Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-01-22

ana In poured cloud OF snow, out OF
which emerged two new arrivals, the
engineers of the belated freight trains.
Just in time, was the cry; s'now
pass round the punch. and send to the
restaurant for the New Years Eve din
ner.
s.Here is some game to add to it, y
said one of the newcomers, holding up
i q half-roasted rabbit by the hind legs.
when did you get thata What Is
the matter of it?n
"The little fellow was going to dish
himself up for the feast, but was in a
little too much of hurry, and got
| roasted with his skin on" said the
owner of the rabbit. The red light
on my engine scared him out of his
hiding-place in the snow, and he began
running a race with the train. For two
/ or three minutes saw the little fellow
by the light of my fire flying over the
/ snow alongside the engine, on the other
track. | gave short whistle, which
scared him so that he ran ahead, gave
a leap, got under the red light of the
lamps, which probably blinded him,
and then doubled in front of the engine
as he would in front of dog, across
the track. looked out to see if he
would come in sight again. but he did
not, and supposed he had been run
over or passed by, and forgot him. But
when they were cleaning out my CRATE
at Seestadt. the fellow with the poker
called up from the ash-pit: 'Hornig,
| Hornig, you have brought a roast with
your 1 thought the man must be
crazy, and got down and looked. As
sure as am sitting here, there lay my
rabbit of the Biglitz woods in my ash
pan. dead and half-cooked. The ash-pan
must have caught him as he was max
| ing jump. He must have been in a
hurry to get roasted
The story of the young engineer was
received with loud laughter.
Laugh away over the poor beast, !"
growled Zimmerman, filling the
glasses meanwhile. you don't know
| how bad it feels TO lie under a fire.
| box"
.And do you know how it feels?"
| said several voices in tones indicating
great doubt.
Il know all about it, as you fellows
very well know, and / have gone
| through all the experience there can be
between the bottom of the rails and the
top of the smokestack," answered
Zimmerman.
..But you never have been in the ash
PAM" said his companions.
''Not quite" answered the old en-
gineer very gravely. ''but wnder it, and
part of me pretty nearly in it, too.
train of handsome cars, full of jolly
people, in moment-before YOU could
put your hand to whistle or put on
brake-was turned into a heap of
kindling wood and pieces of bolts,
axles and wheels, out of which came
groans and cries for help, and around
which people cried in despair. I have
been where locomotives leapt like kit
tons off the rails, down the bank, and
rolled over two or three times, wheels
IN air, smoke-stack under, and every
thing was all steam, ruins, fire, Kissing
and screaming. / have been through
all this, but in thirty-five years of rail-
reading my heart never stood quite so
still as it did under the ash-pan."
Tell us all about it, Father thinner
MANN" called a chorus of voices,
whose tones showed that they were &C
custOmed to make themselves heard
above the rafting and gathering of the
engine.
"Well, we'll, will, although I hate
to talk about it" he answered, as he
slowly united his tobacco pouch and
began to fill his short pipe. ''Some-
thing thumps hard here under my third
rib whenever think about it,
''You see, boys, the hands that en-
broidered this tobacco pouch came
near becoming a widows hands, and
my Carl and Julie would never have
been born, if you could have called me
Big Frank then as you do now"
..How so, Father Zimmermann?''
"Just light your stylish cigars-they
suit you fellows in glass cabs, just as
the short pipes used to suit us sturdy
fellows in the open air-and hand back
your glasses. Then hold your tongues
till get through.
ION New Years Eve in the year
1916, full thirty years ago, it was ter
rible weather. as it is bodybuilding
snow and driving sleet. l was the
junior runner at the main station in
our city, and had only lately been mar
ried. You know the station is a
miserable place for running. Which
ever way the wind blows itcatches you
there. The road enters the city through
a narrow cutting, and one of the two
tracks always gets blocked before the
snow has been blowing an hour
just beyond the cutting, in the third
house ON Gardner street, behind the
old oil mill, which we cursed so often
because we had to cut off steam on
passing for fear the sparks might set
the single roof on fire. Just behind
this mill lived with my Louise and
my eldest boy Frank, who is now fore
man in Rudrich's shops.
so on New Years Eve in 1915 l
came in from Griesthal with a heavy
freight train, having been standing
fourteen hours on the engine, with the
thermometer near zero and the snow
and sleet blowing. was stiff with
cold, and was anticipating enjoying my
New Years punch. 1t was getting
dark when l came in, and through the
station with it's hundreds of lights on
the platforms and switches, as if it
were great Christmas festival. Sorry
cheer was there for me! On account
of the Christmas holidays some five
cars had collected at the sta
ton, and they all had to be made up
into trains in order that they might be |
returned Immediately after New Years. |
Hardly had / got off my engine in
the round-house when the yard-master |
came up and said: Zimmerman. |
Hauser has been taken sick. You will !
have to take the third switching en-
CINE in his place. Jerusalem, said I, |
but hope it won't take till midnight, |
Yard-master; l must be home by that |
time, or the new year will be I'M
lucky