The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1883-10-25

cars, six oil cars, one box car The
latter contained two valuable tFot-
ting horses, and their keepers with
them, on their way, / believe, to
the Cleveland meeting. There
were fifty or sixty passengers In the
two cars: got the signal from the
conductor TO start, and 1 pulled out.
We had got under considerable
Roadway, when, looking back, l
saw that an oil car in the middle OF
the train was on fire. / reversed
my engine and whistled for brakes.
The conductor and brakemen
jumped off. They uncoupled the
passengers and set the brakes on
them, bringing them to stop.
Surprising that the brakes, on the
burning oil cars would also be put
on, / called to a brakeman on the
box car to draw the coupling pin
between that car and the head oil
tank, backing so that be could do it,
intending to run far enough away
to save the box car and locomotive
As / ran on down the hill, after the
pin had been drawn, what was my
horror to see that the burning cars
were following me at q speed that
was rapidly increasing. The men
had not succeeded in putting on
the brakes, / saw that the only
thing to be done was TO run for it
to Brocton, and the chances were
that we would never reach there at
the speed which we would be
obliged to make around those
sharp reverse curves, where we had
never run over twenty miles an
hour.
When 1 saw the flaming cars
for the whole six of them were on
fire by this time-plunging after
me and only a few feet away, l
pulled the throttle open. The oil
aars caught me though before got
cway. They came with full force
against the rear of the box-car,
smashing in one end and knocking
the horses and their keepers fat on
the floor. The heat was almost I'M
bearable, and, do my best, 1 couldn't
place more than thirty feet between
the pursuing column of fire and our
selves. By the light from the fur
mace, as my fireman opened the
door to pile in the coal, 1 caught
sight of the face of one of the horse
men in the box-car, he having
climbing up to the grated opening
in the end. 1t was as pale as death,
and he begged me for Gods sake to
give her more steam. was giving
her then all the steam she could
carry, and the grade itself was
enough to carry us down at the
rate of fifty miles an hour. We
went so fast that the engine couldn't
pump. Every time we struck one
of those curves the old girl would
almost run on one set of wheels, and
why in the world she did't topple
over never could understand.
She seemed to know that it was a
race for life and death, and worked
as if she were alive.
''The night was dark and the
road ran through woods, dark deep
rock-cuts and along high embank-
ments. There we were, laundering
along at lightning speed, and only
a few PAGES behind us that fiery de-
mon in full pursuit. There were
fifty thousand gallons of oil in those
tanks, at least, and it was all in
flame, making a flying avalanche of
fire five hundred feet long. The
flames leaped into the air nearly a
hundred feet. Their roar was like
that OF some great cataract. Now
and then a tank would explode
with a noise like a cannon, when a
column of fame and pitchy smoke
would mount high above the body
of the flames, and showers of burn
ing oil would be scattered about in
the woods. The whole country was
lighted up for miles around.
"Well it wasn't long going at the
rate we made, before the lights of
Brocton came in sight down in the
valley. The relief felt when these
came in view was short-lived, for
remembered that train No s, on
the Lake Shore, would be due at
the junction just about the time we
would reach it. No. was the Gin
cinnati EXPIRE IS. Our only hope, all
along during the race, had been
that the switchman at the junction
would think far enough to open the
switch there, connecting the cross
cut track with the Lake Shore |
track, and let us run in on the latter |
where the grade would be against
us, if anything, and where we could
soon get out of the way of the oil |
cars. The switch, of course, would |
be closed now for the express and
our last hope was gone, unless the
express was late, or somebody had
sense enough to flag it. While we
were thinking of this we saw the |
express tearing along toward the
junction. Could we reach the juno
ton, get the switch, and the switch |
be set back for the express before
the latter gets there? If not, there
would be crash, in which not only
we but-probably scores of others /
would be crushed to death. All |
this conjecturing did not occupy
two seconds, but in that two seconds |
| lived years.
"'Good Godp 1 said to my fire
man, What are we to do nowr
THE fireman promptly Replied
and he was a brave little fellow
that ! should whistle for the switch /
and take the chances. l did so.
That whistle was one prolonged yellA
of agony 1t was shrek that seemsq
ed to tell US that our brave old en- U