Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1882-12-06
H. ELK POINT, UNION COUNTY, DAKoT

of his cigar. "that l never spoke Of
before to anyone. 1t has caused me
more misery and wretchrdness than
any one thing that ever hap
pened to me in my official career.
Sometimes even now after the
lapse Of many years, | awake in the
night with cold drops Of agony
standing on my face and the horri-
bic nightmare upon me with its ter
rib'e surroundings, as lain as on
the memorable night it occurred.
II was running extra on the I'M
ion Pacific for conductor who was
aslssld 4frietf4 vi ennincs anf iIud'
gone south on vacation.
AT about 7:3O as near as can
remember, we were sailing along
comfortable one evening, with a
straight stretcI, of track ahead for
ten or fifteen miles, running on time
and everybody Keeling tip-top, as
overland travellers do and feel con-
genial. All at once the train sud
denly slowed down. and ran into an
old siding and stopped.
"Of course | got out and ran
ahead of the engine to see what the
matter was. Old Antifat, the ensin-
eer, had gone down, and was
down on the main track looking
ahead to where, twinkling along
about six or seven miles down the
road, apparently was the headlight
of an approaching train. 1t was ev-
identity Wild for nothing was due
that we knew of at that hour.
However, we had been almost
miraculously saved from frightful
wreck by the engineers watchful-
ness, and everybody went forward
and shook old Antifat by tie hand
and cried and thanked him, till it
was the most affecting scene for
awhile that ever witnessed. 1t
was a though we had stopped at the
very verge of a bottonil, IS chasm
and everybody was crying at once,
till it was IA kind of cross between
a revival and a picnic,
"Af1cr we had waited about half
ain hour, | should say, for tie blast
ed train to come up and pass lis,
and apparently she was nd n' arer
a cold, clammy suspicion began to
bore itself into the adamantine shell
.Aaff my 1htesTecJ. rs4---...~.~-
thought of it, the more unhappy
felt. almost wished | was dead.
Cold streaks ran up my back, fol
lowed by hot ones. wanted to go
home. | wanted to be where the
hungry, pryins eyes of the great
throbbins work-day world could not
not see me.
81 called Antifat to one side and
said something to him. He swor-
softly to himself and kicked the
ground, and looked at the head
light still gllnmerihg in the dis
lance. Then he got on tie engine,
and | yelled, AN aboard 7 In few
moments we were moving again. and
the general impression was that the
train ahead was side tracked and
waiting for us, although there wasn't
a side-trhck within twenty miles.
except tine one We had just left.
1T was never exactly clear to the
where we passed that
wild train, but | didn't explain to
them. ! was too much engrossed
with my surglng thoughts.
II never felt my own inferiority
so much as did that night, I
never fully realized what a mere
speck man is upon the bosom of tn
universe.
"When l surveyed the starry
vault of heaven AMI considere.i its
illnmitable space, where, beyond,
and stretching on and on forever,
countless suns are placed as centers,
around which solar systems are re.
volying in their regular orbits, each
little world peopled, perhaps, and
then other and mightier systems Of
worlds revolving about these systems
till the mind is dazed by the mighty
thought; and then when l compar-
ed all this universal magnificence,
this brilliant aggregation Of worlds
and systems Of worlds, with one
poor grovelling worm of the dust,
only little Insignificant atom, only
a poor, week, erring, worthless, falli-
bic, blind, cropping railroad conduc-
tor, with my train peacefully side
tracked in the gathering gloom and
patiently waiting for the planet
V.nus to pass on the mGin track,
there was something about the whole