Semi-weekly south Kentuckian., 1886-10-12
THE MULE-SH0E CURVE.
Why Certain Precious Lives Were
Not Lost There.


Not Lost There.
As long MS the railroad, for over one
hundred miles Of its course, meekly
traverscd the valleys at the foot of the
range, the great mountains, seemingly
secure in their height and majesty, re-
gardcd it with serene indifference. This
changed TO contempt when, at certain
point, it turned and faced them; to alarm
them it began to climb their side, and
% n certain humiliation when it sue
ccSsfully surmounted them and gayly
danced of to the westward. The Amer
lean railroad engineer, however, has no
respect for mountain ranges. His mot
TO, like Sir Philip Sidncy's, is: "a will
find way or make one" OF course,
1t was not an easy task to carry the rails
over the Sierra, but the president of the
road said they must go; the general
manager said so, too, and the treasurer
had the money in the bank so the chief
engineer reconnoitGrod the spot, and
uIGn he and his assistants put on their
working suits of tough yellow overall
stuir and began operations, They
worked slowly but surely. Tho grade
rose gradually from the point of turning
on the plain, through tho mazes of the
foothills, and then entered the mouth
Of q canyon. On one side oil
this canyon they cut u shelf to hold the
rails, and this shelf, slcping upward AT
as steep an anglo as it would be posi-
bic for the engine to surmount, was
carried along the same side, round the
curving end, back to the mouth of the
canyon opposite the point where il had
entered, and again round the hill which
bonded the gulch on the south. Then
came lis last climb up the southern side
of the hill, and then the level summit
and the descent Of the other slope. Oh
course, this mode of engineering is moi
now. 1t may be seen in dccorous East.
crn form where the Pennsylvania road
crosses the Allcghenies, and there it is
familiarly known rs the Horseshoe
Curve"
The seat, however, of which mention
has just been made, was roughcr ant
boldcr, as bciits engineering in tho wild
West, and. rs the gorge was much mar
rover than its Eastern predecessor, ant
the turns consequently sharper, III,
curve was named for the footgcar, no
Of the horse. but Of the refractory ant
much-abuScd and useful mule.
just whore tho line enters the foot
hills stands q ''ncw town. at some dis
tancc from the old Mexican settlemcn
from which il takes its name. Tht
structures in the former. aside from tn,
somewhat barbaric railroad buildings
station, frcight-shctl and cnginc-housc-
sccm at first sight to be mostly saloons
Oh Jistressingly ugly style Of archi
lecture. The former is composed o
hquald adobe shantics, with wolf-lik,
Mexican dogs prowling about them,
just before the daily passenger traii
Is due from the North there issues from
the cnginc-housc just mentioned a larg,
and powerful locomotive, expressly de
signed for the heavy grades ahead. Oh
a certain beautiful September afternoon
not long ago. it was in its place, givin!
signs of life in the shape Of occasiona
threads of smoke from the stack an,
Ettlc pulls OF white steam. In anticipa
ton Of the trains arrival the station
platform was occupied by gradual
Increasing line Of idle citizens; and, OF
the bottom of an overturned gravel car
not far away, were sitting Tom Lewis
the engineer, who was shortly 10 g
out, and two Of his "rards" Ton
Burke, roadmastcr, and Jack Harris
station agent.
To understand their conversation W
shoall know something about them. ID
you ever realize, gentle reader, as yo
sit. magazine or paper in hand, at tn
wide window of the drawing-room ca
on the fast express, how completely yo
arc in the hands of some hard-worked
mdcr-paid mcnp Suppose tho grim
fellow in ovcralls, sitting in the cab {
the great engine with his hand on tn
throttlc-valvo and his cyc fixed on tn
line ahead, should relax his vigilanC
for single moment: should even stan
up to stretch his crampcd limbs. SUI
pose the official who is charged with tn
care of the roadway should forget on
little culvcrt some Saturday night whe
his wife and children are waiting suppC
for him. Suppose the tired train-di
patchcr, his head aching, and his eye
dim with hard usage, should make til
least little mistake in the world, and o.
der tho cast-bound freight train ava
from tho siding toward which you al
speeding. Inasmuch, then, as you an
thousands of others escape tho dil
pcrils from which these faithful worker
guard you, do not fail to do them ju
ticc, and honor them as true men, ant
should your journey include such woi
deriul piece of dangerous road as II
"Mulc-Shoc Curve" be thankful tn;
the company found such good executlv,
as those on the overturned gravel ca
They all came originally from the Eas
but had lived long enough in the fl
West to imbibc tho best of It's spiri
and learn the best OF its ways.
1t was little dull at times in IL
"new town." and if one had no likin
for drinking and gambling he mlgl
find the evenings long. Should |
stroll, however, among the adobe bull
ings of the older settlement, he mig
detect signs of certain sociabilit
From some of the houses came the tin
ling of fthe rude harp ofthe country al
q an occasional ripple of laughter; fro
some doorways there emerged figure
clad in mantilla and rebozo and ESCORT
by rather sorry cavaliers, who hasten'
to the aforesaid houses, and at intervu
there was talk of grand bale or ba
Between the average Mexican wi
dwells under the. American flag al