hours dragged
themselves away slowly. Twas playing
a game of dominoes with the station
agent when in came Roberts, the Presi
dent, in a state Of great excitement.
"' Harry said he to me, Il want yol
70 put me down in c. at twelv'
O'clock
"As it was nearly eleven o'clock then
and the distance was seventy-five miles
l thought he was joking at first; bu
when we got outside the door, h,
caught me by the arm, and hurried m,
along so fast that saw he was in earn
est.
Harry said he, If you don't Sc
me down in c. at twelve o'clock
am ruined man, and this road is
ruined road. Aldrich Is dead; but h,
told me, before he died, that he has
embezzled from time to time $500. .OO'
of our money, and his clerk is to star
with it on the twelve o'clock boat from
c. for Canada. If we don't hav,
that money on Monday morning. t,
make some payments with, the roa,
goes into other hands; and if you pu
me down in c. at the right time, s,
that l save the money, you shall hav
| $1,000. Understand It.. Harry. Fiv
thousand dollars!'
"Of course l understood it. saw
now the reason why the wages ha.
been cut down; l understood it all, an,
my blood boiled. felt that wOul,
save the road If lived. and told Rob
| erts SO.
".See that you do it, Harryr he re
piled, as he climbed up on the steps o
the coach, which was coupled to m,
engine
II sprang up into tho footboard. go
up the switch tender to help my fire
man, opened the throttle, and Just a
she commenced moving looked at m
watch--it was just eleven o'clock, s.
J that had one hour to make my seven
ty-five miles in.
| From y to c. there wer
few curves on the road; but there wcr
several heavy grades. 1 was perfectl
acquainted with every rod of it; SO tina
/ knew exactly what 1 had to encount
or, and when 1 saw how the engin
moved l felt very little fear for the re
suit.
1.-The road. for the first miles, wa
\ an air line, and SO smooth that m
engine few along with scarcely pei
ceptiblc jar. 1 was SO busy, postin
myself up as to the amount of WOO
and water aboard, etc., that we dance
by the first station almost before wa
aware of it, having been five minute
out, and having five miles accom-
plished.
lyon are losing timer yelled
voice from the coach. / looked around
and there stood Roberts with his watc
in his hand. .
81 knew very well that we woul
have to increase our speed by som
means if we carried out our plans {
reaching c. by midnight, and lool
ed anxiously around to see what
could do to accomplish that purposs
She was blowing of steam fiercely 6
ITO pounds; so I turned down the valv
to 200, for knew we should need it a
to make some of the heavy grade
which lay between us and c.