The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1882-03-30

reaching the station. I do cot know
how good time I made, but I
know it Was oil I va capable Of, and
I distanced all except one fellow who
kept pretty close. / cAst my eyeo hack
OCCASIONALLY and found thst this man
was getting unpleasantly near, % I
stopped and waited till he got with.
In . few feet Of me, when I inter.
viewed him With my revolver. He
sat down. This stop gave me . lit
tie breath, and - the Others were
some way behind I wa able to 70 .
little easy for . minute. But an0th.
er fleet Indian Wa getting too cjose
and I fixed him In the same way -
the first. Al this time I was really
out Of breath and could not 10 very
fast. The third pursuef had nearly
caught up, and 1nding that I could
not reach the station ahead Of him
I stopped his running the same way
I did the Others. and then made the
best time I could for the station,
which reached just In time 70 signal
the train which was coming around
the curve. But I was used up then,
and dropped In my own tracks-
was covered with powder and blood
from my hand to hand encounter
with the Indians. The engineer came
up and saw me lying there, but all
I had the power to say or do was to
give them the motion to back up. He
said, Boys, there's somsthing I'D. |
Here's Brink, all covered with blood,
out here at midnight" They picked |
me up, put me on the train and pour. |
ed water over my fAce, and famed me |
for . while, and after . few minutes I |
was sufficiently recovered 10 explain |
matters to them. We backed over to |
the other side Of the isthmus, got a. |
many citizens and all the help We !
could and went back, but by the time |
we got back It was about daylight and
the crowd had dlspersed. They found |
that the specie was gone that they |
were after, and LEFT after robblng ev- |
erybody about the station. They burst |
ed the safe and then tore up everything |
about the place.
1t was one ofthe most horrible sights |
ever saw. One hundred and twenty |
men, passengers. lay there cut to pieces.
1t was sad sight, too, to the liberated |
woman and children who came out Of |
their place ofsafety only to nnd dead
husband and father. The memory Of |
that scene affects me even yet. Il
q pretty tight place for me around
there after that, for the native govern.
ment offered reward for my head dead
or alive for robbing them. They con
sidered that my stopping that train
before il fell into their hands was rob.
berry. The superintendent advised me
to- leave, but 1 didn't propose to he
driven out Of the country by Indians and
told the superintendent that should
stay out the time for which had con.
tracted, regardless Of their rewards or
I had seven months yet to
stay. So he put . body guard Of Jamai-
CO Degr0esOn my trsin, who had orders
not leave me alone . minute, night or
day, and they staid right with me, and
guarded me night and day during the
whole time. was fired at several
times by parties In ambush, but was
never hit about made up my mind
that I was safe from the miscreants;
and I was. l stayed not only my con-
tract time, but q month over. The
reward Of the Indian government
have heard still holds good.
When I left the road I only took
furlough. intending to return, but -
l had had three sieges Of yellow fever
during the short time. was there,
and as there was 50 much danger at
my living In the country,
both from sickness, reptiles and In
dams, I concluded not to return.
In all the running have done
from the time I began In 1851 to this
time, those passengers at Panama are
the only ones who were ever hnrt
Oh any of my trains; not even an
e mployee has been hurt. I have run
4 good many close chances. During
the late war l was running on the
Hannibal and st. 10 In Missouri,
when the bushwhackers and guerrii-
las were firing into the train, and
have run narrow chances but always
came our safe.
Mr.. Brinkerhof wears Q rich scarf
pin, q present from the women, whose
lives were saved by his care and bra
very, and he has . richly mounted
revolver, . gold headed cane and va
rious other testamOnials from the
passengers and the railroad company.
Among the latter 10 . gold watch
which Is now carried by his eldest son.
He stated that, although millions of
dollars Of Government property were
hen saved, besides the U. b. mail,
yet the Government has never from
that time made the least mention II
Il and all that II has done II that to
keeps . vessel Of war constantlw sta
IiOned there.