The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-08-20
THE MULE-SHOE CURVE.
Why Certain Precious Lives Were
Not Lost There.

As long as the railroad, for over on,
hundred miles of its course, meek,
traversed the valleys at the foot of tn,
range. the great mountains, seemingl,,
secure in their height and majesty, re
garded it with serene Indifference. Thi:
changed to contempt when, at a certain
point. it turned and faced them; to alarm
them it began to climb their side, and
to a certain humiliation when it sue
cessfully surmountcd them and gayly
danced off to the westward. The Amer.
lean railroad engineer, however, has nc
respect for mountain ranges. His mot.
to. like Sir Philip Sidney's. is: Il will
find way or make one" OF course.
ii 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 reconnoitered the spot, and
then he and his assistants put on their
working suits of tough yellow overall
stuff and began operations. They
worked slowly but surely The grade
rose gradually from the point of turning
on the plain, through the mazes of the
foothills, and then entered the mouth
of a canyon. On one side of
this canyon they cut shelf to hold the
rails, ard this shelf. slipping upward at
as steep an angle rs it would be posi-
Die 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 it had
entered, and again round the hill which
bounded the gulch on the south. Then
came its last climb up the southern side
of the hill. and then the level summit
and the descent of the other slope OF
course, this mode of engineering is not
new. 1t may be seen in decorous East
crn form where the Pennsylvania road
crosses the Alleghenies. and there it is
Familiarity known as the Horseshoe
Curve"
The seat. however, of which mention
has Just been made, was rougher and
holder, as BELTS engineering in the wild
West, and. as the gorge was much mar
rover than its Eastern predecessor, and
the turns consequently sharper, the
curve was named for the footgear, not
of the horse, but of the refractory and
much-abused and useful mule.
just where the line enters the foot
hills stands ''new town." at some dis
lance from the old Mexican settlement
from which it takes its name. The
structures in the former, aside from the
somewhat barbaric railroad buildings =
station. freight-shed and engine-house-
seem at first sight to be mostly saloons
of distressingly ugly style of archi-
lecture. The former is composed of
sdualid adobe shanties, with wolf-like
Mexican dogs prowling about them.
just before the daily passenger train
is due from the North there issues from
the engine-house just mentioned a large
and powerful locomotive. expressly de-
signed for the heavy grades ahead. On
a certain beautiful September afternoon,
not long ago. it was in its place. giving
signs of life in the shape of occasional
threads of smoke from the stack and
little puffs of white steam. In anticipa-
ton of the trains arrival the station
platform was occupied by gradually
Increasing line of idle citizens; and. on
the bottom of an overturned gravel car.
not far away, were sitting Tom Lewis,
the engineer. who was shortly to GO
out, and two Of his ''pardS Tom
Burke, roadmaster, and Jack Harris,
station agent.
To understand their conversation we
Ehoald know something about them. Do
you ever realize, gentle reader. as you
sit. magazine Or paper in hand, at the
wide window of the drawing-rooua car
on the fast express, how completely you
are in the hands of some hard-worked,
under-paid men? Suppose the grimy
fellow in overa'ls. sitting in the cab OF
the great engine with his hand on the
thro.tle-valvc and his eye fixed on the
line ahead, should relax his vigilance
Tor a single moment: should even stand
up TO stretch his cramped limbs. Sup
pose the official who is charged with the
care Of the roadway should forget one
little culvcrt some Saturday night when
his wife and children are waiting supper
for him. Suppose the tired train-dis-
patcher, his head aching. and his eyes
dim with hard usage, should make the
least little mistake in the world. and or
deT the east-bound freight. train away
from the siding toward which you are
speeding. nasmnch, then, as you and
thousands of others escape the dire
perils from which these faithful workers
guard YOU, do not fail to do them JUS
tice. and honor them as true men. and,
should your journey include such q won-
derful piece of dangerous road as the
-.Mule-Shoe Curve" be thankful that
che company found such good executives
as those on the overturned gravel car.
They all came originally from the East,
but had lived long enough in the far
West to ;mbibe the best of its shirts
and learn the best Of its ways.
1t was a little dull at times in the
~'new town." and if one had no liking
for drinking and gambling he might
find the evenings long. Should he
stroll. however, among the adobe build
ings of the older settlement, he might
detect signs of certain sociability.
From some of the houses came the tink-
Ing ofthe rude harp of the country and
an occasional ripple of laughter; from
some doorways there emerged figures,
clad in mantilla and rebozo and escorted
by rather sorry cavaliers. who FASTENED
TO the aforesaid houses, and at intervals
there was talk of grand bale or ball.
Between the average Mexican who
dwells under the American flag and