Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-03-02
Az ENGINEERS LUCK
how He Was r Linsd By q Chew
OF ZOoAcco
TIE ExtrzsFa,iasry tu kertane watch Fel-
i0~sd Locozactise t'r.ssr. and Al
BSSa4se he IafsiseA -
PsFsseloas HABIT.

lSyrzcass ~ A. >tza3aril
~Sneak a. of bsr.i l1-<." sa 4 aa engi-
Rser, as be s.-re~ "a tie eaD dsSa ap3a al
o.l-box AMI Ora .s.n.s foFt8 a sad D. clean
white waste, slpet tie see moultings
that nclessi the axie-aoxss - tue driver
uagil the polished surface mirr0rei hls
rough, grizzl-i features PLATA as a lady's
toilet glass. I've hal M saare GA *, All
40 diseoantin' that. The saiy maa nose
ili-iaek ever beat mine Wa Dafer. Bat
he's bin dead these maay years; an
don't know as Il ~uz ise ter that he has.
lie alleFs meant well. bul taey ali called
him daffer because be was ituer gettin'
iato hind end. or into a a ten, or alters
gcttin cut without orders when a Wild cat
OF a section was comm iroln the opposite
way. Iou co9l in't tell IA IA nothia' about
earin' for an engin'. 'caass he was the best
informed man On locomotive machinery
ever know'd.
'''fwas - kind o queer though how bad
luck allus fOllered him. said the rough
natlrsi, Un.sarue1 locomotive driver,
picking up hs can and aw&wardly
amblIng around the bow OF his iron
racer. Il learn Il al | know from Duff
fer, an though | never had a chance at
book learain' there's No man in
the valley as can tell me whar key Is
Loose bctter'n | know whsn l hear the
thing rat,lin', even though | be runnin' at
forty an hour. l got it all from Duffer.
When they gave him old No. 10 and he had
only three stops on the division, he sei 10
me: Mac, we hev soft thing. Ez easy
makin' this time SEQ he, 'ez eatin' your
dinner when your hungry
Didn't make no difference though, he
could do the iiity miles % the water tank
without trouble, but som sthin' wuk sure
TO Kit out of kilter before be got the tank
filed and got away, an the down run o.
forty miles wuz harlsr to make than
climbin' the hill. Allas puliil' ii way be-
hlnd until be iiaally got set back on the
cheese run. H. he'd gDol fr4aa1 in the
old man. or else he'd never got back
runnin' after goin'p past a flag at Cherry
Bottoms and runnin' into the Presidents
special. Very funny how it happened. He
came near lOsin' his life-all a couple o.
hundred, not u mention my own. All
there wuz about il the boy who tended
flags at the Bottoms wuZ smaller'n a pint
o ct r, an Jest as Duifer blowed for the
crossin' he turned TO me AMI ssz: Mac,
give me chaw o. that molasses plug
While he was biting off a bit-his bites
generally took the most | had-we turned
the curve out o the cut and whizzsd by
the flag shanty like streak of lightning.
He sed he was in luck for once in his life.
| asked him why, and he replied:
"Cuz the old spouter is maxim her time
tod y"
''The fact wuz thet instead of being in
good luck, his evil fortune was grnnin'
over his shoulder then. Why: Cuz he'd he
been toggin' along as usual he or | would
have seen the little cuss with the flag
standin' at the corner Nv the shanty.
Cherry Bottoms always wore a brown shirt
and buff overhauls, an though he always
swore he stood thar, | took my oath /
never seed him. He said he stood at the
end of pile of cordwood. L saw the wood
when we went by, but ez it wuz weather.
seasoned and looked so much like the color
of young Bottoms shirt and pants, we
couldn't distinguish him an his flag. We
saw the special you can bet, a few min
utes after, and all | can remember is that
when jumped | felt as if the pump wuz
workin' atmosphere made of solid lead
into my lungs. The ol man sent down for
Dutfer and asked him If he didn't see the
fla at Cherry Bottoms, put out on a tele-
graph order to hold No. 10 until the special
passed.
Jest my luck sed Duifer. Got to be
tagged, sure, even If have to turn around
for a chaw oi tobacco"
"Fur months after all the boys were sur
prisel to hear that Dalfsr wuz back agin.
The first thing be said 10 me wuz:
"'Mac, Ill carry my own tobacco arter
this
"And he did. Didn't change his luck
though. He run the cheese train It'll one
cold mornin', when he was backin' down
the side track 10 get some loaded cars.
His fireman asked him If he had any
tobacco.
"A. .lus carry it, sci he, since l run
into tn. Presi len;'s special
"And he reached over TO hand the fire.
man the weed. just then the rear brake
man hollered. but twas too late. While
Dufer and his fireman had their heads
inside passing over tobacco the engine
backed the cars on the main track ahead
Of the mail. That settlsl DIFFERS hash
Ez luck he'd it for the passenger train. no
lives were lost. Bat buffers head went
of. per order o. the old man the next day.
lie never run agin'. The shock resulted in
two deaths two mOnths after"
The sn4ineer wilei tear fro "a his eve
rs he finished the story. AMI bow ing out
his torch climbed into the cab