Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1888-02-11

display yOur blue flag
"' No" was the reply. Having re-
ce'ved no orders to do so, did not
The operator at A was compare
lively new man, nephew of an influ-
entail member of cur board of directors,
through whom he nad obtained his posi-
tior, and through whose influence | was
! soon to lose mine. His deliberate false
hood astounded me, as well it miglt, for
allowing the train to proceed with
out the orders meant for them to run
by c. and endeavor to reach their
us':pl crossing place at B. as soon as
possible, to save delay to 90, which was
rushing along expecting to reach them at
! c.. The result must be collision.
"Thc thought drove me nearly frantic.
Further questioning Ontv resulted in
further denial from the operator of hav
ing received any orders to hold the
train, which orders Inc accused me of
Ia ing failed to send.
"With fast beating heart, and terri
bic falntness upon me dropped my head
upon the instruments and prayed for the
poor fellows upon the trains How
many of them would survive the wreck,
which now it was impossible to prevent,
fpr between the two heavy rains rushing
toward each other so swiftly, no opcr
ator was on duty with busily clicking
instruments to warn them Of their fate.
"Noticing my actions the dispatcher
eagerly inquired the trouble. l could
not reply in words. but noticing my in.
struments calling, grasped pen, and
witt my trcmbli fingers copied this
mossage. 1t wass ssed to the super
intendent from the conductoT of No. Is,
and ran thus:
'Freights Nos. 65 and 10, met in hea
collision one mic east of C, speed of fif-
teen miles pei hour. Crews of both trains
escaped uninjTed. Fifteen cars derailed
| five of them wrecked completely, badly
blocking the main lire. Will report in PER
son by first train
"My greatest fear had been that loss
Of life would result,
AS is usual in such cases, all the par
ticipants in the afair were called before
the superintendca Each man told his
story. The operator at A. firmly adj
hered ! his falsehOod, and as firmly 10
the truth, but to no purpose. The intiu-
ence of his director uncle saved fox him
his position, The blame was attached to
me, and l was d'charge1, forced to
give up my position, and move. Some
time before this, trusting in the security
of my position, l had put all our little
savings together and purchased small
house and lot in the pleasantest part of
our city. had borrowed from our saw
in~s bank the sum of two thousand dol
laI5. and pAcei mortgage for that
amount upon the place, believing that
with prudence and economy we should
be aide to repay and LIT the mortgage in
due course of time.
"A pleasant little place it was, and
much pleasure we took in fixing 1t Up
with flowers and vines, until it presented
!. most attractive appearance, AM to our
selves, at leasts was the very perfection
of taste and home comfort Now it
must all De given up. This made the
blow doubly lard, for where could /
obta n position at my business, with
the knowledge that I had caused a wreck ?
"NO. must give it all up, and COM
mcncc at the foet of the ladder again.
The company, having decided to put
in the wires and opens station at C,
as measure for guarding against further
trouble, very kindly offered the situation
to me. | could but accept. Soon we
were moved into our new quartors-in a
modest house near my station.
"Day after day cnme AMI passed now
so uneventfully as nearly % destroy all
ambition. Duties, there were none to
speak of. ~ station was what is
tcrmed flag station Trains made nc
regular stop there. and when an occa-
siOnal passe q ,er wished to take the train,
a very unusual occurrence by the way,
my red flag ~ day, or red ligh' at night,
'hauled up the desired train. grew
despondens Every day / sat in my
little den of an office, listening TO the
business passing upon the wire, busines
in which took no active part, for few
indeed, were the opportunities l had tt
open the wire.
"My little boy was my almost constan,
companion. He took grcst delight in th'
rural life which W were obliged to lead
grew stout and brown as any l. tile rustic
and his delight knew no bounds. IS HI
stood urOn the platform when the neavy
freights went rolling by, or the fast *
!, press, with rush and scream of th'
whistle, passed like flash; and he would
watch them out of sight with grea
-,und eyes, laughing and clapping hi!
hands with delight.
lone beautiful summer day, when
. had been some three months at my sta
ZION, sitting as usual watching and lis
tening at my instruments, for want o
something better to do, heard the dis
patcher's office calling A., heard hin
answer, followed by an order from tn
office to IA for special freight passin.
east, heard the reply exactly as the ope
rator had given it to me on the day o
the wreck rs for special freight
then this order:
10 Conductor and Encineer Specia
Freight:
"You will not leave A. until specia
passenger train, Fairfield, conductor, has al
rived
The special passenger train referred t.
was, As knew, for l had heart it re
ported by wire, composed of an engine
superintcndent's priuate car, and diree
tors car. filled with the officers of tn
road with their wives, all OF whom ha(
been down the line on a pleasure trip, t
inspect the new station and grounds o
our eastern terminus, and were now re
turning with all haste.
'Theard the superintendent telegraph
request to the dispatcher to give them tn
right of wav as far as practicable, and il
accordance T.ith this instruction he wa
now holding back the freight.
II SCI idly watching the approach o
the spe, .sl, and marking the quick tim