The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1882-01-05

when there was but one man Samuel
G. Shelton) west ofthe Blue Ridge VINO
made a full crop of the weed that
pays"
By the by. the home of the Vances
is Tor was until torn down. near Mar
shall. Senator Vance is usually &C
counted a native of ~Buncombe, as he In
fact was; but the part of Buncombe on
which he was born is now Madison. His
father owned large tracts of land around
Marshall, which nova days would De
worth a pretty fortune.
In A FIX, AND A MUDDY 4
On reaching Marshall, the conductor
announced to US the appalling lntelll-
gence that not only could the train go
no farther, but also no other vehicle,
save"and except the conveyance that
travels in boots for the gorge had mar
rowed until the iron-track was forced
to take the stage road thus complete
ly blocking the old route along the river
to Warm Springs. In most places there
was not room for eve an horse to pass.
So much for 'reports'l The reliable
gentleman has assured us hat We
could go on the train to Warm Springs,
and there take the stage for Woltcreek.
Happily, while digesting this ugly
news, the cherry voice of Maj. Jimmy
Wilson, Chief Engineer, saluted us,
and although remarking in the language
of Zebulon, -''There's Ualkiing ahead
o'!you, young man! !" he promptly aud
kindly scrubbed off an order to the
Masters Of Construction trains to take
us and trunk, as far as the rails ran.
There was no telling when train would
come up from below, or when it would
return; for the rain had been falling
steadily all the week. and the fresh
earth of the entertainments was soft as
mush. while the rocks came rafting
down the steep cliffs in showers.
Luckily, there was need of iron at the
end of the road, and ere we fell asleep
the slow rumbllnglot the engine, feeling
its way over the trestle by the light of
torches, announced that the Construc-
ton train was moving towards Ashe
vile to reload. 1t returned early next
morning, but two cars loaded with iron
rails, were shunted too far, and ran
down a steep grade, off the track. 1t
seemed an impossible task to get them
on again and we sorely wished for NJ.
o. Shotweils patent Car-Replacer,
which is new carried by many engines,
at the North.
RATHER LIVELY.
But a little before night, the train
was re rallied. and conductor l.. 4.
Wynne assisted US, and baggage, into
the only box car, which happened to
be going down, empty, from a recent
wreck. Unfortunately it had learned
the trick of jumping the track, and was
about to show us how to do it. The
storm forced all the train men, who
were not on duty, to take refuge in the
box car. together with Mr.. Moseley,
Of Lynchburg, and ourself. The gorge
grew narrower, the mountain side,
rocker and the river deeper, with every
mile westward Of Marshall until seven
miles had been thrown behind us b.
wanting TO warm up after the tedious
stand OH the the hill where derailcd
Meantime Conductor Wynne was cour
teousiy showing US the continual success
SION Of curves where the solid rock of
the Cliff had to be blasted off, and cut
down, to form a bed for the iron rails
the whole comprising an Herculean
work, which might have required years,
instead OF mouths, of time. Yes
said he-''The force. for a long time.
worked night and day. We had IN
electric light, supplied by a small steam
1--- DrtstrU SiuIo fur
SIX hundred yards along the track, and
the night was turned into day. The
flashing OF the light upon the high bluffs.
the voices OF the convicts, and the
crash of the blasting. which echoes like
artillery, formed IA curious spectacle in
this narrow valley"
Very Picturesque ! >" said we.
But
The sentence wasn't finished; for
at that instant, we began to take our
tirst- lesson OF the peculiar, leg-and arm
twisting, popular dance, called s'the
Racquet which is a mixture, of the
Hug, with the Ashantee
aid a touch of St. Wins
thrown IN Tor grace and harmony.
In short, our car was off the track,
and making Eve foot jumps at the rate
Of a40 a second! You will understand
the road has been pushed forward
at race horse speed, in order to comn)v
With hr. Bests broken contract: con.
sequentiy the cross-ties are as vet fonr
five feet apart; and ia many place.
here are no clamps on the iron only ,
spikes to hold it down. Additional
les will, OF course, be put in before
passenger are taken over the route.
"Hoi' for your life l"-shouted
apt. Wynne, who wa ~couraeeouslv
hanging hall out of the car, waving hi
nat, amid a wild chorus of veil. From
The negro train hands, at the engineer
IS there was nc signal rore. and t1e
ength OF the train, heavily ioa led a, i;
VAS prevented the latter from feeling
he jar Of the empty car at the rear
As there was nothing to catch hold ot
n such a car, and as there were ten or
dozen persons III IT, the ''Racket,
vas 1aster than the '..Jast'-est of fem;
ines could desire. And there was .
!lsagreeable Indebtedness whether The /
would waltz against the iacead
ocks, or over into the river. :
Luckily, after 10 yard. of concen- {
rated double and twist, the car sbeared I
yer the bank, and struck with = re |
1endous crash at the waters edae
ottom upwards and wheels revolving 9
Re the legs of a couple who have {
tipped on the waxy ball room AGO. 4
I'd don't know whether to get m and ;
pologlSe, or lie still; and pretend thu v
ID 1t on purpose.
The inmates of the car had been
Oft, from the first, until onIu
!e conductor and ourself were IN boar5
a IT went of. Being satisfied with