Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-07-29

They chilled the great boiler
VI the racer and toier,
Staunch old go"
line,
sLong bearded Ben Deene),
She wouldn't make steam,
so he couldn't make time.
As if maddened Mt this
ner every valve seemed to humanity whine
Ut alternately hiss,
And every gauge
Boiled with scalding rage,
a passionate writing wrenched all her
AS she clutched the curves
der maddened wheels shrielled and pierre
lngly Creaked
And she seowlei and moaned and howled
and groaned
That the hill was so long and SO crooked and
steep,
That where she would leap
Sne must creep.
Kissing as white-hot steam, snortng black hot
On struggling, yet tagging,
AS if she was dragging
Heavy MANAGING gives or a bail of shame !;
Her headlight eye burned into the night,
AS some infurlate monsters might
Ii chained gainSt Il victim secure
in flight.
Thus racked, painting and growing, she
reached the top
vi the summit grade at the summit onop."
Here the schedule said ">top
Eor water and coal-oil up and inspect
Detects
From this point down on the
western side
for nineteen nih miles-tweive near the rivers
The track was rs straight as rail-
way can be
TILL it reached sharp curve near a leaning
oak tree.
Here the engineers always said: ''Now let
And made up the time
Perhaps lost on the climb.
The signal was given. Refreshed to a Zest
Old ''Sy' started
Once more to the west
And down this straight spin, called the
Devils Rum" darted
Being an hour behind
She sped by springs, PUSHES and glideS at q
That made a night race
'Twixt an ogre of flame and phantom winged
With a cyclones rush, yet with scarcely a
Down the run she flew with her thirteen
cars.
Her driving wheels looking like million
surging on o er the ground with loud thrum-
ming bounds
Ran this metal muscled and steam drin king
hound.
At every crossing her ghostly bell
Changed sharply once like II dirge or Il knell.
And her shaggy smoke, like gorgon's
name,
Curled off through the air, or enveloped the
Like its roar.
crimson zone leaped from that flaming
lair
Through the frosty depths of the boreal air
With CHASTITY glare,
Which danced through the moonlight and
ran with the train
But to crouch when the furnace was closed
On she flashed, dashed and crashed through
open ana wood,
On she swished with swift swirls past the
houses that stood
Apart in still fields or close clustered In
towns,
Into novels and mansions, through switches
Her hoarse whistles shrieked fiendish yells
like the Hates,
While hot cinders fell down
From aShpan and stack
Back along the steel track,
In a blazing red road, like fire path in hell.
With hand on the lever, her brave engineer
peered into the night
Through the dancing arc of her yellow head
light;
With vigilant care untroubied by
To make up his time without mishaps or
He at last struck the curve near the Lean
Had Just leaned out, proudly patting her
TO Whisper ..You fiirtp'
Had just said to the fireman: Jack, she's
When an axle broke
On her forward truck;
She reeled Tor second rs II She were
struck,
Then began to thump,
And to bump, hump and jump
Over the live oak ties, as II they were
StumpS
Deene set the air brakes; he reversed; gave
Then grasping her throttle
As Il drunkard a bottle
And his hand were vice
saw below him the river
Half filled with foe ice.
How her speed sends her smashing on over
Will she never stop? How she shakes and
shivers,
How every inch of his train seems to culver?
No! glance back tells him each ear runs as
AS it did on the upward side of
Good Only the engine is off the
But she's off to the right, Great God,
Where the deep iced river rides.
aHere, jack climb this tank! Quick as
light, man, get back,
And pull that pin
When reverse again.
Or when she goes over she'll pull 'em all in. ,
As the engine limped, then staggered, now
Jack Ford pulled the pin, just as ''ss'
Down INTO INC sIie''li WIN d MISSING
plunge.
But there stood the cars still as If
At some signal switch when red lights
dropped.
The fireman stood on the baggage car step
Peering into the stream
Where the engine leapt,
As we fiXedly stare in some aching dream.
What is that creeps slowly over the tank
From the half frozen flood!
sTis the engineer covered with Ice, while his
Flows fast through cruel cash in his
head
That is horribly red.
But his great, steaofast soul, supreme till 1t
Illuminet the blood as he whispered: Jack,
Get a red light somewhere; quick, run up the
track
Think-the east bound express-rma all right
hurry back"
As the two expresses stood nose to nose,
Deene lay down between them, in frozen
clothes.
He had saved two trains
And babes, fair maidens, fond mothers,
strong men,
Slept unwounded of blood.
When the Omnipotent Ken
Scans eternity's realms to give crowns 70
And the angel of records calls "Deene' en-
Can you doubt that then
He will answer there as ne oio at the OAK
when the axle broke