The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-01-22
"ENGINE THIEVES" !"
The Great Story of Capturing a
Locomotive. "
BY REV. wM. PITTESGER.
TooPYRIGHTED 1ssLl
CHATTER VII.
BY REV. wM. PTTTENGER. b
TCoPYRIGHTED, 1851.
A NIGHT IN TIE WOODS.
CHAPTER VII.

erals might have destroyed their enemy and
accomplished their own purpose why dId
YOU not" they say, reverse your own engine
and then lump from it. thus allowing it to
knock the pursuing train from the track ?"
There were coed reasons against that course.
Such critics might as well ask a man who has
ascended half way up out of well IN bucket
why he does not cut the rope over his head Tor
the sake Of crushing somebody at the bottom OF
the well. That engine was the basis OF all our
hopes, and we could not think of abandoning 1t
until the direst extremity. at the last mo-
ment however, this attempt to reverse the en-
CINE for the purpose of securing collision was
made This final effort was unayallIng. Inc
steam power was so nearly exhausted that the
locomotive moved backward very slowly, and
accomplished nothing beyond delaying the
pursuit on foot for a few moments. The pur-
suing train had no officially in also reversing
and running back a little way until the cap
tured engine came TO a dead standStill. In
deed. TIE hard service Of the engine had very
nearly destroyed il, even before We thus flung
it back at the enemy. A Confederate account
SAYS: Their rapid running and inattention to
their engine had melted all the brass FROM their
Journals" Wilson is still more graphic:
Il could liken her condition to nothing else than
the last struggles 81 faithful horse, whose heart
less master has driven and lashed him until he Is
gasping for breath. and literally dying III the har-
ness. The powerful machine had carried us safely
for more than q hundred miles, some of the time
q
was becoming helpless and useless in cur service
She was shaken loose in every joint, at least she
seemed so; the brass on her journals and boxes
melted by the heat; her great steel tires were
almost red-hot, while she smoked and sizzled at
every joint. Our race was almost run"
We are not able to give an account of the
time occupied by us in the different parts of
this long and fearful race. The general I'M
preston of frightful rate of speed is, how
ever. fully borne out by one fact, which rests
on the authority Of the engineer ofthe Texas, I"
and / am not sure that this simple statement
is not more eloquent than the most vivid word
pictures of cur chase. 1t is simply that
he ran the distance of 50R miles, made
all the stops at stations for explanations and
re-enfOrcementS. as well as to remove obStruc-
tions and to switch off the ears we dropped, in
the space of 65 minutes This calm and def
mite statement, which have never heard dis
puted, implies an average velocity, when III
motion of not less than mile per minute!
That such a speed could be attained upon a
crooked road, laid with old iron rails, and with
the utmost efforts of an enemy in front TO OBJ
struct the track seems little less than miracu-
lous.
But to return to the direct story. When the
fnal and fatal command to disperse was given,
the soldiers still obedent TO orders, jumped
off, one by one, and ran, either singly or in
small groups towards the shelter of the woods.
The greatest number fled in western direc-
tion.
No time was lost by the enemy in organizing
most vigorous pursuit. This would have had
little terrors il conducted only by the men on
the pursuing trains Some of these did join in
ii, but their part was Insignificant. In an in
eredibly short space of time the whole country
was aroused The telegraph, no longer dis
abled, flashed alarm in every direction. Horse
men secured at full speed along every high
way, shouting their exaggerated stories to
every passing traveller and to every house and
village The whole population for scores of
miles on every side of Chattanooga seemed to
have abandoned every other occupation, and
devoted themselves exclusively TO the work OF
hunting the fugitive Union soldiers. Each
ferry and ossroad was picketed while armed
bands explored the sides of every mountain,
and searched out every valley. The people, or
at least the great part of those who thus en-
gagged in this terrible man hunt in the woods,
were not noyiesS in the work, and employed
the most efficient agencies The dark institu-
tion of slavery rendered the work of hunting
down fugitive Isea very familiar. One of the
points in which there is a strange conflict of
testimony between Northern and Southern
witnesses IS in relation to the employment of
blood hounds in the pursuit of Union soldiers,
especially when endeavoring to escape from
prison. The writer wishes to be perfectly can
did In this story, and can imagine one expla-
nation of this discrepancy. Possibly the cause
OF the dispute is to be found in the use of the
word " bloodhound" The pure-booded Span
ish bloodhound, ferocious and terrible beast,
is comparatively rare in the Southern States.
But hounds, which were used for tracking
men, and some Of which were very large and
fierce. Were very common. To poor man,
whether white or black. flying for his life
through some lonely wood, who hears, through
the darkness Of the night, the baying of a pack
of hounds on his track and knows that their
fangs viii seoa be fixed in his flesh it is little
egnlfort fO reflect that the deadly hp9Sfs are
probably only moDgreis and not of the pure
Spanish breed! Hounds were freely employed
in searching for the members Of our party, and
we felt our blood chill with horror as we
listened TO their bayiGg. Escape by conceal
.nen6 for any considerable length of time
was scarcely possible Rapid fight over
the toughest part of the country was the
only alternative, and this was far from hope
1ul. The adventures were SO widely dispersed
that no collective narrative of their perilouS
w2nderings is practicable. Yet many circum-
stances were common to ali the members of the
party. The drenching rain, which continued
to fall, added greatly to our discomfort, and was
st once a help and hindranee. 1t rendered
the tracking dogs much less efficient, and fire.
euently thTew them off the track altogether
bat prevented US from travelling by the sun and
Etars and as We bad 10 other guide the flight
Of the greater number became mere aimiess
wandering through the woods sometimes even
in a circle. The endurance of indescribable
suffering from cold. hunger and fatigue was
also an experience common to ali who eludee
capture for any considerable period. The ex.
pectation Of a violent death Immediately on
capture aud detection was shared by all. The
only mode Of giving an adequate impression o1
this painful but deeply interesting part Of the
history viii be TO narrate, with some detail, The
adventures OF few Of those groups which viii
best serve as specimens of all. i offer my owl
experience first. not that il is more interesting
than others tindeed, it is greatly surpassed il
number and variety of adventures by the mar
Tatives Of Dorsey and Wilson, but because it j.
easier to tell ray own experience-that strange
weird period of hunting in the woods and
mountains of Georgia, in which l was the
game, period which stands out alone in mem
Dry separated from ali former and after life
On leaving the train the writer was alone
and for moment his heart sank within him
No one happened TO strike off in the same
direction, and, although some of the fugitive
might have been ovcrtaken or fallen in with
yet the wish was strong 10 accompany the same
band who had been associated on the southwark
journey. In looking for these the opportunity
of going with any Of the other adventures wa!
lost Indeed, hardly wished to have any
other companions, as the remainder were com
parative strangers, and their uStWorthines
had net yet been thoroughly approved Al
that time / knew nothing of the locality il
which ! found myself whether it was ffteer
or hfty miles from Chattanooga, nor had ths
most indefinite idea of the character of tn,
country. l only knew that our army and ter
ritory lay north or northwest, but the SUI