Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-06-18
MAD BOB RIPLEY.
AFireman's Fierce Encounter With
a Crazed Engineer.
Struggle to the Death In Locomotive Cab
-Maddened by Disaster an Engineer
Is Determined to Turl Himself
From His Engine.
IN. Y. Sun.1

N. Y. SUM-
was in the second year Of my appreu-
ticeship as fireman on No. G3, of the Gin
rinnati, Hamilton & Dayton road. when
got such a setback one night as few fire.
men ever lived through. The incident
happened about fifteen years ago, but
every feature of it comes to my mind as
clear as il the affair occurred last night.
My engineer was named Bob Ripley. He
was a jovial, whole fellow, never
going behind a glass of beer, and was
known all along the line as q sober and
truSty man.
Well, all OF a sudden, bad luck struck
him. He had a little home, which was
taken away by n land shark. He left Gin
cinnati one night for Toledo on his usual
run, and returned to find his wife dead.
She had some heart trouble, and died
without moments warning. Within a
fortnight his boy baby sickened and died,
and that left Bob without home or family.
tell you it made an awful change in him.
He was off for two or three weeks, and
when he came back to the cab l could
scarcely recognize him. He had a wild,
queer look to his eyes, a strange sound to
his voice, and he was so sullen and morose
that almost feared to speak to him on
matters or business. / made two or three
trips with him, and but for the fear of
hurting his feelings l should have made
application to be changed
1t was the third or fourth trip after he
returned to tho road when we left Cincin-
natl one November night for the north.
lt was wild, stormy night, and as we got
out into the country caught Bob smiling
and chucklinS. The wildness of the night
seemed to strike a responsive chord in his
soul. Old 63 seemed to be in uncommon
spirits, too, for she was sliding right along
With heavy train, and making no fuss
over it. made some remarks about it,
but Bob had no reply. Indeed, he acted as
IL he was alone in the cob. didn't like the
situation bit, for had suspicion that
he wasn't quite right in his head, and he
was also squirting her beyond schedule
time We were to pass sido-tracked ac-
commodation about thirty miles out of
Cincinnati. She ought to be in eight min
utes ahead of our time, but IS was over
reaching schedule time so fast that l
feared a collision. The conductor had his
eyes open, however, and at a stop about
twenty miles out he came forward and
overreached five minutes in that short
run. Bob answered surly enough, but as
wo pulled out again he obeyed orders and
checked her down to lose the extra min
utes gained.
We had passed the siding all right when
noticed that his nervousness increased.
He would whistle for crossings where none
existed, and he would toot supposititious
cattle off the track. Once, seeming to ig-
more my presence altogether, he opened
the furnace door and piled in the fuel, al
though we were carrying more steam than
had ever seen OH.
AT Hamilton L was fully resolved to
speak to the conductor il he came forward
and gave me opportunity, but he did not.
1t was when returned to the cab after
oilin& up that Bob looked up at me with a
start, as il surprised to SEQ me. and said:
''Jim, I'm thinking of them"
Eyes, Bob, but they are better or"
soothingIy said. "Y ou must bear up like
n man. It's sad enough, God knows, but
you must meet it hravely."
"Did you see--:"
"What:" asked as he suddenly checked
himself
He did not answer. He looked at his
watch, signaled me to ring the bell, and
in moment more we were Off. The night
was growing wilder, and we were not ten
minutes out of Hamilton when made ND
my mind that there was trouble close at
hand. Bob turned to look at me now
and then in a. way to prove that he
meditatsd evil, and from the way he kept
the whistle going the passengers behind
must have supposed the track to be swarm
ing with living Instructions. We were
about half way to Dayton and had Just
replenished the fire, when Bob suddenly
gave her all steam. 1t seemed to me as il
old 63 took clean jump of ten feet as she
felt the extra steam, and L shouted my
alarm. The words were hardly uttered
before he was upon me.
you've got to die with mew he
screamed US he clutched my arms. and
I'm not exaggerating a bit when tell YOU
that his eyes looked like Goals of fire.
/ was by far the strongest man of tho
two, but in the first rush he dashed me
abont in dreadful way, and had almost
pulled me to the steps before called up
my muscle. Then Ibid my best to save him.
He was bound to go of and was bound
to prevent, and, as we pulled and turged
at each other, the train was running so
close to mile a minute that none of the
passengers cared to reduce the fraction. /
think our struggle lasted about five min
utes. l was gradually drawing him back
into the tender, and was wondering how
l could secure him, when he suddenly shut
his teeth on my right wrist, and bit and
tore like dog. had to let go my clutch.
and as did so he turned and leaped of,
uttering cry which rang in my ears for
weeks after.
1t was high time that the steam was
shut Oft. As / afterward learned, every
passenger was hanging on and praying to
heaven, for the dullest of them knew that
something had happened on the locomo-
tive. brought her to standstill as soon
as possible, and when the conductor
reached the cab we backed up to look for
poor Bob's body. We found it about two
miles back, and it was a shocking sight.
He had struck stump head first, and head
and face were simply a bloody mass of
flesh.
ran the train into Dayton, and we had
scarcely come to a standstill before wa
seized with chill, and had to be helped
TO the hotel. was just clean broken down
under the mental strain, and il was plump
six weeks before crept out OF my bed. I
was determined never to step foot on an
engine, but when health came back got
my nerve again, and the result was that
finished my apprenticeship, aud took the
other side Of the cab